Spain has once again made clear its support for the Eurofighter Multinational Programme at the annual high-level meeting held in Madrid this Wednesday and Thursday, a forum in which the country has reiterated its interest in the delivery of the first aircraft from the Halcon I programme.
The Secretary of State for Defence, Amparo Valcarce, has underlined the relevance of sustainment for the Ministry of Defence, calling on Eurofighter and Eurojet to modernise and strengthen their in-service support capabilities, with an agile and resilient supply chain that guarantees fleet availability aligned with operational needs.
In this context, Spain has insisted on its interest in receiving the first aircraft from the Halcon I programme as soon as possible, the first aircraft equipped with the ESCAN electronically scanned array radar, urging the industry to respect both the contracted performance and the committed delivery schedules.
During the sessions, other matters of relevance to the four participating nations and their industries, oriented towards the future of the programme, were also addressed.
Among the points discussed are the new developments planned for the next 10 years, such as the so-called "Phase Enhancement 4 (P4E)" and the new "Long Term Evolution" architecture, which will allow the Eurofighter to remain a reference weapons system, both for its operational capabilities and for its interoperability with current weapons systems and those of the next generation of NATO.
The meetings were attended by representatives from the four member nations of the Programme (Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom), from the "NETMA" Agency and from the companies "Eurofighter GmbH", "Eurojet GmbH", as well as from the partner aerospace companies of both consortia; in the case of Spain, "AIRBUS-SAU" and "ITP Aero".
These meetings are held every year to update the countries on the most important aspects of the Programme, both regarding ongoing production activities and the modernisation and capability evolution plans of the weapons system and in-service support activities.
At the same time, they constitute an occasion for nations to share their vision and future priorities around one of the most significant European programs for their strategic autonomy, both due to the Aerospace Defense capabilities it provides and its impact on strengthening the industrial and technological fabric of the sector.
At the opening of the meeting, the Secretary of State for Defense of Spain recalled the growing importance of the Program for Spain.