Typhoon fighter sovereign capability

The Eurofighter Typhoon has been in service with the RAF since 2003. The current Typhoon fleet consists of the 4th generation Typhoon FGR Mk4. A land-based multi-role fighter capable of both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, it forms the bulk of the RAF’s combat air fleet (alongside the F-35). It also forms the RAF’s quick reaction alert force, providing air defence in the UK, and across wider NATO airspace when deployed overseas. As of 1 April 2025, the RAF had 129 Typhoon aircraft, of which 107 are in service. The incremental drawdown of older tranche 1 variants began in spring 2025 (the aircraft has been procured in three tranches), while later versions are being upgraded to provide more advanced capabilities. Typhoon will begin to leave RAF service in 2040.

Industrial workshare

The UK has historically developed or procured combat aircraft in conjunction with other countries to offset the high costs involved.

The Eurofighter consortium (consisting of BAE Systems, Leonardo and Airbus) represents the four partner nations in the Typhoon project: the UK, Spain, Italy and Germany. Development on the Typhoon programme began in the 1980s and production contracts were signed with the Eurofighter consortium in 1998.

Under agreements managed by the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA), the UK’s industrial workshare in the Typhoon programme is 37% (the UK’s original workshare was 33% based on expected orders at the time).

Each of the four parent nations host the production line and final assembly for the components of the aircraft it is responsible for. In the UK, BAE Systems leads the overall design, development, production and support to the Royal Air Force fleet. It manufactures major airframe components and conducts final assembly and weapons integration at its sites in Lancashire (Warton and Samlesbury). Leonardo UK leads on development of the Typhoon’s radar and defensive aid sub-systems and Rolls Royce on the aircraft’s engines (as part of the Eurojet consortium). The weapons package for the Typhoon is primarily provided by MBDA.

Over 20,800 people are employed across the UK in support of the Typhoon programme, with clusters in the North West (9,280 jobs), the East of England (1,490 jobs), the East Midlands (1,810 jobs), the South West (1,590 jobs), the South East (2,230) and Scotland (1,410 jobs). A full breakdown of the regional impact of the Typhoon supply chain is available in a 2022 report compiled for BAE Systems by Oxford Economics: The impact of the Eurofighter Typhoon programme on the UK economy (PDF).

That same report estimated that the Typhoon programme contributed £1.6 billion to the UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2020.

The 2018 Combat Air Strategy noted that experience on Typhoon and other multilateral fighter programmes such as Tornado and F-35 had positioned the UK as a world leader in combat air manufacturing. One of the strategy’s key aims was to retain and develop the sovereign capability to design and manufacture combat aircraft within the UK.

Exports

In addition to the four partner nations, export orders for the Typhoon have also been secured with Austria (15 aircraft), Saudi Arabia (72 aircraft), Qatar (24 aircraft), Oman (12 aircraft) and Kuwait (28 aircraft).

In October 2025, Turkey became the latest country to agree an export deal for the Typhoon. Following on from the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in July 2025 to strengthen UK-Turkish defence cooperation, Turkey will purchase 20 Typhoon aircraft in a deal that is worth up to £8 billion.

It is the first export order that the UK has secured for the Typhoon since 2017. Under existing workshare arrangements, 37% of each aircraft will be manufactured in the UK with final assembly at BAE Systems in Warton. Work on the aircraft will begin immediately, with delivery of the first Typhoon aircraft to Turkey expected in 2030.

Responding to the announcement, BAE Systems Chief Executive, Charles Woodburn, said that it would “preserve crucial sovereign skills which underpin the UK’s defence and security”.

The deal follows on from agreements that have been reached for the purchase of additional Typhoon aircraft for Germany (20 aircraft in October 2025), Spain (25 aircraft in December 2024) and Italy (up to 24 aircraft in December 2024). The UK Government has confirmed that the UK’s workshare on those contracts will also be in line with existing arrangements.

Future of UK combat air

The Typhoon fleet is being upgraded over next 15 years, with new radar, defensive aids, avionics, and weaponry.

In the longer term, the UK has committed to develop the next generation of crewed combat aircraft, known as the Global Combat Air Programme, or GCAP, with Japan and Italy. The crewed combat aircraft part of the programme is known as Tempest and is expected to enter service in the mid-2030s, when it will begin to replace Typhoon.

The government’s new Defence Industrial Strategy, published in September 2025, identified combat air, among others, as a “national security industrial priority”.

Prior to the conclusion of the Typhoon deal with Turkey, concerns had been expressed over the retention of industrial skills in the combat air sector. In its January 2025 report on GCAP, the Defence Select Committee said that building and maintaining a skilled workforce “will be crucial to GCAP’s success” and that retaining the existing Typhoon manufacturing workforce “must be a priority”. The committee had suggested that “securing further Typhoon export orders to ensure a consistent pipeline of production will be critical to achieving this goal”.

In the House of Commons on 29 October, the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard, acknowledged that “the Typhoon order for Türkiye helps fill a gap in the production line between our current Typhoon orders and the production of GCAP platforms in the future”.

BAE Systems has said that technological innovations to Typhoon up to the 2060s will also allow the aircraft to act as “a technology bridge” for future combat aircraft such as Tempest (GCAP).

Footnotes