The premier European fighter jet, the Eurofighter Typhoon, continues to hog the limelight with a resurgence in its sales. However, in what may be some bad news for this cutting-edge aircraft, an Italian Eurofighter has crashed during a multi-national military drill in Australia.

An unidentified reason led to the crash of an Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare) Eurofighter Typhoon in the Douglas Daly region of the Northern Territory of Australia, southwest of Darwin. The aircraft is part of the fleet sent to Australia for Exercise Pitch Black 2024.

According to a press release from the Italian Air Force, the pilot was successfully rescued after ejecting from the F-2000, as the Eurofighters are known in Italy. The service said, “He is in good health and is completing medical tests at a hospital. No further damage was recorded.” 

This was also confirmed by Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles. Additionally, the Italian Air Force claimed that the aircraft “encountered an unknown issue during a training flight.”

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According to local news sources, Exercise Pitch Black 24 flying has been temporarily halted due to the unprecedented crash. This is not the first time a crash has tarnished the spirit of Pitch Black military drills. Last year, a helicopter crashed in Queensland during the keenly watched drills.

However, this is the first time Italy has taken part in the Pitch Black military exercise hosted by Australia. On July 5, 2024, a mixed 400-man Italian Air Force detachment arrived at RAAF Base Darwin. With the assistance of KC-767 and C-130J, the Italian Air Force’s contribution consists of six F-35A and F-35B Lightning II, four Eurofighter Typhoon, and one G550 CAEW (Conformal Airborne Early Warning).

A few days before the crash, on July 18, 2024, the Italian Air Force’s aircraft, along with the Navy’s F-35Bs and AV-8Bs stationed there, participated in a flypast over Mindil Beach. After the conclusion of Pitch Black 2024, members of the Italian Air Force will relocate to Misawa, Japan, in preparation for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Rising Sun 2024.

The Eurofighter Typhoon’s crash comes days after Italy announced that it had ordered two dozen new fighter jets.

As previously reported by EurAsian Times, while the Italian government has not provided specific details, the aircraft is speculated to be a Tranche 4 or 5 variant. Additionally, a local Italian defense magazine claimed that the new batch of Eurofighter Typhoons would likely replace the archaic Tranche 1 Eurofighters that the Italian Air Force still operates. 

Amid concern that there was not enough demand for this European fighter in the last couple of years, there has been a resurgence in the sale of Eurofighter Typhoon. This was recently highlighted by Eurofighter chief executive Giancarlo Mezzanotto, who expects the trend to continue in the future.

Eurofighter Typhoon’s Renaissance

Giancarlo Mezzanotto anticipates that the aircraft’s current sales surge will continue, and the company is keeping an eye out for chances in Poland and Turkey as well as a possible follow-on deal with Saudi Arabia, Flight Global reported on July 24.

Mezzanotto reportedly set a lofty goal of 200 aircraft for future sales last year, which included repurchases by Germany, Italy, and Spain, among other partner countries.

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Recent successes include Italy beginning the approval procedure to purchase 24 more jets and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announcing a surprise deal for 20 jets in May. The countries and program partners Spain and the UK also agreed upon a significant update package known as P4E.

Mezzanotto identified four reasons for the present upsurge in sales: the Eurofighter’s operational significance, the capability development plan for the type, which is being planned by the program partners, the Eurofighter’s role in maintaining Europe’s defense industry, and the program’s economic impact.

He praised the Eurofighter’s “strong deterrence factor, evident in the role that Typhoon is playing especially in air policing and quick reaction [alert] missions on the eastern flank of NATO,” pointing to the aircraft’s deployments in Poland, Romania, and the Baltic nations.

Thus far, Eurofighter has sold 680 aircraft, 608 of which have been delivered to nine operator nations. He claimed that the program’s long-term evolution (LTE) activities will enable the program to manage more data quickly and exploit future capabilities.

“We are confident we will launch before the end of the year,” he said of the three-year LTE maturation phase.

Interestingly, the UK is the only partner country of Eurofighter that hasn’t placed a repeat order for the Typhoon recently. When asked about it, he said, “Of course, we are working with the new [UK] government on it,” and noted that there will be a Strategic Defence Review process until next year. “We are making the case because we think the UK needs more AirPower.”

With Saudi Arabia, Poland, and Turkey as potential customers, the Eurofighter consortium remains hopeful. Mezzanotto said if these campaigns are successful, the consortium can continue producing until 2035.

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