TYPHOON - FIRST BRITISH AIRCRAFT ROLLS OFF THE PRODUCTION LINE AND TAKES TO THE SKIES

BAE SYSTEMS is delighted to announce the maiden flight of the first British Typhoon series production aircraft.

Aircraft BT001, piloted by Derek Reeh, BAE SYSTEMS Director of Flight Operations and Archie Neill, BAE SYSTEMS pilot and Typhoon Entry into Service Manager, took off from the company's site at Warton, Lancs, for a successful 21 minute flight on Friday 14 February.

The flight was part of a major achievement for the Eurofighter Typhoon project, as all four of the European Partners in the consortium have seen their first Series Production Aircraft make their maiden flights in the last few days - at EADS Deutschland in Germany, EADS-CASA in Spain and Alenia in Italy, along with BAE SYSTEMS, Warton.

Typhoon Managing Director, Chris Boardman, said: "The first flight of BT001 is a significant step towards our major goal this year - getting the aircraft into service with the Royal Air Force, where it belongs. It was rewarding for us all to see the aircraft fly today, and to know that another 10 aircraft are advancing along the line at BAE SYSTEMS to join it - not to mention the 96 aircraft in different stages of production across Europe.�

Wing Commander David Chan, based at Warton to bring Typhoon into service for the RAF, commented: "Seeing BT001 fly proved to me that the programme is making real progress. Typhoon is important for the RAF and important for our national security. It will form the cornerstone of RAF Air Power for decades to come. My team continues to be fully involved with the programme, and we eagerly await the handover of BT001 later this year.�

Derek Reeh commented: "It has been a privilege to fly the first British Series Production Typhoon. As is always the case with Typhoon, the aircraft was a real joy to fly. The achievement was made all the more significant as it represented the culmination of a great deal of hard work across all four partner nations.�

Each of the four aircraft will now undertake a selection of tests as part of the four-nation Type Acceptance process, which will culminate with the handover of the aircraft to individual customers later this year. BT001, the first of 232 aircraft for the Royal Air Force, will spend the next few months at Boscombe Down where it will undertake EMC testing for the programme.