Spain buys 20 Eurofighter fighters for more than 2,000 million euros
The Spanish Government has signed this Thursday the purchase of 20 Eurofighter-type fighter aircraft, with which the Spanish fleet will have 90 aircraft of this type in the future, according to the Airbus consortium at the ILA aerospace fair held in Berlin.
The purchase for these 20 new Eurofighters was approved by the Council of Ministers on December 15 and represents a cost of around 2,000 million euros.
The new aircraft will replace the old F18 Hornet at the Gando Air Base (Canary Islands). The agreement with Airbus includes, in addition to the combat aircraft and the turbines, a simulator and provision of technical service.
They will also have the Escan Electronic Scanning radar and Indra's Dass (Electronic Defense System), one of the "most advanced systems in the world, which will ensure the superiority of the aircraft in the coming decades", according to the company last week. December after knowing the contract.
The aircraft must be assembled and tested at the Airbus factory in Getafe. The first delivery is planned for 2026.
“This additional order reinforces Spain's commitment not only to Eurofighter, but also to its industrial and development environment. We would like to thank the customer for his strong position on European defense at a time when it is needed most,” Mike Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defense and Space, said in a statement.
In the opinion of the Spanish Army, this new acquisition of twenty new Eurofighter fighters "is strategic" to continue supporting the aerospace industry and is a clear message "to reinforce NATO's deterrent capacity", according to Spanish General Miguel Ángel Martín Pérez, head of the logistics support command of the Air Force.
The assembly of the Spanish Eurofighter in Getafe, on the other hand, translates into more than 20,000 jobs, direct and indirect, according to a statement from the Airbus consortium.
Eurofighter is the largest defense program in Europe, in which the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany and Italy participate. In addition to its technological capabilities, it secures more than 100,000 jobs in Europe. To date, the Eurofighter program has registered 681 orders from 9 nations around the world.
