PUBLISHED on August 8, 2025, 10:46 AM EDT – Key Points and Summary – The Eurofighter Typhoon, one of Europe’s most commercially successful fourth-generation fighters, prioritizes high maneuverability over the stealth capabilities of its fifth-generation counterparts.
-Despite its non-stealthy design, it has secured a new sale of 40 jets to Turkey after Germany recently dropped its long-held veto.
-While the Eurofighter incorporates some radar-reducing features and is undergoing upgrades, its long-term survivability in a contested, stealth-dominated battlespace is an open question.
-Its future role may be similar to the F-15EX: a highly capable “missile truck” that operates behind the front lines.
The Eurofighter Typhoon Fighter Won’t Stop
BERLIN, GERMANY – The Eurofighter Typhoon, a multinational fighter jet project initially between Italy, Britain, and Germany, has now brought several other nations into the Eurofighter fold. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman all operate the Eurofighter, and now Turkey is also set to acquire the Eurofighter. It’s been a largely successful production run for Airbus, which notes that 680 of the jets have been ordered.
The Eurofighterhas consistently achieved high sales figuresEuropean jet fighter designs since the end of the Cold War—and with good reason.
Steady Sets of Upgrades
As a fourth-generation fighter, the Eurofighter Typhoon lacks the radar-mitigating design considerations that feature in the Eurofighter’s fifth-generation counterparts. Instead of extensive radar-absorbing coatings, angular, faceted design, and other stealthy considerations, the Eurofighter prioritizes high maneuverability.
Thanks to forward canards, a relaxed-stability design, and precise fly-by-wire controls, the Eurofighter is noted as a fast, agile fighter, albeit one that lacks comprehensive stealth design considerations.
The Eurofighter lacks the radar-mitigating features of its newer fifth-generation counterparts. It has, however, incorporated a few design aspects that help to mitigate its radar cross-section. The Eurofighter’s engine blades, a powerful source of radar bounce-back, are nestled within the aircraft’s airframe and hidden behind serpentine, or S-shaped, air intakes that hide the Typhoon’s engines from adversary radar.
The Eurofighter also incorporates some radar-absorbent materials, which, alongside some semi-recessed niches for mentions in the aircraft, serve to minimize the jet’s detectability further—though it cannot totally escape detection.
Import-Export
Just a few weeks ago, Germany dropped its long-held veto against Turkey’s push to purchase 40 new-build Eurofighter Typhoons. The export of the fighter requires the consensus of the United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain, with Germany, until recently the lone holdout. Turkey has been involved in protracted discussions about purchasing the jet since 2023.
The decision, taken by Germany’s federal security council, which the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz heads, reversed their previous opposition based on Turkey’s patchy human rights record.
Germany’s Quadriga initiative will deliver eight two-seater and 38 single-seat Eurofighters to Germany’s Luftwaffe. Those new jets will be the newest Tranche 4 variants, which will replace the Luftwaffe’s early first-tranche jets. The replacement is projected to cost €5.4 billion, equivalent to approximately $6.4 billion.
Flying in the Future?
The companies involved in the Eurofighter design and manufacture appear to be optimistic about the jet’s future, despite the broader roll-out of newer fifth- and sixth-generation fighters. “All of the maturing technologies above increase Eurofighter Typhoons’ survivability and superiority in the future battlespace,” the Eurofighter Typhoon website explains.
“Additionally, improved defensive aid subsystems and enhance data connections allow direct updates to the airframe and with full control over mission data the Eurofighter Typhoon will reach higher levels of survivability.”
In light of the advantages of stealth technology, however, the Eurofighter’s future longevity is an open question. Given the difficulties that fourth-generation aircraft face in highly contested airspace, could the Eurofighter survive? The conflict in Ukraine serves as a lesson in the constraints imposed on non-stealthy aircraft in airspace with robust air defenses.
So while the future of the Eurofighter might not be on the front, it could potentially play a role for European air forces that the F-15EX does for the United States: a mature platform with high payload capacity that operates behind stealthy aircraft, used to patrol airspace and launch long-range stand-off munitions rather than flying directly through adversary air defenses.
What Happens Next? Maybe a ‘New’ Eurofighter
However, production has not shut down just yet. In Germany, production is expected to continue until 2030, provided current production schedules are adhered to, thanks to the Quadriga project. “The consequence would be a production gap of 10 years without orders for the domestic industry until the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) goes into operation in 2040,” Airbus writes.
“Without a follow-up order, the end of combat aircraft construction in Germany would be imminent – and with it the loss of jobs, tax revenues, cutting-edge technologies and expertise,” the firm adds.
“In order to prevent this, the timely commissioning of the further development of the Eurofighter (Long-Term Evolution; LTE) and a fundamental decision on a follow-up procurement of new Eurofighters (Tranche 5) are necessary.”
What will the Eurofighter Typhoon LTE be exactly? It is not so clear. While Airbus does explain that the “Long-Term Evolution capability development programme of the four core nations (Germany, Spain, Great Britain and Italy) provides for the modernization of important components, including the cockpit and adding more computing power. This will keep the Eurofighter at the cutting edge of technology.”
However, barring any forthcoming information, that Eurofighter variant remains a mystery.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
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