Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 1
The first production Typhoons — an air-defence fighter that learned ground attack later · First flight 1994 (prototype) · In service 2003
Tranche 1 was the first production batch of the Eurofighter Typhoon: contracts for 148 aircraft were signed in September 1998, after the prototype DA1 had first flown in Germany on 27 March 1994. Built around the CAPTOR-M mechanically scanned radar and two Eurojet EJ200 engines, the Tranche 1 jets entered service from 2003, initially with a basic air-defence capability. In the RAF the early air-defence aircraft were designated Typhoon F2.
Spain's Wing 11 at Morón received the first aircraft in October 2003, Italy's 4º Stormo followed on 19 February 2004 and Germany's JG 73 began converting in April 2004. Austria bought 15 Tranche 1 aircraft; the first arrived at Zeltweg on 12 July 2007. Successive software blocks added air-to-ground capability, and the Retrofit 2 programme brought Tranche 1 aircraft up to the full Block 5 multirole standard.
As the oldest airframes, Tranche 1 jets are the first Typhoons to be retired: the UK's 2021 Defence Command Paper set the retirement of the RAF's Tranche 1 jets for 2025, and Germany's Quadriga order buys 38 new Tranche 4 aircraft to replace 38 of its Tranche 1s.
