report
Final production of the so-called “Quadriga” Eurofighter has started at Airbus in Manching, Upper Bavaria. The Bundeswehr is to receive 38 new machines by 2030. The future of the major European project is unclear.
Final production of the new Eurofighters in Manching, about an hour’s drive from Munich, is in full swing. The Airbus company produces a total of 38 machines for the German armed forces here. All fighter jets should be delivered by 2030. The then federal government commissioned the aircraft in 2020 – before the start of the Ukraine war.
100 kilometers of cable per fighter jet
Countless cables hang out of a large component. An employee shines a flashlight inside. Then he pins the cable there – it will be in the middle part of the Eurofighter someday. In total, he and his colleagues install around 100 kilometers of cable in every fighter jet.
Various stations with the respective production steps are set up in the large production hall. The cables are plugged into one, on the other side two employees sit on a lifting platform and screw in screws on the tail of the future aircraft. From time to time you can hear a beep from a station where the components are checked for shape. Around 50 people are currently working in the hall. In the course of production there will be significantly more.
Eurofighter assembly at the Airbus site in Manching: The order is worth five billion euros.
In service with the Luftwaffe since 2004
It is a major project: around a third of the 6,000 employees are involved in the Eurofighter project. Employees from the fields of aircraft mechanics and aircraft electronics as well as various system testers work on the final assembly line. Order volume: five billion euros.
The Air Force currently has 141 Eurofighter aircraft and a total of 93 Tornado fighter jets. The first Eurofighters entered the Bundeswehr’s inventory in 2004. The first Tornado pilots have been part of the Air Force since the early 1980s. “Eurofighters have an average ‘service life’ of 11.8 years, tornadoes now around 36 years,” said a spokesman on request.
Companies from Spain, Italy and Great Britain also participated
The Eurofighter is a European joint project. Companies in Spain, Italy and Great Britain are involved in the production. The combat aircraft are of enormous importance for Germany, says Marco Gumbrecht, Head of Combat Air Systems Sales at the Airbus Defense and Space division. They are the backbone of the Air Force. In Manching it is the most important project for Airbus.
The new machines are intended to replace the first-generation Eurofighters. For example, they installed a radar of the latest generation.
According to Airbus, more than 110,000 highly qualified jobs depend on the Eurofighter program across Europe, 25,000 of them in Germany.
Airbus hopes for fifth tranche
It is still unclear what will happen in Manching when the last Quadriga Eurofighters are delivered in 2030. Airbus is hoping for an order for a fifth tranche and, according to its own statements, is already holding talks with the federal government in this regard.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said when asked that Eurofighter should take over the role of the former fighter jet Tornado. However, the Quadriga Eurofighters are still planned for this and no other new acquisitions – unlike the F-35 stealth fighter jet from the USA.
US stealth jets
Airbus is pushing for follow-up production. Without a fifth Eurofighter generation, important qualifications in production and development would be lost, says Gumbrecht. And the project secures many jobs: According to Airbus, more than 400 companies are involved in the Eurofighter program. More than 110,000 highly qualified jobs in Europe, 25,000 of them in Germany, depend on the Eurofighter. According to Airbus, there are also more than 60 German suppliers.
A final decision on the future of the Eurofighter has not yet been made, but it is clear that from 2026 eight F-35 aircraft will initially be used for training purposes for aviation and technical personnel in the USA, according to the Ministry of Defense. From 2027, the Bundeswehr wants to gradually acquire more machines – a total of 35 aircraft. The machines are stationed at Tactical Air Force Squadron 33 in Büchel (Rhineland-Palatinate).
The last Eurofighter production in Manching?
According to the Luftwaffe, the two aircraft, the F-35 and the Eurofighter, are designed for different operational scenarios. The Eurofighter is primarily there for air defense. According to the Luftwaffe, the F-35A is currently the most modern combat aircraft and “assertive in all future scenarios”.
In the meantime, in Manching, Bavaria, each machine is manufactured to the highest quality standards. “Quality comes before speed,” says Wolfgang Kreitmeier, team leader of the final assembly line. All work steps are subsequently checked in various tests – up to the test flight, which is also carried out at the airfield in Manching.
For the Airbus employees in Bavaria, it could be the last 38 Eurofighters they produce. The works council reacted with concern and is now demanding a follow-up order for the fifth Eurofighter generation from the federal government.