قرر سلاح الجو الملكي البريطاني RAF ابقاء 24 مقاتلة Typhoon Tranche 1 Block 5 في الخدمة حتى عام 2040 موعد خروج مقاتلات Typhoon من الخدمة كلياً
سلاح الجو الملكي البريطاني يشغل حالياً عدد 53 مقاتلة Tranche 1 Block 5 ، وسوف يبقى على عدد 24 منها لتشكل سربين قتاليين حتى عام 2040 كما تقرر في الخطة الوطنية الاستراتيجية Strategic Defence and Security Review عندما نشرت في نوفمبر 2015 ، بدلاً من اخراجها جميعاً في عام 2019
وبالرغم من قدرة هذه الطائرات ان تلعب ادوار متعددة المهام جو-جو و جو-سطح على حد سواء ، لكن سوف تقتصر مهام هذه الطائرات ال 24 فقط للمهام الدفاعية جو-جو والتدريب على القتال الجوي
وكانت القضية كيف يمكن تشغيل مقاتلات Tranche 1 الى جانب مقاتلات Tranche 2/3 كون الاصدار الاول لديه محدودية في قطع الغيار المشتركة مع الاصدارين الاخرين ، ولهذا تقرر ابقاء فقط على عدد 24 مقاتلة من اصل 53 مقاتلة يشغلها الان سلاح الجو الملكي البريطاني
ولمحدودية برمجيات الاصدار Tranche 1 ، فقد قرر سلاح الجو البريطاني عدم المضي قدماً في تطوير هذه الاصدار عبر حزم مراحل التعزيز Phase Enhancement upgrade لتحويلها الى مقاتلات متقلبة الادوار بشكل كامل كما يحصل مع مقاتلات Tranche 2/3
RAF to field retained Tranche 1 Typhoons as stand-alone air defence force
The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) is to field as a separate air defence force the Tranche 1 (T1) Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft that are to be retained in service beyond their original retirement date.
The 24 T1 aircraft that were extended from 2019 to the wider Typhoon out-of-service date (OSD) of 2040 in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) of November 2015 will be formed into two distinct air defence squadrons, rather than being mixed with other T2 and T3 aircraft in other multirole units, Deputy Commander of Operations Air Marshal Greg Bagwell told reporters on 30 March.
"The issue was how to operate the Tranche 1 alongside the Tranche 2 and 3 as there is very little spares commonality between them, so it was decided that the plan [should be] for two new squadrons of Tranche 1 Typhoons," AM Bagwell said.
Given the software limitations of the T1, the RAF has decided not to try and upgrade these particular platforms with the Phase Enhancement upgrade packages that will afford the T2 and T3 platforms with the full swing-role capability set. As such, they will be used solely for air defence duties, and perhaps for adversarial air combat training for other RAF aircraft types.
"The Tranche 1s will be used purely for air defence, as an upgrade [for swing-role] will be prohibitively expensive. The two squadrons of Tranche 1 Typhoons will own the air defence role, and we are also looking at using them for 'red air' along with the Hawk," AM Bagwell noted.
The UK bases its Typhoons at RAF Coningsby in England (Quick reaction Alert [QRA] South) and at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland (QRA North). It also has a detachment of four air defence aircraft permanently stationed in the Falkland Islands.
In terms of the UK QRA, AM Bagwell said it has not yet been decided where the T1 Typhoons will be based but he did note that from a support perspective it would make sense that they should all be at one location.
http://www.janes.com/article/59243/...e-1-typhoons-as-stand-alone-air-defence-force
