The British Ministry of Defense will soon offer a contract to Rolls-Royce to supply EJ200 engines to the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets. If nothing changes, the domestic multinational company will support the machine for six years from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2029 with an estimated contract value of £500 million.
This news was widely heard after the contract prepared by the Typhoon Delivery Team, which operates under the British Ministry of Defence, was leaked to the media. It states that “6 year contract to Rolls-Royce for the provision of in-service support services in relation to the EJ200 engine”.
The appointment of Rolls-Royce directly without a tender process by the Ministry of Defense had caused an uproar because it was said to have violated the law. However, in the leaked copy of the contract, the answer was that this (direct appointment of Rolls-Royce) was legal and was in accordance with the law.
Furthermore, Rolls-Royce is said to be the only entity that has the expertise, equipment, infrastructure and airworthiness certification required to service the EJ200 engine in the UK.
The British move follows that of its colleague Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet maker, Germany, who had previously signed a contract with NATO's Eurofighter & Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) through the EUROJET consortium, as the supplier of EJ200 engines for 38 Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 4 fighter jets for the Air Force (Luftwaffe). ) a few years ago.
At that time, the production of engine modules was said to be carried out locally by four partner companies from the EUROJET consortium, namely Rolls-Royce, MTU Aero Engines, ITP, and Avio Aero.
Final assembly of the engines will take place at MTU Aero Engines with deliveries to the Luftwaffe starting in 2023. The latest generation of Eurofighter, namely Tranche 4, is the best and most modern fighter that Europe has to offer today.
Before the latest generation of Tranche 4 arrived, the Eurofighter Typhoon was considered to be in the shadow of another European fighter jet made by France, the Rafale. The Eurofighter, produced by a consortium of four nations, Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain, is considered obsolete and excels only in terms of speed.
The rest, regarding maneuverability and reliability in the air, especially tactical support, especially in modern warfare, is still far behind the Rafale.