First Eurofighter rolled out

2003-06-30 15:59

Mnaching, Germany - The first of more than 500 Eurofighter jets ordered by several European Union countries was rolled out of a plant in southern Germany on Monday and presented to the country's defence minister.

Defense Minister Peter Struck accepted the roughly DM100m ($114m) jet in an official ceremony at the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company's plant in Manching, north of Munich, where the planes are being assembled.

Germany is to begin training flight instructors with the delta-winged fighters later this year, and Struck said the jet - developed by a consortium of the German, British, Italian and Spanish air forces - would be the future "backbone of the air force".

Berlin has ordered 180 of the planes, which by 2015 will replace its ageing US-made Phantoms as well as Soviet-made MiG-29s inherited from the former East Germany.

The jet is the first of eight Germany will acquire this year and initially will be used to train instructors, the defence ministry said. It will begin training pilots next year.

Deputy defence ministers from Britain, Italy and Spain attended Monday's ceremony. The three nations have ordered 440 Eurofighters between them, while Austria and Greece are to buy an additional 78.

The Eurofighter is a twin-engined jet fighter and bomber that can reach twice the speed of sound. It can follow up to 20 targets from the air. - Sapa-AP

- SAPA