EADS CASA delivers the first right wing of the Eurofighter series
Getafe, le 29 septembre 2000
Today, Friday September 29th, at the EADS CASA premises in Getafe (Madrid) a ceremony was held for the handing over -to BAE SYSTEMS, of the first right wing of the Eurofighter.
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The assembly of this first unit of the mass production began last January following the first, fully successful execution of the SHM (Structural Health Monitoring) test on September 13th. EADS CASA finished production of this unit within the planned term.
The unit delivered today by EADS CASA is destined to form part of the first IPA 1 (Instrumented Production A/C No.1) Eurofighter aircraft, which will be assembled at the BAE SYSTEMS facilities in Warton (United Kingdom).
"This milestone holds a special significance since it is a clear example of industrial collaboration between the companies comprising the Eurofighter program and constitutes an event of singular importance within the Mass Production Program" stated Pablo de Bergia, President and CEO of Aeronautics at EADS CASA.
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The wing of the Eurofighter is a multi-spar construction with integral fuel tanks. It is equipped with full span inboard and outboard flaperons and leading edge slats, with the advanced DASS (Defensive Aids Subsystem) located in the wing tip. The attachment of the main landing gear is located in each wing.
Both skins and spars are made of CFC (carbon fibre), with the co-bonded spars attached to the lower skins. The ribs are made of carbon fibre, aluminium and titanium. Titanium is used for both wing roots and external flaperons.
The most modern production techniques have been employed in the wing manufacturing process. Wing design was carried out with the advanced use of 3D electronic models (using the CAD/CAM CATIA system). In the first phases of production, highly advanced technology in CFC materials was used (at the EADS CASA premises at Illescas) to produce the co-bonded unit spars/ lower skins. In parallel, advanced numerical control programs were used at the Tablada facilities to manufacture other metallic structural parts. In the subsequent phase, the leading edge slats were manufactured by means of the Super Plastic Forming/Diffusion Bonding (SPF/DB) process, at the EADS CASA premises in Cádiz.
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The assembly was carried out at the EADS CASA plant in Getafe, by means of an innovative method, in which the design, manufacture and first operation of the wing assembly was divided into ten sequential steps, in order to achieve the production rate required to comply with the Eurofighter production contract.
Initially, a first batch of 148 aircraft was signed (till 2005), but, according to the framework production contract, the assembly jigs are designed to produce up to 620 aircraft in the following batches.
The Eurofighter is a supersonic aircraft with a delta-canard configuration, optimized for air superiority and with air-surface capacity.
The Aeronautics Division of EADS has a 43% stake in the Eurofighter consortium, alongside BAE SYSTEMS and Alenia.
In the mass production phase, EADS CASA manufactures the left and right-side slats and the right wings of every Eurofighter aircraft. They will also carry out the final assembly of the equipment destined for the Spanish Air Force, the delivery of which will commence in the year 2002.
