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EUROFIGHTER WILL NOT FIRE A SHOT
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16:45 - 13 August 2004
By Chloe Rigby c.rigby The RAF's new Eurofighter plane has to carry a gun it cannot fire if it is to operate properly, according to reports that have emerged today.
A powerful wing-mounted cannon was in the original plans for the Eurofighter but it was cut out of the specification four years ago as designers looked to save money on the £109 billion jet plane project, which will be powered by engines built in Patchway by Rolls-Royce.
It was hoped that losing the cannon would save £90 million on the £109 billion jet fighter project.
But since then it has emerged that the hi-tech jet needs the gun because its sophisticated computerised flight controls rely on the ballast provided by the gun.
Engineers did attempt to fit the plane with lumps of lead or concrete in place of the cannon, before deciding it would actually be cheaper to use it after all.
But to save £2.5 million on the aircraft, built by Bristol employer BAE Systems at sites in the north of England, it will have no rounds to fire.
The decision has been slated by RAF sources. The cannon had been seen as outdated but Air Commodore Andrew Lambert, one of the RAF's leading air power strategists, said that view was now "old thinking".
He told the Daily Telegraph: "When you are dealing with terrorists and other unpredictable situations, you want all the flexibility you can get and a gun gives you a lot of utility. We were prepared to use gunfire against helicopters breaching UN rules over Bosnia in the 1990s. You could also use it for strafing targets like pick-up trucks in the desert."
An anonymous officer told the Daily Mail that the decision was "pretty stupid".
The officer said: "With a cannon you can fire warning shots, which you can't do with missiles, and in a messy conflict or some kind of crisis short of full-scale war that could be very useful.
"And if you're returning from a mission with no missiles or bombs left, a gun means you can still react to a target of opportunity.
"Even in this age of precision bombs, and guided missiles it's a worthwhile weapon."
A Ministry of Defence spokesman refused to comment directly on the reports but insisted the jet would have a "range of weapons" allowing it to carry out air defence and ground attack missions.
"That will include missiles and bombs," the spokesman said. "The exact fit of weaponry has yet to be decided upon."
More News | Back to home page
16:45 - 13 August 2004
By Chloe Rigby c.rigby The RAF's new Eurofighter plane has to carry a gun it cannot fire if it is to operate properly, according to reports that have emerged today.
A powerful wing-mounted cannon was in the original plans for the Eurofighter but it was cut out of the specification four years ago as designers looked to save money on the £109 billion jet plane project, which will be powered by engines built in Patchway by Rolls-Royce.
It was hoped that losing the cannon would save £90 million on the £109 billion jet fighter project.
But since then it has emerged that the hi-tech jet needs the gun because its sophisticated computerised flight controls rely on the ballast provided by the gun.
Engineers did attempt to fit the plane with lumps of lead or concrete in place of the cannon, before deciding it would actually be cheaper to use it after all.
But to save £2.5 million on the aircraft, built by Bristol employer BAE Systems at sites in the north of England, it will have no rounds to fire.
The decision has been slated by RAF sources. The cannon had been seen as outdated but Air Commodore Andrew Lambert, one of the RAF's leading air power strategists, said that view was now "old thinking".
He told the Daily Telegraph: "When you are dealing with terrorists and other unpredictable situations, you want all the flexibility you can get and a gun gives you a lot of utility. We were prepared to use gunfire against helicopters breaching UN rules over Bosnia in the 1990s. You could also use it for strafing targets like pick-up trucks in the desert."
An anonymous officer told the Daily Mail that the decision was "pretty stupid".
The officer said: "With a cannon you can fire warning shots, which you can't do with missiles, and in a messy conflict or some kind of crisis short of full-scale war that could be very useful.
"And if you're returning from a mission with no missiles or bombs left, a gun means you can still react to a target of opportunity.
"Even in this age of precision bombs, and guided missiles it's a worthwhile weapon."
A Ministry of Defence spokesman refused to comment directly on the reports but insisted the jet would have a "range of weapons" allowing it to carry out air defence and ground attack missions.
"That will include missiles and bombs," the spokesman said. "The exact fit of weaponry has yet to be decided upon."
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