전투기 영국 공군의 타이푼 트렌치 1, 퇴역 후 부품조달용으로 해체 예정

[위종민]

영국공군의 (혹사당해 상태가 말이 아닌) 타이푼 트렌치 1 30대를 퇴역 후 부품 조달용으로 해체할 예정이라고 합니다. 우크라이나 외에 그리스에서도 관심을 가졌었다고 하네요. 

https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/raf-typhoon-t1-cannibalized-parts

Royal Air Force Typhoon T1 fighters to be cannibalized for parts

BYCLEMENT CHARPENTREAU

2023-12-22

2 MINUTE READ

Luc Willems / Wikimedia Commons

Some time ago now, the decision to retire the Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 1 fighter jets from the inventory of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) was confirmed, despite criticisms and speculations about the fate of these aircraft. Now, the UK Minister for Defense Procurement, James Cartlidge, has revealed the fate in store for the Typhoon T1s. 

The Tranche 1 variant of the Typhoon, the oldest of the four that were developed, is restricted to the use of air-to-air missiles and has very limited air-ground capabilities without the use of an external pod. However, according to their manufacturer BAE Systems, upgrading the Typhoon T1 to a newer standard remained “technically feasible.” 

Nevertheless, in early September 2021 the retirement of the 30 Typhoon Tranche 1 fighter jets in the RAF sustainment fleet, due to occur in 2025, was announced. This raised some controversy, as the fighter jets were set to be retired at just 42% of their useful life (2544.8 flying hours). 

Stripped for parts

Contrary to expectations, the Typhoon T1 will not be sold on the second-hand market, despite attracting interest from Greece and Ukraine. 

Instead, they will be ‘cannibalized,’ with their usable components being used to supplement the spare parts inventory of the existing Typhoon fleet. This decision was announced by the British minister, indicating that the components of the Typhoon T1 will be used to support the RAF’s remaining 107 Typhoons. 

“Since February 2022 no Tranche 1 Typhoon aircraft have been retired from RAF service or donated to Ukraine,” Cartlidge said, answering a question to the government. “The Tranche 1 fleet will undergo a Reduce to Produce programme to strip them of useable parts to contribute to the Typhoon fleets spares inventory.” 

The Typhoon fleet is undergoing a modernization program, funded to the tune of €2.75 billion, which aims to upgrade the remaining 107 Typhoons with the AESA ECRS Mk2 radar (European Common Radar System Mark 2).  

“Spiral upgrades, including the integration of the UK-development Spear Cap 3, will be enhanced by a significant investment in Radar 2, providing a leap in operation capability that will ensure the Typhoon Force can survive and operate in the most challenging threat scenarios,” RAF spokesman Martin Tinworth explained to AeroTime at the time. 

Why will the RAF retire Typhoons with over half their useful life left?

• DEFENSE

BYVICTORIA BRYAN

2021-09-10

Untimely loss of combat air mass 

The retirement of the Tranche 1 Typhoon aircraft was announced in a Defence Command Paper published on March 19, 2021. In recent years, the RAF has also retired 14 C-130J Hercules, to make way for the A400M and a fleet of six E-3D Airborne Early Warning & Control Sentry aircraft. 

This ‘radical overhaul’ of the RAF was criticized in a report from the UK House of Commons Defence Committee published in September 2023.  

“The RAF’s combat aircraft fleet now provides a boutique high capability: it lacks numerical depth and has an inadequate attrition reserve,” the report summarized. “Exquisite capability has its place, but in a peer-on-peer conflict such as a shooting war with Russia, every airframe will count. […] The MoD and RAF must consider as a matter of urgency how they can increase combat air mass in the short term.”  

Royal Air Force unprepared for peer-on-peer con

[백선호]

이 기사도 비행 시간만 따졌는데, 1G로 100시간 날아다는 것과 9G 기동도 포함해서 4~5G 기동이 전체의 10% 되는 100시간은 전혀 다른 얘기죠. Justin Bronk는 비행 시간보다는 fatigue index가 더 중요하다고 했습니다.

One of the stories around, for example, retiring the tranche 1s with a large amount of their hours remaining is that the tracking of airframe life in that instance is referring to nominal flight hours, whereas it is a better metric to track fatigue index. The original aircraft, to put it bluntly, had their wings flown off.

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네. 그 인터뷰를 보니 복합제는 피로균열로 인한 손상의 영향을 정확히 계측하기가 어렵다고도 하더군요.