Spain buys 25 new Eurofighter jets under Halcon II programme

Eurofighter Halcon IIA Eurofighter Typhoon mock up on display at the Paris Air Show 2023 | Rob Vogelaar

Under the Halcon II programme, Spain ordered 25 additional Eurofighter aircraft to replace the EF-18AM/BM Hornet currently in use with Ala 12 at Madrid/Torrejón Air Base and Ala 15 at Zaragoza Air Base. The Hornets will start to be decommissioned from 2030.

The new Typhoon fighters – all Tranche 4 – incorporate software upgrades, a redesigned cockpit with a large colour touch screen and the Indra AESA E-Scan Mk1 radar.

A Eurofighter Typhoon mock up and assorted weaponry on display at the Paris Air Show | Rob Vogelaar
A Eurofighter Typhoon mock up and assorted weaponry on display at the Paris Air Show | Rob Vogelaar

The proposed armament for these new Spanish Tranche 4s includes the GBU-31v1 JDAM INS/GPS-guided bomb, the German Taurus KEPD 350 long-range cruise missile, the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) and the dual-guided Brimstone air-to-surface air-to-surface missiles, recently acquired by Spain.

Photo Rob Vogelaar