[3][4] The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter[5] and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo that conducts the majority of the project through a joint holding company, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH.

Previously, Germany, Italy and the UK had jointly developed and deployed the Panavia Tornado combat aircraft and desired to collaborate on a new project, with additional participating EU nations.

A specification titled Air Staff Target 403 (AST 403), in 1972, led to the Hawker P.96, an unbuilt design with a relatively conventional planform, including a separate tail structure, in the late 1970s.

Simultaneously, in West Germany, the requirement for a new fighter had resulted in competition between Dornier, VFW-Fokker and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) for a future Luftwaffe contract known as Taktisches Kampfflugzeug 90 ("Tactical Combat Aircraft 90"; TKF-90).

[2] In December 2004, Eurofighter Typhoon IPA4 began three months of Cold Environmental Trials (CET) at the Vidsel Air Base in Sweden, the purpose of which was to verify the operational behaviour of the aircraft and its systems in temperatures between −25 and 31 °C.

[55] For example, the four original partner nations were reluctant at that stage to fund enhancements that extend the aircraft's air-to-ground capability, such as integration of the MBDA Storm Shadow cruise missile.

The latest support for self-protection will however originate from the new AESA radar which is to replace the Captor system, providing in a spiralled programme with passive, active and cyberwarfare RF capabilities.

Selex ES has developed a self-contained expendable Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) jammer for fast jet aircraft known as BriteCloud which is being studied for integration on the Typhoon.

[68] Eurofighter Project Pilot Germany Raffaele Beltrame said: "The handling qualities appeared to be markedly improved, providing more manoeuvrability, agility and precision while performing tasks representative of in-service operations.

[58] On 24 April 2018, Airbus announced its offer to replace Germany's Panavia Tornado fleet, proposing the integration of new weaponry, performance enhancements and additional capabilities to the Eurofighter Typhoon.

[105] Traditionally each sensor in an aircraft is treated as a discrete source of information; however this can result in conflicting data and limits the scope for the automation of systems, hence increasing pilot workload.

[106] By having a single source of information, pilot workload should be reduced by removing the possibility of conflicting data and the need for cross-checking, improving situational awareness and increasing systems automation.

[107] In 2017 a RAF Eurofighter Typhoon demonstrated interoperability with the F-35B using its Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL) in a two-week trial known as Babel Fish III, in the Mojave Desert.

[136] It allows the detection of both hot exhaust plumes of jet engines and surface heating caused by friction; processing techniques further enhance the output, giving a near-high resolution image of targets.

[144] The EJ200 engine has the potential to be fitted with a thrust vectoring control (TVC) nozzle, which the Eurofighter and Eurojet consortium have been actively developing and testing, primarily for export but also for future upgrades of the fleet.

[145] Clemens Linden, Eurojet TURBO GmbH CEO, speaking at the 2018 Farnborough International Air Show, said "15 per cent more thrust would allow pilots to operate with a heavily loaded aircraft in the battlespace with the same performance levels as they have today.

[156] In 2006 the UK embarked on the £73m Change Proposal 193 (CP193) to give an "austere" air-to-surface capability using GBU-16 Paveway II and Rafael/Ultra Electronics Litening III laser designator for Tranche 1 Block 5 aircraft.

In addition to Meteor and Storm Shadow, the first live firing of MBDA's Brimstone air-to-surface missile, part of the Phase 3 Enhancements (P3E) programme, was successfully completed in July 2017.

[164] In his 2022 book Typhoon, former RAF pilot Mike Sutton reported that his 27 mm cannon had jammed during a strafing run in Syria, against ISIS targets, while supporting Allied ground units.

[176] In February 2017, Austrian defence minister Hans Peter Doskozil accused Airbus of fraudulent intent following a probe that allegedly unveiled corruption linked to the order of Typhoon jets.

[178] On 20 July 2020, a letter written by Indonesia's defence minister, Prabowo Subianto, was published by Indonesian news outlets expressing interest in acquiring Austria's entire fleet of Typhoon jets.

[214] The RAF said that each aircraft dropped one GBU-16 Paveway II 454 kg (1,000 lb) laser-guided bomb which struck "very successfully and very accurately [and this] represented] a significant milestone in the delivery of multi-role Typhoon.

II (AC) Squadron, supported by an Airbus Voyager KC3 aerial tanker and a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, deployed to Misawa Air Base in Japan for the first bilateral exercises with non-US forces hosted by the JASDF.

XI (F) Squadron deployed from RAF Coningsby to Ämari Airbase, Estonia, to undergo a four month long NATO Baltic policing mission (Op AZOTIZE).

[246] On 12 January 2024, at 2:30 am local time, four RAF Typhoons dropped Paveway IV bombs on two military facilities, used by Houthis to launch drone and missile strikes on ships in the Red Sea, as a part of the 2024 Yemeni airstrike.

[253] In December 2006, it was reported in The Guardian that Saudi Arabia had threatened to buy Rafales because of a UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into the Al Yamamah defence deals which commenced in the 1980s.

[254] On 14 December 2006, Britain's attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, ordered that the SFO discontinue its investigation into BAE Systems' alleged bribery of senior Saudi officials in the Al-Yamamah contracts, citing "the need to safeguard national and international security".

[265] On 9 March 2018, a memorandum of intent for the additional 48 Typhoons was signed during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the United Kingdom,[266] however the deal has not been completed due to German arms sanctions implemented in November 2018 in response to the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi.

[286] Defense Minister Yaşar Güler has underscored Turkey's continued interest in acquiring Typhoons, asserting that they remain a compelling alternative, despite recent disagreements with Germany over the potential purchase.

[287] Turkey expects the United States to approve a proposed sale of new F-16 jets and modernization kits in return for Ankara finally green-lighting Sweden's admission into NATO.