The Eurofighter Typhoon is in service with seven nations: United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Austria. It has been ordered by Kuwait and Qatar, with orders for all eight customers still pending as of September 2017. The aircraft has, as of 2016, been provided in a basic air-defense form and has been upgraded to newer production standards which include internal IRST, air-to-ground precision strike capability, and HMSS helmets. Most of the major systems including the CAPTOR radar and the Defence Aids Sub-System are expected to be improved and updated over time, with the radar being updated to an AESA, being the CAPTOR-E/CAESAR, of which the Kuwait Air Force will be the inaugural operator, with first deliveries of their 28 new-built aircraft to commence in 2019.
Development aircraft
Seven development aircraft were built with varying equipment fits and flight test roles. ;DA1 ;DA2 ;DA3 ;DA4 ;DA5 ;DA6 ;DA7
Instrumented production aircraft
The instrumented production aircraft are five production standard aircraft fitted with telemetry instruments for dedicated flight testing and further systems development. ;IPA1 ;IPA2 ;IPA3 ;IPA4 ;IPA5 ;IPA6 ;IPA7 ;IPA8
These are the operational and training aircraft. The model is known as Typhoon in the United Kingdom and export markets and as EF-2000 in Germany, Italy and Spain. However, all Italian aircraft carry the "Typhoon" logo on their tails.
Tranche 1
;Block 2 ;Block 5
Tranche 2
;Block 8 ;Block 10 ;Block 15 ;Block 20
Tranche 3A
;Latest production standard incorporating EOC 3 and hardware support for EOC 4
As of July 2006 the Italian Air Force had one EF-2000 wing, 4º Stormo, which received its first aircraft on 19 February 2004. The 36º Stormo received its first Typhoon on 1October 2007. By 2018 the Italian Air Force had three Eurofighter wings.
As of December 2006 the Spanish Air Force has one squadron of aircraft. The first aircraft was delivered to Wing 11 in October 2003 at Moron airbase, Spain. In Spanish service, the aircraft is designated the C.16 Typhoon.
The Typhoon replaced the RAF's Tornado F3 and Jaguar forces. They will equip five front-line squadrons, one front-line flight and one reserve squadrons, the Operational Conversion Unit. ;Typhoon T1 ;Typhoon T1A ;Typhoon F2 As of June 2018, the RAF had bought 53 Tranche 1 Typhoons. The UK agreed to approve production of "Tranche 2" in December 2004, this tranche will see the RAF receive a further 89 aircraft, bringing its Typhoon inventory to 144. This followed protracted negotiations regarding the early introduction of ground attack capabilities of the aircraft and hence its swing-role capability. While this was always planned it was intended to come at a much later date. ;Typhoon FGR4 ;Typhoon T3 As of June 2018, the RAF has 67 Tranche 2 Typhoons and has contracted to purchase 40 Tranche3 Typhoons. 107 Tranche2 and3 Typhoons will be modified via "Project Centurion", allowing them to utilise Meteor missiles, Brimstone and Storm Shadow missiles. 24 Tranche1 Typhoons will be retained for UK Quick Reaction Alert purposes, and will not be modified under Centurion. No. IX Squadron, based at RAF Lossiemouth, retains the Tranche1 Typhoon for QRA purposes but also serves the purpose of acting as an aggressor aircraft, similar to that of the USAF Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon. These aircraft work in conjunction with the 100 Squadron BAe Hawk T.1 aircraft based at RAF Leeming, providing air combat training and dogfight training to RAF and Royal Navy pilots.
Proposed versions
Navalised Typhoon
Owing to the withdrawal of France from the Eurofighter 2000 project, in part due to France's desire to have a greater role in the development and marketing of the aircraft, the pursuit of a naval Typhoon has never seriously been considered. However, a navalised variant of the aircraft was first proposed in the late 1990s as a potential solution to the UK Royal Navy's need for a Future Carrier-Borne Aircraft for its new aircraft carriers, In January 2001, the UK Ministry of Defenceformally discounted the option of a navalised Eurofighter for its new aircraft carriers, in favour of the STOVL variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which promised to be a capable, low-cost and more stealthy aircraft that would enter into service circa 2012—a date that tied in well with the in-service date for the new UK aircraft carriers as it stood at that time. It was rejected by the United Kingdom on "cost effectiveness grounds". , the navalised Typhoon remained only a proposal but there has been some interest expressed by other nations, such as India, in adapting the Typhoon for aircraft carrier operations. The proposed variant design would enable the Typhoon to operate from carriers on a Short Take-Off but Arrested Recovery basis, using a 'ski jump' ramp for aircraft launch and arresting gear for conventional landing. In February 2011, BAE debuted a navalised Typhoon in response to the Indian tender. The model offered is STOBAR capable, corresponding to the Indian Navy's future aircraft carrier,. The changes needed to enable the Typhoon to launch by ski-jump and recover by arrestor hook added about 500 kg to the airframe, however this is now thought to be substantially more given the Typhoons's "unfriendly" design in terms of adapting the airframe to suit sustained naval operations. If the Indian Navy pursues a catapult launch carrier, the Typhoon is completely uncompetitive against tender rivals since meeting "...catapult requirements would add too much weight to the aircraft, blunt performance and add substantially to modification costs".
Typhoon ECR
On 5 November 2019, Kurt Rossner, Head of Combat Aircraft Systems at Airbus proposed an Electronic Combat Role -SEAD capability for the aircraft. The Typhoon ECR would be configured with two Escort Jammer pods under the wings and two Emitter Location Systems at the wingtips. Armament configuration would include four MBDA Meteor, two IRIS-T and six SPEAR-EW in addition to three drop tanks. The plane would be a two seat variant carrying a mission specialist with access to dedicated electronic warfare and mission control screens.
