The Eurofighter program is the most important military and industrial
collaboration project that has ever been carried out in the Old
Continent. Originally born as an air superiority fighter, intended to
counteract the numerical superiority of the Warsaw Pact air forces,
after the end of the Cold War it has gradually become a true
multi-purpose fighter, possibly the most advanced that exists nowadays,
with the possible exception of the North American F-35 Lightning II. It
is true that its entry into service was extended over time, there were
many new technologies applied in which the European companies involved
in its development had to start from scratch: electronic equipment,
pilot equipment, etc. But this has been, within its difficulty, the
least problematic. The really difficult thing has been that the four
partners agreed to go overcoming the milestones that the program was
presenting as the months and years passed. Spain has always shown itself
to be a very reliable partner and its industry, led by EADS-CASA (now
Airbus Defense & Space), has been able to respond effectively and
decisively to the challenges that continually presented themselves. We
can not say the same of Germany, where the Eurofighter issue became an
internal domestic political argument, with ongoing debates in the
Federal Parliament, but today these debates have already been largely
overcome, although its operational availability rate is the most low of
all users.
