Starting This Year: Technical Update for Austria's Eurofighter
The installation is expected to be completed by 2027. Green Party defense spokesperson David Stögmüller views the investment critically, as the aircraft will soon need to be decommissioned.
Under Defense Minister Norbert Darabos (SPÖ), the night vision capability of the 15 aircraft was canceled to save costs. Now, they are to receive this capability and the electronic self-protection that was also removed at that time. Together with the procurement of training jets as a Saab replacement (which will likely cost around 1 billion euros), a total of 1.6 billion euros is planned. In 2007, 250 million euros were saved by foregoing these capabilities.
Greens Doubt Sustainability of Eurofighter Investment
The Greens doubt the sustainability of the investment. "On one hand, the Eurofighters are to be upgraded by 2027, on the other hand, they will be considered outdated in a few years," criticized defense spokesperson David Stögmüller in a written statement to the APA: "Why are we investing huge sums in a system that will soon need to be replaced, instead of developing a long-term strategy for sustainable and efficient airspace security?"
That a replacement is imminent was once again confirmed by Tanner in the response. "Since the Eurofighter 'Typhoon' system will reach the end of its lifespan in the coming decade, decisions regarding a replacement must be made in the next legislative period." Following the political decision on this matter, the Ministry of Defense will examine the options.
Silence on Operational Gaps
Tanner's response also reveals how often the Eurofighters had to be scrambled for alert missions: in 2024, this happened 15 times, and 23 times the year before. However, Tanner did not disclose how many days active airspace surveillance was not ensured, citing military confidentiality. She had similarly remained silent the previous month when the NEOS wanted to know how often the Eurofighters could not take off due to a shortage of air traffic controllers in the military last year.
In November of the previous year, a report by the "Krone" leaked that this was the case for a weekend due to the reduction of overtime by military air traffic controllers. In response, it was stated at the end of January that four Eurofighters could be relocated from Zeltweg to another location in Austria, such as Hörsching near Linz or Klagenfurt. This is intended to guarantee round-the-clock surveillance of the domestic airspace.
(APA/Red)
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