Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series
HA6610Eurofighter Typhoon 7L-WB, Austrian Air Force, 2019
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine multi-role fighter built by a European consortium made up of the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy. With 4 countries involved it is necessary to have what they call Tranches (similar to contracts) that are broken down into batches and blocks. The development of the Eurofighter began in 1983 with the prototype maiden flight of the Eurofighter taking place on March 27, 1994. The first fully equipped Tranche 2 Instrumented Production Aircraft (IPA7) took to the skies on January 16, 2008.
As a replacement for the Saab 35 Draken, Austria had originally agreed to purchase 18 Eurofighter 2000s but the number was reduced to 15. Just prior to the Austrian Air Force “Air Power 2019” air show held at Zeltweg AB, they unveiled 7L-WB as their first ever EF2000 Eurofighter to receive a special paint scheme. 7L-WB Tranche 1 c/n 5001/AS0002 was the second EF 2000 produced for Austria and completed its maiden flight on July 9, 2007 and soon after was based at Zeltweg AB. All Eurofighters are based at Zeltweg.
