A NEW state-of-art jet fighter, part of which is made in Lancashire, will be deployed in combat for the first time next year.

The Eurofighter Typhoon will see action in Afghanistan after defence bosses redesigned the £80million planes to be capable of ground attacks.

About 500 people work on the Eurofighter project at BAE Systems' Samlesbury site, near Blackburn, with another 2,000 employed on the fighter at the defence firm's Warton site.

The first two redesigned jets, capable at flying at twice the speed of sound, were handed over to the RAF at Warton on Monday.

Pilots will spend months training in the jets in readiness to fly missions in the Helmand province of Afghanistan.

As well as air-to-air combat the fighters will be able to be fitted with GPS and laser-guided bombs, extra fuel tanks to stay in the air for longer and 27millimetre cannons.

Up to eight of the Typhoon's are expected to be deployed next July.

Wing Commander Gavin Parker, commanding officer of XI Squadron at RAF Coningsby, where the first two planes will be stationed, said: "Typhoon is already an exceptional air-to-air fighter and is demonstrating excellent potential in the air-to-surface role.

"A combination of its range, payload and performance, coupled with the planned integration of a variety of air-to-surface weapons, will make it a fantastic close air support machine."