THE Eurofighter Typhoon has been officially handed over to the Royal Air Force after more than a decade of development.
BAE Systems' chief executive Sir Richard Evans was joined by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshall Sir Peter Squire, and Defence Procurement Minister, Lord Bach at a high-profile event at BAE's Warton Aerodrome to commemorate the Government's "Type Acceptance" of the ground-breaking fighter aircraft.
The Typhoon has been developed jointly by BAE and aerospace companies in Germany, Italy and Spain.
Thousands of jobs in East Lancashire depend on the Typhoon programme, both at BAE's sites in Samlesbury and Warton and at a large network of sub-contractors and suppliers.
The RAF has ordered a total of 232 aircraft out of 620 already placed for the Typhoon.
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