LANCASHIRE'S aerospace industry will this week be flying the flag for Britain at Europe's leading air show.

And star of the Farnborough International Air Show will be the Eurofighter 2000, on which thousands of jobs in the county depend.

Industry bosses hope the appearance of the Eurofighter - its debut at the showcase event - will help counter criticisms in recent weeks over delays and soaring costs.

BAe stressed that "costs are well within the expectations for a programme of this size and complexity" and that there are no significant technical delays. "The aircraft is performing exactly as its computer simulations have predicted and the development programme is progressing apace, proving daily what the UK and its partners' ingenuity can achieve."

Production of the Eurofighter is due to start next year. Thousands of workers at BAe's Samlesbury and Warton sites in Lancashire will be involved in the production. More than £100 million is being invested in the Samlesbury site alone to prepare it for full production.

Major assemblies, such as the front fuselage, will be constructed at Samlesbury before final assembly at Warton. Sub-contractors and suppliers across the area will also enjoy a slice of the estimated £26 billion production costs of the four nation fighter. Rolls-Royce is expected to make an announcement on its development of a new engine to power the next century's super jumbo jets.

The Trent 900 will be a development of the Trent 700 and 800, for which the firm's Barnoldswick site manufactures wide chord fan blades and front bearing housings.

Although the industry's biggest firms will have a major presence at the show, many of East Lancashire's smaller aerospace companies will also be represented.

The Clayton-le-Moors-based Consortium of Lancashire Aerospace will again have a stand at the show.

When the Consortium last helped local firms exhibit at Farnborough they brought £7 million of orders back to the county.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.