BANGALORE: Brace yourselves for the ‘Luftwaffe’, which dominated the skies over Europe with their tactical fighters during World War- II, and will soon be seen over the city skies. But this time they will not be unleashing their blitzkrieg doctrine which they resorted to during the War and instead will be indulging in different tactics to woo the audience at the Aero India 2009 and also create an lasting impression on the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Four Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft belonging to the German Air Force will arrive at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka on February 5 to take part in the bi-annual show. The Eurofighter Typhoon, which will be making it’s debut in India, is among the six contenders that are lobbying to bag the contract for the 126 multi-role combat aircraft from the IAF. Officials from European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company(EADS), which is the major partner in the Eurofighter consortium, told Expresso that the four aircraft belonging to the German Air Force will take part in the airshow. “A total of four Eurofighter Typhoons will be seen at Aero India for the first time. The aircraft which comprises both the two and four seat variants, will also be taking part in the flight displays,” said an official.
This is the f irst time the German Air Force is sending it’s fighters outside Europe since the World War-II. Post war, the German Air Force has been largely confined to self defence.
“The decision to fly it’s aircraft to India is seen as a step where the Germans want to open up. This is seen as an exposure for a long range deployment and future NATO assignments in Afghanistan,” said defence sources. The German Air Force is also toying with the idea of having a guest to co-pilot the Eurofighter Typhoon which is considered to be a highly agile air superiority and air-to-surface, multir o l e / sw i n g - r o l e weapon system, making it the most capable front line fighter available.