Im just coming into this thread, and im not in the mil, so i may be way off, or it may have already been covered, but right at the beginning wasnt the idea for Eurofighter that it would solve all the air defence needs for UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain + exports?
I'm sure i vaguely remember reading somewhere that the reason the French pulled out was because they wanted a Steam Catapult Carrier version (for their carriers) and the UK wanted a STOL/STOVL aircraft to replace the sea harrier (a requirement that was dropped when it became apparant that it would complicate matters (think Hawker P1154).
Still, in my eyes the plastic tiffie is a world beater. Shame it is designed for a world vanished with the fall of the Berlin Wall... and the two seater is ugly
Matt (dropping below the parapet again)