Germany Grounds Eurofighter Combat Jets on Ejector Seat Concern

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illustration (Photos:news.pseka.net)

Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Germany’s air force grounded all 55 of its Eurofighter combat jets because of safety concerns over the functioning of the pilot ejector seats.

The Eurofighters, produced by European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co., have been grounded since yesterday and the German Luftwaffe is working closely with industry officials to identify the problem, a Defense Ministry spokesman said in Berlin on customary condition of anonymity.

The groundings are a flight-safety issue because the functioning of the ejector seat during an emergency can’t be guaranteed in certain circumstances, the spokesman said, without elaborating.

Countries operating military aircraft that have had accidents generally ground planes not being used operationally to allow time for an investigation, said Eurofighter spokesman Marco Valerio. Eurofighter is working with customers to understand the issues and resolve them, he said.

The Eurofighter problem is another setback for the German military’s efforts to enhance its equipment in missions from Afghanistan to Somalia as the government embarks on one the biggest overhauls of the military in the post-World War II era. Steps include reducing the number of soldiers to as few as 170,000 and halting or suspending conscription.

In May, the Defense Ministry curbed test runs of some NH90 military-transport helicopters made by Eurocopter SA after engine faults emerged in flight maneuvers. The malfunction may add to a four-year delay in delivery of the final version of the NH90 to Germany, the ministry said at the time.

The Eurofighter grounding was first reported by Financial Times Deutschland, which linked the measure to a crash in Spain at the end of last month. In that accident, a Saudi Arabian air force lieutenant-colonel was killed when a Eurofighter crashed at Moron air base, near Seville, the Spanish Defense Ministry said on Aug. 24.

The Saudi officer was in Moron as part of a training agreement between the Spanish and Saudi Arabian military.

From:BUSINESSWEEK