The new managing director of Eurofighter said here yesterday that that the company must become leaner, more flexible and take decisions faster. CEO Alberto Gutierrez arrived 10 days ago from Spain and Airbus Military, where he was head of operations. “The Eurofighter is the best in its class for many things, but we must capture new technology and cater for changing customer requirements,” he said.

This week’s news from the partner countries concerns the Meteor Bvraam. On May 31, Germany became the last of the four to sign a production contract with MBDA, and Eurofighter signed a Meteor integration contract with the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (Netma) here at the Paris Air Show. The partner air forces will go operational with the top-of-the-range air-air missile in 2016-17, according to Gutierrez.

The new boss said that Eurofighter hopes to capture 25 percent of nearly 1,000 combat aircraft that are projected to be bought in the next decade. The current sales campaigns are in Korea (40 to 60 aircraft, best and final offers submitted), Kuwait, Qatar, and Malaysia. Saudi Arabia may buy more than the 72 currently projected, even though final prices on numbers 25 onwards have still not been agreed. In Europe, Bulgaria and Romania were mentioned, although the latter is reported to be finalizing a deal for 12 used F-16s from Portugal.