The aircraft is the first of 58 new Eurofighters being produced for the German Air Force. That total includes 38 Tranche 4 aircraft ordered in November 2020 and a further 20 Tranche 5 aircraft ordered in October 2025.
The first phase of the Quadriga programme covers 30 single-seat and eight twin-seat Eurofighters. Airbus has said deliveries of the Tranche 4 aircraft are scheduled to begin this year and continue through the end of 2030.
The Tranche 5 aircraft are planned for delivery between 2031 and 2034. Together, the two batches are intended to support the renewal of Germany’s Eurofighter fleet over the next decade.
The newly flown aircraft, carrying the serial number “34+02”, is expected to be handed over to the Luftwaffe after completing factory testing. The start of deliveries is running about a year later than originally planned, after earlier schedules pointed to the first Quadriga aircraft entering German Air Force hands in 2025.
In Tranche 4 configuration, the aircraft are equipped with an AESA radar and an expanded range of weapons. The upgrade is intended to provide Germany with a more capable Eurofighter standard as older aircraft are phased out.
Germany is buying the 38 Tranche 4 aircraft to replace its oldest Tranche 1 Eurofighters, the first of which entered service in 2003. Given their level of use and equipment architecture, modernising those aircraft would be too costly in relation to their remaining service life.
Airbus delivered the most recent Eurofighter to the Luftwaffe on 17 December 2024, handing over the 143rd aircraft ordered across the Tranche 1 to Tranche 3A series. Some of those aircraft are no longer in use, and Bundeswehr information indicates that the Luftwaffe currently has about 138 Eurofighters in active service.
Germany is therefore expected to maintain a fleet of around 138 to 140 Eurofighters until the end of the decade. By then, the fleet should consist of newer Tranche 2, Tranche 3A and Tranche 4 aircraft, before the later arrival of Tranche 5 jets begins to increase overall numbers.
Eurofighter GmbH, whose partners include Airbus, is currently working on Eurofighter production and assembly for Germany and Spain. The Spanish aircraft are also being built in Tranche 4 configuration, with the first aircraft undergoing ground tests ahead of its maiden flight.
Contracts for Italy and Turkey are also in progress, while further production agreements could be signed in the coming months. Against that backdrop, the Eurofighter consortium has decided to increase the pace of aircraft assembly.
