The rivalry between the F-35 and the Eurofighter analyzed by their operators and their sales

Today, the European military market is divided mainly between three fighter aircraft, two of them American and one European.

The Spanish Air Force, the F-35 and the characteristics of three possible alternatives
The history of the Eurofighter Typhoon and the numbers that summarize its current situation

One of those fighters is the F-16, which has been losing operators (Italy, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands) and gaining new ones (Argentina, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine). Half a century after its first flight, the F-16 remains a very popular aircraft with more than 3,100 aircraft in operation in 27 countries, according to Lockheed Martin.

The F-35 and the Eurofighter (the other two protagonists of this article) cannot even come close to competing with these sales figures. However, both have competed in several competitions to equip several European air forces with fighters. We will analyze here which of the two is having more success, although it is not difficult to imagine.

Eurofighter Typhoon

The Eurofighter made its first flight on 27 March 1994, so it is already 30 years old. However, it only entered service in 2003. According to the Eurofighter consortium, this aircraft has already sold more than 680 units, including those already in operation and those pending delivery. It is currently used by 9 countries: Germany, Saudi Arabia, Austria, Spain, Italy, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Kingdom. Its operators include the four countries involved in its development and manufacture: Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Since 1999, the Eurofighter has lost five potential operators, and four of them have joined the F-35 program: Finland, Greece, Japan and Switzerland. In addition, Greece opted for the Rafale, as did India. Currently, only Turkey has opted for the Eurofighter (with 40 units) over the F-35, but that is because it was expelled from this program in 2019 following its decision to buy Russian S-400 SAMs.

There have been some paradoxes in the Eurofighter program, such as that of Norway, which announced a small participation in the Eurofighter programme in 2003 but ended up buying the F-35 to replace its F-16 fighters. It is significant that, today, three of the four Eurofighter manufacturers already operate the F-35 or have already decided to buy it: Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, with Spain being the only exception, despite the fact that the Spanish Navy only has the F-35B as an alternative to replace its STOVL Harrier II fighters.

A significant fact is that, so far, four countries have decided to buy the Eurofighter Tranches 4 and 5 (the most advanced versions of this aircraft, still in development), and three of them are partners in the programme: Germany (38 Tranche 4 aircraft and 20 Tranche 5 aircraft), Spain (45 Tranche 4 aircraft) and Italy (24 Tranche 4 aircraft). To these we must add Qatar, with 12 Tranche 4 aircraft.

F-35 Lightning II

Let's now take a look at how things are going for the fifth-generation American fighter. The F-35 made its first flight on December 15, 2006, 18 years ago. The first production aircraft (the F-35B) entered service with the US Marine Corps on 31 July 2015. Today, the F-35 program has already delivered more than 1,080 aircraft and has operational aircraft and committed sales in a total of 20 countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, South Korea, Singapore, United Kingdom and United States.

Among the F-35 operators, there are eight countries that have contributed to the program as partners at different levels: United States (manufacturer and main sponsor), United Kingdom (level 1 partner), Italy and the Netherlands (level 2) and Australia, Canada, Denmark and Norway (level 3). Eight other countries have also expressed interest in the F-35: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, India, Morocco, Portugal, Qatar, Taiwan and Ukraine.

Even if the Trump administration cuts back on new aircraft of this type, the F-35 is already a best-seller, and at the expense of the Eurofighter. This makes sense because, while the European aircraft is an excellent fighter with advanced avionics, great maneuverability and outstanding thrust, the F-35 is a stealth fighter, meaning it has a very limited radar signature that allows it to go more unnoticed, a capability the Eurofighter does not have. Add to that the fact that the F-35 has a naval variant (the F-35C) and a STOVL variant (the F-35B), two needs that are not covered by the Eurofighter program.

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Main photo: U.S. Air Force. A USAF F-35A and an Aeronautica Militare Italiana Eurofighter during exercise Ramstein Flag 24 over the western coast of Greece on October 4, 2024.