The NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, which represents the UK, Germany, Italy, and

Spain, manages the project and is the primary customer.[6] The development of the Eurofighter
Typhoon effectively began in 1983 with the Future European Fighter Aircraft programme, a
multinational collaboration between the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.[3][4] The Typhoon was
originally designed as an air-superiority fighter.[5] The aircraft is manufactured by a consortium that
conducts Germany, Italy, and the UK wanted to work together on a new project with additional EU
nations because they had previously developed and deployed the Panavia Tornado combat aircraft
together. However, France left the consortium to develop the Dassault Rafale on its own due to
disagreements regarding design authority and operational requirements. On August 6, 1986, a
technology demonstration aircraft known as the British Aerospace EAP took its first flight; On March 27,
1994, a prototype Eurofighter flew for the first time. In September 1998, the aircraft was given the name
Typhoon, and the first production contracts were also signed that year.

The Typhoon's development was delayed as a result of debate regarding the aircraft's cost and work
share following the abrupt end of the Cold War. Since 2003, the Typhoon has been in use by the air
forces of Austria, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. As of 2019, Qatar
and Kuwait have also placed orders for the aircraft, bringing the total number of aircraft purchased to
623.

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a highly mobile aircraft that was made to be a good dogfighter in battle.[7]
Later production aircraft have been better able to do air-to-surface strike missions and work with more
and more different weapons and equipment, like the Storm Shadow, Brimstone, and Marte ER missiles.
During the 2011 military intervention in Libya, which was led by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the
Italian Air Force, the Typhoon made its combat debut by carrying out ground-strike and aerial
reconnaissance missions. For the majority of customer nations, the type has also assumed primary
responsibility for air defense duties.