Luftwaffe Eurofighter missile loads

[DaveJL]

Hello all,

 

I'm having a bit of a 'thing' for Typhoons at the minute and although the Revell 1/48 kit is a pain to work with, I would quite like to build one as a JG71 machine to complement the F-4F I built last year.

 

However I can't seem to find many pictures of them armed for QRA duties. I've seen one or two with the IRIS-T on the outermost pylons but that's about it. So I've a few questions for those who are in the know:

 

Would they carry 4x AIM-120 on the fuselage? If so, would they be AIM-120B or C?

Would they carry an additional 2x IRIS-T on the wing stations, similar to the RAF with their AIM-132s?

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[Robertone139]

I believe that Germany has started using the Meteor BVR missile, so I would expect one or two on the recessed fuselage stations.

[Sierra Mike Sierra]

Hi Dave,

 

I don't know if that is of much help, but I can share these two pics. The one from JG 71 "R" shall represent a QRA configuration. Strangely they have the AIM-120s hang on the wing stations and leave the fuselage stations empty. Yet, I have read that the QRA configuration when operating within Germany is usually "lighter" (2x AIM-120 and 2x IRIS-T) than when e.g. operating as part of NATO's Baltic Air Policing. 

 

To my knowledge, Luftwaffe still uses AIM-120Bs (they were waiting for the Meteor and didn't purchase the AIM-120Cs, not to mention Ds). 

 

The other pic shows Meteors being loaded to the fuselage of a Typhoon of JG 74. The maximum Meteor loadout I have seen on a Luftwaffe Eurofighter were 6 Meteors, 4 under the fuselage and 2 on wing stations.

 

Cheers

Stefan

 

 

 

[Paramedic]

Seems like pic No.2 is not working?

[DaveJL]

15 hours ago, Sierra Mike Sierra said:

 

Hi Dave,

 

I don't know if that is of much help, but I can share these two pics. The one from JG 71 "R" shall represent a QRA configuration. Strangely they have the AIM-120s hang on the wing stations and leave the fuselage stations empty. Yet, I have read that the QRA configuration when operating within Germany is usually "lighter" (2x AIM-120 and 2x IRIS-T) than when e.g. operating as part of NATO's Baltic Air Policing. 

 

To my knowledge, Luftwaffe still uses AIM-120Bs (they were waiting for the Meteor and didn't purchase the AIM-120Cs, not to mention Ds). 

 

The other pic shows Meteors being loaded to the fuselage of a Typhoon of JG 74. The maximum Meteor loadout I have seen on a Luftwaffe Eurofighter were 6 Meteors, 4 under the fuselage and 2 on wing stations.

 

Cheers

Stefan

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the information Stefan! That first picture is very interesting!

 

For the Baltic Air Policing, do you know what would be a 'normal' load? Also do you know what colour the fuel tanks are?

 

As mentioned above, the second picture isn't showing.

 

Thanks again!

[Sierra Mike Sierra]

Sorry, now the second link should work (I can at least see a picture 😇 )

 

[Sierra Mike Sierra]

1 hour ago, DaveJL said:

Thanks for the information Stefan! That first picture is very interesting!

 

For the Baltic Air Policing, do you know what would be a 'normal' load? Also do you know what colour the fuel tanks are?

 

As mentioned above, the second picture isn't showing.

 

Thanks again!

 

The 'normal load' for Baltic Air Policing seems to be 2 IRIS-T and 2 AMRAAMs, but I have seen a picture of a Luftwaffe Typhoon carrying 'just' 4 IRIS-T on 4 wing stations and no AMRAAMs at all.

The colour of the fuel tanks is mystery. I have read conflicting info, some say it is FS 36375 Light Compass Grey, but I have my doubts. Others say it is faded RAL 7030 Stone Grey (Steingrau). And a third option was BS381C:626 Barley. The latter being obviously also used on the top of the vertical stabilizer and maybe even the radome? 

 

 

[DaveJL]

30 minutes ago, Sierra Mike Sierra said:

 

The 'normal load' for Baltic Air Policing seems to be 2 IRIS-T and 2 AMRAAMs, but I have seen a picture of a Luftwaffe Typhoon carrying 'just' 4 IRIS-T on 4 wing stations and no AMRAAMs at all.

The colour of the fuel tanks is mystery. I have read conflicting info, some say it is FS 36375 Light Compass Grey, but I have my doubts. Others say it is faded RAL 7030 Stone Grey (Steingrau). And a third option was BS381C:626 Barley. The latter being obviously also used on the top of the vertical stabilizer and maybe even the radome? 

 

 

 

Thanks mate! Great info.

 

Do the Richthofen jets not carry emblems on the tails or is it just below the cockpit?

[Sierra Mike Sierra]

2 hours ago, DaveJL said:

Do the Richthofen jets not carry emblems on the tails or is it just below the cockpit?

 

Indeed, that's at odds with all the other fighter wings who all carry their emblems on the tail.

 

One reason might be that for some time around / after 2010 JG 71 qualified no longer as a wing (Geschwader) in its own right, but became an annex ('Tactical Group') to JaBoG 31 (now TLwG 31) deployed to Wittmund Air Base, the home of JG 71. During this time the jets carried both emblems, the one of TLwG 31 on the tail and the Richtofen "R" below the cockpit. 

 

Now JG 71 is again a wing and possibly the emblem will move up to the tail. Or it remains below the cockpit, signifying that the folks at JG 71 consider themselves a special breed... 🤪

 

[DaveJL]

29 minutes ago, Sierra Mike Sierra said:

 

Indeed, that's at odds with all the other fighter wings who all carry their emblems on the tail.

 

One reason might be that for some time around / after 2010 JG 71 qualified no longer as a wing (Geschwader) in its own right, but became an annex ('Tactical Group') to JaBoG 31 (now TLwG 31) deployed to Wittmund Air Base, the home of JG 71. During this time the jets carried both emblems, the one of TLwG 31 on the tail and the Richtofen "R" below the cockpit. 

 

Now JG 71 is again a wing and possibly the emblem will move up to the tail. Or it remains below the cockpit, signifying that the folks at JG 71 consider themselves a special breed... 🤪

 

 

Excellent, exactly the information I needed, thanks mate!

[Paramedic]

Thanks for that Meteor pic, great one.

Well, the rest too. Those are some beautiful German birds.