Eurofighter to secure 26,000 jobs in Spain until 2060

The study, which was funded by Airbus, together with the technical support of ITP Aero, and performed independently by PWC over a period of six months until March 2023, estimates that, during its life cycle, the manufacturing phase (2020-2030) and maintenance phase (2023-2060) of the Halcon and Quadriga programmes will create on average 657 jobs – direct, indirect and induced – per year, reaching a total of 26,000 positions by 2060. This equates to a total annual employment impact of 2.7% direct jobs in the Spanish aerospace sector.

Both Eurofighter Tranche 4 contracts are expected to contribute nearly €1.7 billion to the Spanish GDP, with the manufacturing and maintenance of Halcon generating approximately €1.5 billion and the production of Quadriga making up the remaining €200 million.

The employment and economic contribution during both phases will generate a total tax collection of €430 million, from which €151 million will be direct contribution. Furthermore, for every euro collected directly, €2.8 of total tax revenue will be generated in the Spanish economy.

Signed in June 2022, the Halcon contract consists of the acquisition of 20 latest-generation Eurofighter jets to replace the ageing F-18 fleet operated by the Spanish Air Force on the Canary Islands. 

The Halcon programme followed the Quadriga contract, signed in 2020, to deliver 38 new Eurofighter aircraft to the German Air Force (Luftwaffe), making Germany the country with the largest number of orders for Europe’s biggest defence programme. 

The Halcon programme will see the Spanish Eurofighter fleet grow to 90 aircraft, with the first delivery due in 2026, securing industrial production activity through to 2030. Quadriga secures production of the new Tranche 4 Eurofighter – currently the most modern European-built combat aircraft – until 2030, with a service-life well beyond 2060. Both programmes are decisive to guarantee national and European strategic autonomy in defence, when it matters most.

In total, the Eurofighter programme secures more than 100,000 jobs in Europe, which will be boosted through latest-generation aircraft, such as the Tranche 4, as well as in the future, through technological advances within the Eurofighter development.