German Air Force Eurofighters Set New World Record For Longest Eurofighter Flight
Three German Air Force Eurofighters now hold the record of the world’s longest Eurofighter flight, following a successful 10 hour and 31 minute flight from Japan to Hawaii.
The three Eurofighters departed Chitose Air Base in Hokkaido at 9:02 AM local time on Friday. They refueled six times in flight from tankers supporting the flight, arriving at Hickam Air Force Base at 12:33 AM Friday local time.
Following their arrival, the three Eurofighters will participate in this year’s Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) international maritime warfare exercise alongside ships from the German Navy.
The previous publicly known record for the longest continuous Eurofighter flight is an eight hour and 36 minute flight, flown by Royal Air Force Typhoons on 23 September 2017 during a mission over the Middle East supporting the coalition fighting against the Islamic State.
Prior to the record-setting flight, the three Eurofighters were part of the Nippon Skies 24 exercise, a joint exercise between Japan, Spain, and Germany. The exercise is the first time Spanish and German air force aircraft have participated in a training exercise in Japan with Japan’s Air Self-Defence Force.
The record setting flight and Nippon Skies 24 are part of the German Air Force’s Pacific Skies 24 series of deployments, which will see German Air Force aircraft participate in five exercises in five different locations throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Pacific Skies 24 began with the deployment of Tornado strike aircraft to Alaska for low-level flight training from June 17 to 29, followed by Eurofighter participation in the German-led Arctic Defender 24 exercise in Alaska that ran from July 8 to 29.
German Eurofighters are also participating in the ongoing Exercise Pitch Black 24 in Australia. Once Pitch Black concludes on August 1, the German and Spanish Eurofighters participating in Pitch Black are set to join French Air Force Rafales in flying to India for the Tarang Shakti Phase 1 exercise with the Indian Air Force.