After Holes In Fuselage, Eurofighter Typhoon Now Faces Fuel Tank Problems

After holes in the fuselage, Eurofighter Typhoon is now facing a problem with the external fuel tank.

The aircraft is now facing a problem with the external fuel tank. An external fuel tank of one of the fighter jets fell off as it was preparing for takeoff last week.

"The aircraft was immobilised and tests are under way," a German military spokesman, Roman Ladenko, told AFP, confirming a report in the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

As a result of the incident, which occurred at an air base in Estonia, the air force stopped Eurofighters from flying unless their external fuel tanks were removed. "That's a problem because without these external tanks, our fighter planes do not have sufficient autonomy to fly over the Baltic Sea," Ladenko said.

Germany had on Tuesday said it found technical flaw with the way holes were drilled in the fuselage.

In regard to the fuselage flaw, "This incident does not affect flight safety or operational ability of the Eurofighters. The lifespan of the jets isn't affected either," an Airbus spokesperson was quoted as saying by German news agency DPA Tuesday.

The technical flaw has to do with the way the holes were drilled into the aircraft’s fuselage. This is the second time that such quality control measures have halted deliveries. Earlier in September 2014, the industry has found a manufacturing defect in a large number of holes on the rear fuselage of the aircraft Euro Fighter as part of a quality control. The reasons for this are inadequate Entgratungen by the manufacturer BAE Systems.

In both the cases BAE Systems was said to be responsible for the manufacture of defective parts.