A study carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) estimates that the Eurofighter project will create around 26,000 jobs in Spain by 2060. More specifically, the reports analyses the economic impact of the Halcón and Quadriga contracts throughout their life span, divided into a manufacturing phase (2020-2030) and a maintenance phase (2023-2060).

According to the study, these contracts will generate an average of 657 jobs per year, with a direct impact of 2.7% in the Spanish aerospace industry. The economic contribution to Spanish GDP is estimated at around 1.7 billion euros, 1.5 billion of which corresponds to manufacturing and maintaining the Halcón (Falcon in English) and a further 200 million to producing the Quadriga.

Job creation and economic contribution
The report, which was financed by Airbus and carried out with technical support from ITP Aero, also assesses the fiscal contribution of this project. The combined  job creation and economic contribution will lead to around 430 million euros being generated in tax revenue, 151 million of which will be direct contributions. The regions that will benefit the most from these contracts are the Community of Madrid, the Basque Country, Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia.

The Halcón contract was signed in June 2022 and involves the acquisition of twenty latest-generation Eurofighter Tranche 4 aircraft, which will replace the F-18s currently used by the Spanish Air Force in the Canary Islands. With this contract, the Spanish Eurofighter fleet will be increased to ninety aircraft. The first delivery is forecast for 2026.

The largest defence programme in Europe
Under the Quadriga contract that was signed in 2020 prior to the Halcón project, the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) reserved 38 new Eurofighter Tranche 4 aircraft, making Germany the country with the most amount of orders placed and the largest defence programme in Europe. Thanks to this contract, the current, most modern fighter aircraft model built in Europe has ensured production up to 2030, with an expected service life of way beyond 2060.

In addition to guaranteeing European strategic autonomy in defence, the Eurofighter programme promises to generate over 100,000 jobs on the continent. It is also hoped that future technological advances during this programme's development will further enhance job creation.

^{Photo: Airbus}