Spain, Italy and Germany halt Eurofighter Deliveries After Manufacturing Issue

A manufacturing issue has been discovered in the rear fuselage of all Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft that could cause future structural problems for the aircraft and limit their service life.
Eurofighter aircraft fleet remains fully operational and are no facing immediate safety issues. The main concern is that the issue could limit the aircraft's service life.
However, Germany, Spain and Italy have all ceased accepting deliveries of the aircraft as a result of the issue - although deliveries to Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom remain unaffected at this point.
The issue is understood to relate specifically to the finishing treatment used on a small number of drilled bolt holes during the assembly of the rear fuselage. This work was conducted by BAE Systems, with the holes not de-burred to specified standards. The manufacturing issue is understood to have already been resolved.
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