Spanish Jet Pilot School Goes International: Agreement on Talavera European Fighter School Signed Ample Advantages to Train European Fighter Pilots in a European Environment Close Cooperation Between Spanish Air Force and EADS Madrid, January 17, 2007 - The Spanish Air Force (SpAF) and the EADS Defence & Security Systems Division in Spain have launched the new European Advanced Training Jet Pilot School at Talavera la Real, located in the Extremadurian province of Badajoz. The agreement between the two partners is part of the transformation process of the Armed Forces of Spain to optimize excellent existing resources. In this specific case, the two partners combine their forces to enhance and adapt the present Jet Pilot School of the SpAF and to offer its advanced training courses to foreign air forces. EADS and the SpAF are convinced that the Talavera Air Base has a lot of advantageous features compared with most of the renowned jet pilot schools worldwide. It offers a huge unrestricted airspace, both over land and sea, including firing ranges and weapon delivery areas. These features allow to accomplish a complete advanced training programme under most favourable meteorological conditions. The school staff employs a team of skilled instructor pilots coming from the SpAF’s various operational squadrons, who remarkably enrich the programme by transferring their own experience and expertise from different aircraft types such as the F-18 and the Eurofighter Typhoon to the student pilots. Pablo de Bergia, President of EADS CASA Military Air Systems, an integrated business unit of EADS Defence & Security Systems, commented: "The Spanish Air Force and our company have spent some time on developing this project as we are convinced that Talavera offers numerous advantages compared to most of the best-known advanced pilot schools. Our aim is to promote our joint capabilities to the utmost, offering excellent services under the best possible conditions." The industrial contribution of EADS to the development, enhancement and transformation of the current national jet pilot school into the Talavera European Fighter School (TEFS) and its commercialisation in the international training market without touching the ethos of the military and their professionalism is fundamental for the success of this project. EADS CASA Military Air Systems (MAS) will focus on operation, maintenance and management to satisfactorily respond to the requirements of the air forces. Should the number of students exceed existing capabilities, EADS is able to provide additional aircraft and financial support as well to enforce the number of instructors and to further expand infrastructure and assets, if required. The Spanish Air Force took its first step in the transformation process by modernizing the complete fleet of F-5 aircraft of the SpAF’s 23 Wing, to be used by TEFS. This comprehensive modernisation programme performed by MAS, includes - amongst other capacities - features such as enhanced navigation systems, radar function simulation, the integration of self-test and monitoring systems. The upgraded aircraft, now dubbed the F-5M, is now one of the best-equipped advanced training aircraft. To further enhance the quality of fighter pilot training, the school uses a virtual radar ground station which enables real-time monitoring of the training flights, enabling the instructors on the ground to 'load' virtual targets onto the aircrafts' radars. The combination of 'High Energy' and agility, advanced avionics, operational mission planning system and weapon delivery capability facilitates real downloading of expensive operational training from the operational conversion units, also relieving front-line fighter aircraft for their genuine operational missions. Thus the F-5M will ease the transition to both state-of-the-art fighter aircraft like the F-18 and latest-generation combat aircraft such as the Eurofighter Typhoon. It is agreed between the two Spanish partners to operate the F-5M in the TEFS until the future Eurotraining within the framework of the Advanced European Joint Pilot Training (AEJPT) will enter service. The SpAF also has improved the ground-based training facilities at Talavera by installing a new flight simulator, briefing/debriefing systems, and computer-based training. Military Air Systems, an integrated part of the EADS Defence & Security Systems Division (DS) is the centre of competence for all manned and unmanned flying weapon systems within EADS. DS is a system solutions provider. It combines military air systems, missile systems, communications and intelligence systems, global security solutions as well as sensor and avionics systems into a single effective network. With 2005 revenues of € 5.6 billion, the Division employs 23,000. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2005, EADS generated revenues of € 34.2 billion and employed a workforce of about 113,000. Press Contacts: Serena di Martino Tel.: +34 (0) 91 6243193 Madrid, Spain serena.dimartino@eads.com Wolfram Wolff Tel.: +49 (0) 607 25711 Munich, Germany wolfram.wolff@eads.com