The incident occurred last month during the Aire 25 airshow, featuring a Spanish Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon. Close-up photos of the event were released on 17/7.
The images show a seagull colliding with the front of the jet's canopy as the pilot executed a sharp turn. A subsequent photo reveals a substantial hole in the canopy, though the extent of further damage remains unclear.
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The Eurofighter Typhoon after the bird strike, in a photo released on 17/7. Photo: Javier Alonso de Medina Salguero |
The Eurofighter Typhoon after the bird strike, in a photo released on 17/7. Photo: Javier Alonso de Medina Salguero
Following the bird strike, the Typhoon aborted its performance and returned to San Javier Air Base for damage assessment. The pilot was unharmed.
Photographer Javier Alonso de Medina Salguero, who captured the images, said it was his first time witnessing a mid-air bird strike. "I was quite surprised. We saw the Typhoon break off its display and heard it had hit a seagull. I reviewed my photos and saw the entire incident unfold," he said.
The Typhoon's canopy consists of two sections, with the front section acting as a windscreen fixed to the airframe. While designed for high durability and bird-strike resistance, the canopy can still suffer significant damage from high-speed impacts with larger birds.
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The damaged canopy of the Eurofighter Typhoon EF2000 after the bird strike on 17/7. Photo: Javier Alonso de Medina Salguero |
The damaged canopy of the Eurofighter Typhoon EF2000 after the bird strike on 17/7. Photo: Javier Alonso de Medina Salguero
Bird strikes pose a significant challenge to both civil and military aviation. Several fighter jets, costing tens to over 100 million USD, have been destroyed or severely damaged in recent years due to bird strikes.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, multirole fighter jet developed jointly by the UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Seven prototypes and 609 production aircraft have been built, with prices ranging from 110 to 165 million USD depending on the variant and maintenance package.
Nguyen Tien (According to AFP, AP, War Zone)
