The first glimpse at the new special “Tiger” colour scheme of the Austrian Air Force (Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte) Eurofighter Typhoon.

The 2.Staffel as part of the Surveillance Wing was established in 1976, following the amalgamation of the Jet School Squadron Zeltweg and the Fighter Bomber Squadron Graz-Thalerhof. A significant milestone was, without doubt, the arrival of the Saab S-35OE “Draken” for pilot training in 1987 and, thus, the Austrian Air Force’s entry into the Supersonic Age.

After the withdrawal of the last remaining “Draken” from service in 2005 and a transitional period operating 12 Northrop F-5E “Tiger II” aircraft leased from Switzerland as a stop-gap measure, the Republic of Austria took delivery of its first Eurofighter “Typhoon”, serial number 7L-WA, on 12 July 2007. After the UEFA EURO 2008 the F-5E “Tiger II” was returned to Switzerland and the Eurofighter “Typhoon” started to fly operational air surveillance in Austria. From this moment on, the Surveillance Wing, with its bases in Zeltweg and Linz-Hörsching, has relied upon the Eurofighter “Typhoon” and Saab 105OE to maintain the sovereignty of Austrian airspace.

After the retirement of the Saab 105OE by the end of 2020, the Eurofighter “Typhoon”, operated by 2.Staffel, is the only Jet-Aircraft responsible to protect the Austrian Airspace. Since 2021 the 2.Staffel is the Probationary Member of the NATO Tiger Association.

In 2019 ahead of the massive Austrian airshow the Airpower Zeltweg 2019 the Austrian Air Force revealed a Eurofighter Typhoon with a specially painted tail fin, the first-ever special paint job on the Austrian Typhoon.

This year the Austrian Air Force is going a step further with the first-ever full special colour scheme on the Austrian Typhoon. The specially painted jet is yet to be officially revealed but the new Austrian Tiger will almost certainly perform at the upcoming Airpower Zeltweg 2022 which is due to take place on Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd of September.