The British Aerospace EAP (standing for Experimental Aircraft Programme) is a British technology demonstrator aircraft developed by aviation company British Aerospace (BAe) as a private venture. It was designed to research technologies to be used for a future European combat aircraft, and for the multinational Eurofighter Typhoon.
The EAP has its roots within the earlier Agile Combat Aircraft (ACA), a collaborative initiative studying advanced technologies to produce more capable fighter aircraft. Upon the announcement of the EAP during October 1983, it was intended to be a multinational European effort; however, neither West Germany nor Italy would ultimately contribute financially, thus the programme relied upon a combination of British public and British and European private funding instead. Having been manufactured in sections across multiple facilities, the sole EAP aircraft (serial ZF534) was rolled out during April 1986. Performing its maiden flight on 8 August 1986, the EAP would fly over 250 sorties prior to its grounding on 1 May 1991, by which point the aircraft had fulfilled its intended purpose as a development aid.
The British House of Commons Accounts Committee credited the EAP with reducing the development of the Eurofighter by a year for a saving of £850 million.
The initial project definition of what became the Eurofighter Typhoon commenced shortly after the EAP project was initiated. While the similarity between the EAP and the Eurofighter Typhoon is striking, there are numerous important design differences; the cranked delta wings of the EAP have been replaced with a straight delta, while the size of the fin has been much reduced and the rectangular air intake of the prototype has been replaced with one with a "smiling" configuration.
Funding and construction
The EAP was intended to be financed by multiple countries.
Assembly of the sole EAP aircraft was performed within British Aerospace's development facility (No. 2 Hangar) at Warton. Structurally, it comprised three major fuselage structures; front, centre & rear. The front fuselage contained many innovative structures in Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer composites and aluminium-lithium alloy, while the centre and rear fuselage structures were conventional - a result of MBB withdrawal. Due to its experimental nature, no operational armaments or military systems were ever installed; several dummy munitions were routinely fitted in low-drag positions however. On 8 August 1986, after multiple delays due to unfavourable weather conditions, the EAP conducted its maiden flight, flown by BAe’s Executive Director of Flight Operations David Eagles.
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File:EAP Leaving Loughborough 2.jpg|Fin of disassembled EAP in transit
File:EAP Leaving Loughborough 3.jpg|The nose
File:EAP Leaving Loughborough 4.jpg|The front
File:EAP Leaving Loughborough 5.jpg|Side view
File:EAP Leaving Loughborough 6.jpg|Port wing
File:EAP Leaving Loughborough 7.jpg|Dummy Skyflash missile
</gallery>
Specifications (EAP)
thumb|EAP at [[Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, 2016]]