The Royal Air Force’s newest fighter aircraft has proved its air-to-surface capability, thereby passing its latest major hurdle on the way to becoming a fully fledged multi-role combat aircraft.

Participating in Green Flag, a major exercise held at Nellis United States Air Force (USAF) Base in Nevada, seven Typhoons from XI Squadron, based at Royal Air Force (RAF) Coningsby, Lincolnshire, dropped munitions and fired cannons with such precision that these have been declared combat ready by the target date of July 1.

A joint USAF and army exercise in which close air support for ground forces is a crucial element, Exercise Green Flag West aims to prepare air and ground forces for deployment to overseas operational areas. It is played out in scenarios which simulate the sort of asymmetric combat experienced in conflicts such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

What we have in Typhoon is a world-beating aircraft. The mantra in the Royal Air Force is agile, adaptable and capable. That is precisely what this aircraft is, said Group Captain Stuart Atha, Station Commander of RAF Coningsby. We knew it was a world-beater in the air-to-air environment, but we weren’t sure about the air-to-surface capability. Nevertheless, you just have to look at the world today to see the relevance of an air-to-surface role, and why it is really important that this aircraft should have the air-to-surface capability.