Dépêches

New CEO and New Chairman of the Supervisory Board Appointed at Eurofighter GmbH

Dépèche transmise le 5 mai 2009 par PRNewswire

HALLBERGMOOS, Germany, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The Shareholder representatives of the Eurofighter consortium appointed with effect from 1st May 2009 Bernhard Gerwert as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Enzo Casolini as the new CEO of Eurofighter GmbH. Mr. Casolini takes over from Aloysius Rauen, who left the company on 30th April.

Bernhard Gerwert, born in 1953, is presently CEO of Military Air Systems, a Business Unit of EADS Defence & Security (DS), and Member of the Board of EADS Defence & Security.

Born in 1945 , Mr. Casolini began his career as an officer in the Italian Air Force, and after different roles within the air force, it was in this capacity that he first lived and worked in Germany. In 1978, he joined NAMMA (NATO MRCA Management Agency) in Munich, and was responsible for aircraft equipment qualification.

Mr Casolini left the Italian Air Force in 1987 and in 1989 joined Aeritalia (later Alenia Aeronautica), where he was assigned to the company's National Marketing and Sales Division. In 2002, he was appointed Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial for Military Air Systems, the position from which he now joins Eurofighter. Mr Casolini has a long and deep association with the company and was until this appointment a member of its Supervisory Board since 2006.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Casolini stated that: "The Eurofighter Programme is the largest industrial collaborative project in Europe. The outstanding performance of the Eurofighter Typhoon, the best, real, multirole aircraft available on the market, and the value of the industrial programme, are reflected in the technologies and industrial capabilities developed as well as in the 100,000 jobs and 400 companies involved across Europe with the extensive spin-off and technology transfer we promote to other industrial sectors. Maintaining the long life of the programme is key to the future and independence of European aerospace industry and technology".

Eurofighter Typhoon is the world's most advanced new generation swing-role combat aircraft available on the market and has been ordered by six nations (Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Austria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). With 707 aircraft under contract, it is Europe's largest military collaborative programme and delivers leading-edge technology, strengthening Europe's aerospace industry in the global competition. More than 100,000 jobs in 400 companies are secured by the programme. Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH manages the programme on behalf of its shareholders Alenia Aeronautica/Finmeccanica, BAE Systems, EADS CASA and EADS Deutschland, Europe's foremost aerospace companies.

High resolution images of the Eurofighter Typhoon can be downloaded from our website. Hard copy images are available on request.

For More Information contact Valerio Bonelli Head of PR and Communication Eurofighter GmbH +49-811-801-555 (Office) +49(0)172-842-6017(Mobile) marco-valerio.bonelli@eurofighter.com Kathryn Coates External PR and Communications Eurofighter GmbH +49-811-801-587 (Office) +49(0)172-88-12110 (Mobile) kathryn.coates@eurofighter.com

CONTACT: For More Information contact: Valerio Bonelli, Head of PR andCommunication, Eurofighter GmbH, +49-811-801-555 (Office),+49(0)172-842-6017(Mobile), ; KathrynCoates, External PR and Communications, Eurofighter GmbH, +49-811-801-587(Office), +49(0)172-88-12110 (Mobile),