The € Fighter

In the world of business and industry, "up in the air" isn't usually a good way to describe a product. For the four-nation Eurofighter consortium, though, it will be both a relief and sweet vindication to be able to use those four words to describe the long-awaited Typhoon jet.

The next-generation fighter takes off this week, when the first jets off the British and German production lines fly in formation at the Farnborough Air Show outside London. The Typhoon is expected to enter service by the end of 2002, after more than two decades of planning, 112.5...