PARIS — The German government may follow the lead of the U.K. and reduce its own Eurofighter Typhoon purchase by unloading some of its required allotment to international customers.

Germany had committed to buying 180 Typhoons, with 37 more to be purchased to reach that figure in the so-called Tranche 3B production phase. That phase was not yet on contract.

The Eurofighter partners —- the U.K., Germany, Italy and Spain —- this year agreed to split Tranche 3 production and put Tranche 3A on contract because they could not reach agreement for the full production run.

The decision to use the Tranche 3B aircraft for exports has emerged as part of the coalition agreement between the conservative CDU/CSA political parties and the Liberal Democrats; they are forming the new German government following this month's general election.

Berlin says its Typhoon spending has met the level of outlays Germany signed up to make as part of the international program commitment between it, London, Rome and Madrid. That echoes London's argument for saying it would not have to buy more Tranche 3B aircraft.

The agreement likely is good news for the U.K., which could have otherwise faced international opposition to its decision not to take its full complement of Typhoons. Italy, also under heavy budget pressure, has not yet stepped back from planned purchases of the fighter, although there is some expectation Rome may follow the lead of the two largest Typhoon customers.

Photo: Eurofighter