Typhoon jets used for first time in Libya

Britain's Typhoon jet has been used for the first time in hostile action, attacking tanks in Libya, officials said. "The Typhoon is a world-beating air-to-air fighter and is fast developing a ground-attack capability, as is being demonstrated in Libya," said Liam Fox, Britain's defense secretary. "We have sufficient numbers of qualified ground-attack pilots to meet our operational tasks and this number is increasing all the time." The aircraft, which is being modified for ground-attack roles, has come under attack by critics who decry its cost and the lack of spare parts, The Guardian reported Friday. The Typhoon, Britain's fastest jet , was designed for air defense during the cold war. The jets, originally called Eurofighters in a joint project with Germany, Spain and Italy, cost $25 million each. "Problems with the availability of spares mean that Typhoons are not flying the hours required and the department is forced to cannibalize parts," Britain's Parliament said in a report. "As a result, it is not fully training all its pilots and only eight of the 48 Typhoon pilots were capable of undertaking ground-attack missions. In addition, the [defense department] had to ground five pilots temporarily in 2010." Typhoon jets will be on standby during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.