Typhoon marketing once relied on promises about the type’s potential, and about capabilities that were "coming soon" or just around the corner. But today, those tasked with selling the Typhoon can point to technologies and systems that are already flying on the aircraft, to weapons that are already in frontline service, and to capabilities that have been combat proven. Some believe that this has come too late, with the aircraft now facing competition from "stealthy" fifth-generation rivals, and not just from its non-stealthy contemporaries. Others point to the fact that many of the world’s leading air forces have come to realize that a synergistic mix of fourth- and fifth-generation fighters may represent a better, more effective and more cost-efficient means of delivering combat performance than a force of fifth-generation fighters alone, and that some late fourth-generation fighters offer compelling advantages in terms of performance, payload, and combat persistence.
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