The high-tech Eurofighters, which cost £67m each, have been upgraded and can now carry out ground attacks as well as their original defence role, the RAF declared.

It claims the planes, which are assembled at BAE's bases at Warton and Samlesbury near Preston, can operate more effectively in conflict zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

Around 2,500 Lancashire workers are directly involved with the Eurofighter development as part of a consortium of European firms involved in its design, construction and testing.

An RAF spokesman said new equipment fitted to the Typhoon included a 'laser designator pod' which enables data to be downloaded to laptop-style devices held by forward air controllers on the ground.

That means controllers can see exactly what is coming through the plane's pod and guide a pilot directly to the target. That can then be destroyed with pinpoint accuracy.

It means the Eurofighters are now "fully military ready" and can be deployed in today's dangerous conflict zones.

Commander-in-Chief of the RAF, Air Chief Marshal Sir Clive Loader, said: "The declaration of Typhoon being multi-role capable is a truly significant step in the development of this remarkable aircraft.

"This latest capability upgrade gives the Royal Air Force the most operationally flexible aircraft it has ever had."

The latest incarnation of the Typhoon, which was originally conceived in the 1970s, was being unveiled to the media on Tuesday at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire with a display of its new capabilities.

The RAF has ordered 144 Typhoons which can accelerate from standing to take-off in under seven seconds.

Training exercises to test the Typhoon's capabilities have taken place in the Nevada desert in the USA, after which the craft was declared ready for combat.

Trevor King, director of Typhoon capability enhancement, said the team of BAE engineers who joined the RAF in the United States to support the exercise had "proved really valuable".

The Eurofighter consortium, which also includes EADS and Alenia Aeronautica, announced in January it was to focus its efforts on contracts to sell the jets in Greece, India, Japan and Turkey.

Lancashire's BAE workers have been involved in the development of a number of other defence aircraft, including unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).

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