At precisely 1300 hours, accompanied by a huge roar from the skies, the Royal Air Force's two newest and most expensive fighter aircraft – part built in Bristol – flew over RAF Coningsby.

Minutes later, they taxied down one of the runways, the same runway the famous Dambuster bomber squadron left in 1943, directed by brightly-coloured groundstaff at the Lincolnshire base, before slowing to a stop in their designated parking bay.

The new Eurofighter, officially known as the Typhoon Tranche 2, has cost the taxpayer £30 billion. The plane, which can reach twice the speed of sound, is the most advanced fighter jet ever made.

The engines are made by Rolls-Royce in Patchway and give enormous power when taking into account the aircraft's weight. More than 4,000 people at Patchway are employed in making the EJ200 engine, in facilities Princess Anne officially opened last week.

Nick Britton, from Rolls-Royce, said: "The EJ200 programme is one of the centrepieces of our work in Bristol. It's a hugely important part of what we do and it helps to underpin thousands of highly-skilled jobs."

Yesterday, the RAF took delivery of the first of what will eventually be 91 Eurofighters, ordered four years ago and delivered on time and to cost.

Greeting the pilots as they climbed out of the gleaming new planes was Quentin Davies, minister for defence equipment and support.

Mr Davies, a former Conservative MP who defected to Labour last year and was promoted by Gordon Brown in this month's reshuffle, said the Eurofighter was the "cornerstone" of the UK's air defence capabilities.

He said: "Today's arrival of the second Tranche is an all-important milestone delivering to the RAF an aircraft with more powerful computer systems and the ability to carry heavier weapons – the next generation of Typhoon.

"Typhoon directly employs some 16,000 aerospace and engineering staff in some of the UK's leading companies, including Rolls-Royce. Military and industrially, this programme is successfully delivering the capabilities the country needs."

Mr Davies added he had spoken to many of the maintenance staff and engineers at RAF Coningsby, who informed him the Bristol-made engine was like nothing they had ever worked with before.

"They were saying the engine is an absolute marvel. Everybody says that. It's a brilliant piece of engineering.

"Rolls-Royce in Bristol has done something absolutely tremendous with this engine."

Nat Makepeace, a civilian pilot for BAE Systems, was in the cockpit of one of the fighters as it touched down at RAF Coningsby near Boston, having flown in from the firm's Warton factory in Lancashire.

The two new aircraft will shortly be released for flight trials, and are expected to join front line UK-based air defence squadrons in January.

"It's phenomenally fun to fly," Mr Makepeace said, with a grin still on his face. "The performance is phenomenal. There's no comparison."

The RAF will take delivery of six, rising to 20, Eurofighters every year for the next seven years.

While the aircraft will be based in RAF Coningsby and from 2010 also at RAF Leuchars in Fife, the UK's Eurofighter programme is run from the Ministry of Defence base at Abbey Wood.

In overall charge is Air Commodore Chris Bushell, who made the trip from Bristol Coningsby to welcome the two new Eurofighters.

Staff at Abbey Wood are responsible for the acquisition, development and, at the end of their lives, the disposal of the Eurofighter. With acquisition roles finished, Air Commodore Bushell gave assurances staff at Abbey Wood would be found new jobs within the MoD.

Air Commodore Bushell said: "I am very pleased to be able to formally accept the first production aircraft in the second Tranche of Typhoon. It marks an important milestone in the Typhoon calendar and I am delighted the aircraft has been delivered to expected performance, cost and time. The programme as a whole continues to deliver against its milestones.

"The force build up of this world-class aircraft is going extremely well in the Royal Air Force with its major operational contribution to the UK's airspace already under way and much more to come in future years."

Air Commodore Bushell added: "Abbey Wood is the hub from where this programme operates from are we are very pleased to be there with the expertise that is around us, and we will be there in Bristol for the foreseeable future."