Article Posted on : - Jul 17, 2014

Eurofighter Typhoon. An Eurofighter GmbH photo

FARNBOROUGH (BNS): The UK Defence Ministry has awarded a contract to BAE Systems to flight test the new E-Scan active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar on board the Eurofighter Typhoon fighters of the Royal Air Force (RAF).

The three-year contract, worth £72 million (US $123 million), named the E-Scan Extended Assessment Phase (EAP), will look specifically at UK's capability requirements for an E-Scan radar.

The activity will inform the UK MoD's procurement process, ahead of the award of a full scale development contract, BAE said.

The EAP will consist of several work packages including a Typhoon flight test of a prototype UK E-Scan radar and ground testing at BAE System's Electronic Warfare Test Facility at Warton, Lancashire.

Britain is separately developing the new AESA radar for the Eurofighter Typhoon in parallel with the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) nations E-Scan development programme called Radar 1+.

Under this programme, an upgraded BAE Systems Typhoon development aircraft known as IPA5 has undergone a series of modifications as part of the ongoing E-Scan development and integration work.

The aircraft made its maiden flight out of Warton earlier this year and is being displayed at the ongoing Farnborough exhibition.