Article Posted on : - Jul 01, 2011

MUNICH (BNS): European consortium built Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets will be equipped with new Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars by 2015.

The multi-role combat planes will be fitted with the next generation CAPTOR-E radars with AESA capability.

“After one year of industry funding, the Eurofighter and Euroradar consortia have received renewed strong support from the partner nations and have agreed to continue the full scale development programme of the next generation E-Scan radar, confirming the 2015 entry into service date,” Eurofighter said in a statement last week.

The Typhoon is presently fitted with the mechanically scanned CAPTOR-M radar.

While retaining key features of the CAPTOR-M radar, Typhoon’s AESA radar will offer a variety of benefits over M-Scan, including increased detection and tracking ranges, advanced air-to-surface capability and enhanced electronic protection measures, the statement said.

Supported by the four partnering nations of the programme, Eurofighter GmbH and Euroradar began full scale development of the new CAPTOR-E radar in July 2010.

The new rotating radar that will be installed on Tranche 3 Typhoon fighters of Germany, UK, Italy and Spain, is also expected to further open up the global export market for the jets.

The new radar will be developed to satisfy the requirements of the partner nations and customers across the globe, the statement said, adding that both existing and new customers will be able to participate in tailoring the radar to meet their individual operational requirements.

India has shortlisted the Typhoon along with French Rafale as the final contenders for the multi-million dollar medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) deal.

The Eurofighter Typhoon is Europe's largest military collaborative programme with Germany, Italy, Spain and UK as its core customer nations.