Defence Ministers from the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain met in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Wednesday 19th November to witness the...
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The contract, between Eurofighter Jadgflugzeug GmbH and NETMA, the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA), will enable the integration of Captor E-Scan, the world’s most advanced AESA onto the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The fighter’s large nose aperture, combined with the ability to move the antenna, will give the Eurofighter Typhoon greater ‘vision’ than its competitors, delivering better operational performance to the aircraft and to its weapon system.
The radar will fit both Tranche 2 and Tranche 3 aircraft offering customers the freedom to retrofit their existing Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft when required.
Captor E-Scan radar has variety of benefits over the mechanical M-Scan, including increased detection and tracking ranges, advanced air-to-surface capability and enhanced electronic protection measures.
The new radar retains the key features of the existing Captor radar architecture. Key discriminators of Captor E-Scan radar include:
- A very large antenna size and repositioner offering an extremely Wide Field of Regard (WFoR).
- The 200 degree field of regard is significantly larger than typical ‘fixed plate’ AESA radars, giving Typhoon a significant tactical advantage in air combat and greater situational awareness.
- The larger antenna allows a greater number of TRMs (transmitter receiver modules) thus greater power and reception leading to earlier target detection and greater utility across the EW spectrum.
An upgraded BAE Systems Eurofighter Typhoon development aircraft has already undergone a series of modifications as part of ongoing Captor E-Scan development. The aircraft flew for the first time with Captor E-Scan fitted in July this year and will continue both ground testing and flight trials.
