The Eurofighter Typhoon is one of the leading multi-purpose fighter jets and a key pillar of the German and other European air forces. The aircraft is manufactured by a consortium of the companies Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo, closely collaborating via a joint holding, the Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH. The NATO Eurofighter & Tornado Management Agency, representing the user nations Germany, Spain, UK and Italy, is managing the programme and is the prime customer.
By integrating sensor systems from HENSOLDT, the Eurofighter is being taken to the next level of development to be ready for the decades to come. For the first time ever in the company´s history, HENSOLDT will handle the entire new radar system, having been awarded with its largest contract to date in 2020.
HENSOLDT is also involved in the improvement of EuroDASS Praetorian, equipping the Eurofighter with a state-of-the-art self-protection system.
A proven supplier for the previous Eurofighter tranches, HENSOLDT – for the first time in its history – has been chosen to lead the development of a new Eurofighter radar. To be implemented in the middle of the 2020s, the coming system is going to react on new operational requirements by adding considerable capabilities to the first iteration of Typhoon E-scan radar.
A few years ago, HENSOLDT and its partners in the EuroRADAR consortium (Indra in Spain; Leonardo in the UK and Italy) collectively developed the first AESA radar for the Typhoon, today widely known as CAPTOR-E or Mk0. For this programme, we supply various components like antennas and will continue to do so with any further Mk0 sales and follow-on orders.
For the new-to-build aircraft and the future upgrades of the existing fleet, HENSOLDT will develop the ECRS (Eurofighter Common Radar System) Mk1 radar.
The Mk1 system will introduce a new digital multi-channel receiver and transmit-receive modules (TRM) with significantly enhanced bandwidth. These enhanced capabilities enable the implementation of new features such as electronic attack, improved target recognition, and ultra-high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (UHR-SAR) imaging.
A detailed article about the MK1 programme can be found here.
Self-protection systems warn as soon as the aircraft is detected by radar. They also detect hostile threats and initiate countermeasures. In addition, the Eurofighter´s Euro Defensive Aids Sub System (EuroDASS) called PRAETORIAN captures and classifies all radar signatures based on specific national mission data.
Depending on the scenario, the pilot is warned of threats such as anti-aircraft systems or missiles and is enabled to start with appropriate countermeasures. These measures range from simple electronic jamming techniques and the use of decoys to complex 3-D flight manoeuvre sequences and false targeting techniques.
To further optimise these essential protective functions, HENSOLDT is striving with international consortium partners to develop the new self-protection system PRAETORIAN eVolution. Its technologies, the modular system architecture and an extensive integration with the Mk1 electric radar will provide the crews of the German and Spanish fleets with effective self-protection at all times.