Typhoon In flight at Farnborough with the new radar

The innovative AESA radar system integrated into the multirole fighter Eurofighter Typhoon, on the flight display from day one of the show, was showcased yesterday for the for the time at the Farnborough International Airshow: a radar with unique power and field of vision and an aircraft with exceptional performance.

Farnborough  15 July 2014

The innovative AESA radar system integrated into the multirole fighter Eurofighter Typhoon, on the flight display from day one of the show, was showcased yesterday for the for the time at the Farnborough International Airshow: a radar with unique power and field of vision and an aircraft with exceptional performance.

 

The latest generation Captor-E radar with AESA electron scanning (Active Electronically Scanned Array) was developed and installed by Eurofighter GmbH and Euroradar in collaboration with BAE Systems on an IPA sample (Instrumented Production Aircraft) of the Typhoon aircraft.

 

Euroradar is a multinational consortium led by Finmeccanica - Selex ES, with Airbus Defence & Space and Indra. Finmeccanica, which participates with Alenia Aermacchi in the consortium Eurofighter GmbH for the development of the aircraft, has an overall 36% share in the programme.

 

The integration of the radar confirms the commitment to providing the Typhoon with a radar that effectively meets the needs of member nations in the Eurofighter consortium and of international customers, and is able to satisfy the operational requirements beyond 2040.

 

Although the mechanical scanning radars (M-Scan) currently integrated on the Typhoon is considered the best available on the market, offering higher performance than many small AESA radars installed on other aircraft, the Captor-E will enable the significant development of the radar capabilities of the Typhoon. The AESA radar has many advantages over M-Scan technology: better detection and tracking capabilities, advanced capabilities for air/ground operations, and enhanced electronic protection capabilities.

 

The new radar, which can be installed on Tranche 2 and 3 aircraft, will retain the main features of the architecture of the current Captor radar, to exploit the maturity of the existing system, while using the latest technology to provide more advanced functions in terms of performance for air-to-air and air-to-ground targets.