BAE Systems has performed the first flight of a Eurofighter Typhoon equipped with an active electronically scanned array radar due to enter operational service with the UK by 2030.
Flown from the company’s Warton site in Lancashire on 27 September in prototype form aboard single-seat test aircraft BS116, the ECRS Mk2 radar will be installed on 40 Tranche 3 production examples of the multi-role combat aircraft for the Royal Air Force.
In addition to offering enhanced air-to-air detection performance, the Leonardo UK-developed sensor also will equip the type with an electronic attack and jamming capability for use during the suppression of enemy air defences.
Beyond the first flight event, Leonardo UK ECRS Mk2 chief engineer Tim Bungey says “the radar’s production design has also been progressing apace”.
“Over the past few months, its processor, receiver and antenna power supply and control units have all been re-engineered from the prototype design to further enhance the capacity, capability and performance of the system in alignment with the new antenna and electronic warfare capability,” he adds.
“Evolution of Typhoon’s air combat capability is paramount to ensure it continues to deter potential aggressors, defend our nation and defeat our adversaries wherever we need to fly and fight whether for the UK or in our staunch support to the NATO alliance,” says Air Commodore Nick Lowe, the RAF’s head of capability delivery combat air and Typhoon senior responsible officer.
BAE had in mid-July announced the completion of ground-based testing involving the prototype sensor, including electromagnetic testing performed using an anechoic chamber at the Warton site.
“Programmes such as the ECRS Mk2 ensure the UK retains a sovereign capability to develop and integrate cutting-edge systems into frontline combat aircraft such as Typhoon,” says Andy Holden, the company’s radar delivery director.
