The Euroradar consortium has made an offer to provide an active electronically scanned array radar enhancement for Eurofighter partner nations Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
"We have tabled a proposal using risk-reduction work that has already been done," says Steve Mogford, chief executive of Selex Galileo, lead stakeholder in the Euroradar group. "We're just waiting for them to drop the flag." The move represents a standalone offer, and is not linked to the proposed Tranche 3B production phase of the Eurofighter programme, he adds.
The Euroradar consortium has proposed retaining as much "back-end" equipment from the Eurofighter's current mechanically scanned radar as possible as part of delivering the proposed E-Captor system.
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Selex Galileo is already working towards integrating an AESA array with the Eurofighter for the UK under a technology demonstration programme worth around £20 million ($30 million). A modified aircraft is expected to fly in 2013 under the initiative.
The Eurofighter industrial consortium has cited the availability of an AESA array as a key addition if it is to secure additional export orders with the Typhoon. The type is currently being offered to meet requirements in nations including India, Japan, Oman and Switzerland.
Source: Flight International