The Eurofighter Typhoon combat jet will receive a 2.35 billion pound ($2.78 billion) upgrade from Britain on Friday, including a new radar and improved electronic warfare capabilities.
At the largest military airshow in the world, the Royal International Air Tattoo, Defence Procurement Minister Jeremy Quin announced that the ECRS Mk II radar would be fitted before the end of the decade, initially on the third batch of Typhoons.
The expenditure represents the beginning of a long-planned improved “electronic attack” or jamming capacity for the European warplane developed collaboratively by Britain, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
Leonardo, an Italian company, built the radar, and BAE Systems will incorporate it into the jets.
It will first be installed on Britain’s 40 Tranche 3 Typhoons, but Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston, the chief of the Royal Air Force, told reporters that retrofitting the 67 Tranche 2 aircraft was the system’s “aspiration.”
That overall objective, when combined with the inclusion of new mission computers, marks a significant mid-life update following a number of delays, according to defense expert Francis Tusa.
According to Quin, the project will also maintain high-tech jobs necessary for the creation of Britain’s upcoming Tempest fighter.
Although he claimed that the threat of the war in Ukraine was not a direct factor in the update, he added: “Of course the terrible events in Ukraine definitely focus minds.”
Wigston declined to comment on a media report claiming that Britain is talking to Japan about integrating Tempest with its upcoming next-generation fighter, but he did point out that Britain is talking to Japan and Italy about cooperation on some similar technology.
He noted that it continues to have conversations with Sweden.
