On June 17, the German government announced that it had agreed to fund the supply of radars with active electronic antenna (EASA) intended to modernize the current fleet of 110 Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft in service in the Luftwaffe. If Airbus will take care of the integration of the new AESA radars on board the fighter planes, the German electronics engineer Hensoldt will recover the biggest workload, with a share of around 1,5 billion euros. Hensoldt will indeed be responsible for the development and production of this new radar, which should drastically improve the combat performance of the Typhoon. Through this contract, Germany is the first nation in the Eurofighter consortium to embark on the modernization of the CAPTOR Typhoon radar.
In appearance, this is therefore good news for the European apparatus. However, this contract entrusted to Hensoldt further complicates the legibility of the technological offer surrounding the Eurofighter Typhoon. While the French Rafale or the American Super Hornet and F-35 articulate their combat system around an efficient and constantly evolving AESA radar, Eurofighter Typhoon sees an increase in EASA antenna integration programs intended for the various members of the Eurofighter consortium and their export customers. At the risk of complicating the logistics of the aircraft, increasing the costs of its updates and restricting the overall performance of its radar antennas.
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