New CAPTOR Radars to Equip Typhoon Fighters

New radar technology is set to be integrated into the newest Typhoons to enter service with the air forces of the four nations that developed the aircraft.

The development of this radar system will begin this month and it's set to reach operational status in four years time.

Spanish, German, Italian and British Typhoons are currently equipped with the CAPTOR-M radar. From 2015 onwards, those delivered within the Tranche 3 programme will, instead, get CAPTOR-E radars, incorporating AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) features.

New CAPTOR Radars

These new CAPTOR radars boast no less than 1,425 TRMs (Transmit and Receive Modules) and, once fitted to the Typhoons, will enhance the range of their AAMs (Air-to-Air Missiles) and speed up the airborne target/threat detection and pursuit processes, at cheaper cost.

‘After one year of industry funding, the Eurofighter and Euroradar consortia have received renewed strong support from the partner nations and have agreed to continue the full scale development programme of the next generation E-Scan radar, confirming the 2015 entry into service date', the Eurofighter consortium, which manufactures the Typhoon, said in a statement.

New Typhoon Radar Equipment

It is expected that the addition of this new Typhoon fighter radar equipment will result in increased foreign sales and Eurofighter has stressed that the radar system can be modified, according to individual customer requirements.

‘The new radar will offer customers the freedom to retrofit their existing Typhoons when required', Eurofighter confirmed. ‘The radar will have significant growth potential and both existing and new customers will be able to participate in tailoring the radar to meet their individual operational requirements.

‘The new AESA Radar is part of the platform and systems enhancement ongoing with Eurofighter to ensure Typhoon leads the way as the world's best new generation multi-role combat aircraft.'

The Typhoon currently serves with the Royal Air Force, the Italian Air Force, the German Air Force, the Spanish Air Force and the Austrian Air Force.

The Indian Air Force could join this list if it selects this design over the French-built Dassault Rafale fighter. In either case, India requires 126 new multirole combat aircraft and is on the verge of placing its biggest ever arms order.

See also:

Companies supplying Radar