Radar 2—as ECRS Mk. 2 is colloquially known—is the most advanced version of the Eurofighter AESA sensors developed to date.
WARTON, England—The UK Defense Ministry is spending £870 million ($1.1 billion) to advance the development of a new active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for the UK’s fleet of Eurofighter Typhoons.
The five-year development contract—to be led by BAE Systems—will complete development of the European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk. 2, which has been under development for the last 10 years by Leonardo's UK wing. The contract will ready the radar for series production to equip the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) fleet of 40 Tranche 3 Eurofighters at the end of the decade.
The contract is a component of a £2.35 billion investment in the fighter announced in July 2022 at the Royal International Air Tattoo and one which officials hope may encourage export customers such as Saudi Arabia to sign on the dotted line for a follow-up order.
“This contract takes that prototype radar and that initial design work and turns it into a capability,” Lyndon Hoyle, head of the Typhoon delivery team at the British defense materiel agency Defense Equipment and Support (DE&S), told journalists here at BAE's facility in Warton, England, on July 4.
Radar 2—as ECRS Mk. 2 is colloquially known—is the most advanced of the Eurofighter AESA sensors developed thus far, with the UK already spending some £800 million on the sensor’s development prior to the latest contract.
Compared with the Mk. 0 and Mk. 1 versions of the sensor, Radar 2 will also feature a new processor and receiver, along with a dedicated EW receiver and techniques generator. A new mechanism for rotating the swashplate will give the radar an increased field of view—particularly for beyond-visual-range engagements—and sit behind a new, specially designed radome. This contract accounts for the building of 12 radars for development, with several of those expected to be later refurbished for the production contract.
BAE is currently performing ground tests of the prototype radar in its Warton-based radar integration facility, following delivery of the sensor by Leonardo UK in April.
These ground trials see the radar poking out from a multi-story building and staring at air traffic flying from Manchester and Liverpool airports.
Work is also underway to begin preparing a flight-trial aircraft for airborne testing of the radar, which is due to begin early next year.
“ECRS Mk. 2 will ensure Typhoon remains operationally effective in the future force mix in an ever-increasing contested environment,” RAF Grp. Capt. Matt D’Aubyn, the RAF’s Typhoon program director, says.
Other elements of the £2.35 billion work include the UK’s contribution to the Phase 4 Enhancements (P4E), for which a system definition phase is currently underway.
UK officials state that their element of P4E includes the integration of the AESA radars, the introduction of a task-based management system for the radar and upgrades for the defensive aids suite.
Other Eurofighter partner nations have also made submissions to P4E, including the addition of a suppression and destruction of air defense capability as well as integration of other standoff missiles. UK officials will not, however, confirm whether integration of the MBDA-developed Spear 3 small cruise missile will be included in P4E.
P4E is due to be delivered from 2028 onwards, with contracting expected around 2025. A series production contract for the radar is also expected that same year.
Saudi Arabia has been expressing an interest in the Radar 2 capability for its planned batch-2 order for at least 48 aircraft.
“If you are a customer, you can look at the investment the UK is making as a sign of confidence that we will continue to invest in this aircraft,” Hoyle says.
“What we will try and do is ensure that the Saudis are offered the baseline that we would want ourselves,” he adds.
