Aircraft
Partners Finally Confirm Eurofighter AESA Radar Contract
Program officials are hoping that the move will boost the type’s flagging export prospects.
Industry and government officials met at the Selex ES facility in Edinburgh, UK, to sign the long-delayed Captor E-Scan radar production contract. (Photo: Selex-ES)
Industry and government officials met at the Selex ES facility in Edinburgh, UK, to sign the long-delayed Captor E-Scan radar production contract. (Photo: Selex-ES)

The four partner nations in the Eurofighter Typhoon program have finally signed industrial contracts to produce an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for the combat jet. A ceremony was held Wednesday at the Edinburgh, UK facility of Selex-ES, one of the key companies that is developing the Captor E-Scan system. The Typhoon is the last of the fourth-generation fighters to be re-equipped with an AESA, and program officials are hoping that the move will boost the type’s flagging export prospects. Together with the industrial partners in the Euroradar consortium, Eurofighter has been pre-funding Captor E-Scan development since 2008.