Aircraft
New Beginnings for the Eurofighter Typhoon
Typhoon ISPA 6 is now in the air testing the production configuration for the first operational AESA-equipped aircraft, which are destined for Kuwait.
Leonardo showed a Kuwaiti delegation this Eurofighter during a recent visit to the Turin-Caselle test center and assembly line. It is armed with six MBDA Marte ER anti-ship missiles. (Photo: Eurofighter)
Leonardo showed a Kuwaiti delegation this Eurofighter during a recent visit to the Turin-Caselle test center and assembly line. It is armed with six MBDA Marte ER anti-ship missiles. (Photo: Eurofighter)

On December 23 Eurofighter Instrumented Series Production Aircraft (ISPA) 6 made its first flight from the Leonardo Aircraft Division flight test center at Turin-Caselle. ISPA 6 is the first Eurofighter in the planned export configuration for the Kuwait Air Force, with the second iteration of the Phase 3 Enhancement software (P3EB) and fitted with the new Captor E-Scan radar (known as Radar One Plus, or Captor E Mk0), an active electronically scanned array (AESA) derivative of Typhoon’s highly regarded Captor radar. The manufacturer claimed, “This standard is the most advanced variant of the fighter jet ever made, with a package of capabilities that builds effectively on existing enhancement programs.”