Aircraft
Typhoon Radar Development Follows Parallel Tracks
With the first production AESA radars for the Eurofighter Typhoon now being delivered, further development is being conducted in two separate efforts.
Germany was the first of the Typhoon partner nations to commit to an e-scan radar in the form of the Hensoldt/Indra ECRS Mk1. This will be installed in the 38 new-build Quadriga Tranche 4 aircraft for the Luftwaffe, as well as in existing Tranche 2/3 aircraft. (Photo: Bundeswehr)
Germany was the first of the Typhoon partner nations to commit to an e-scan radar in the form of the Hensoldt/Indra ECRS Mk1. This will be installed in the 38 new-build Quadriga Tranche 4 aircraft for the Luftwaffe, as well as in existing Tranche 2/3 aircraft. (Photo: Bundeswehr)

After a long gestation, the active electronically scanned array (AESA, or e-scan) radar for the Eurofighter Typhoon is now in production with the Euroradar consortium of Leonardo (UK and Italy), Hensoldt (Germany), and Indra (Spain). Gulf region military forces are now among the export customers for this technology.

The first production AESA radar is known as the Eurofighter Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk0. Also called Captor-E, the sensor is derived from the “back end” of the Typhoon’s original radar, the mechanically-scanned array Captor-M.