The Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s launched the Storm Shadow cruise missiles on Daesh terrorist targets for the first time last week. On Mar. 10, 2021, RAF
My mom lived through these times - my family home is 15 miles from Mont de Marsan, which has a major air base including the first Mirage IVA in nuclear alert in October 1964.
More generally south-west France (south of Bordeaux up to the Pyrénees and Spanish border, with Toulouse on the side) is sparsely populated and thus got two third of the navy, army, air force, training and testing grounds: from parachutists (Pau) to ammunitions (Cazaux) to helicopters (Dax) to pilot school (Cognac) to SLBMs (Biscarrosse); most are there.
Being 700 miles away from Germany also helped, Cold War included.
Because of the above, the 50's were... noisy, according to my mom. The supersonic bangs at time played havoc with rural life - poultry, for a start. Hens got a lot of stress and botched eggs. Even today, Rafales remain a major nuisance.
no they didn't. There were plenty of complaints back then, to the point where it was politically impossible to have an SST go supersonic overland by the early 1970s.
When I was 10-11 a concord flew over my home, it must have been some kind of unexpected diversion. The entire neighborhood shook and you would have a hard time hearing the person next to you over the rumble. I thought it was the coolest thing ever, but you would never want that as part of your daily life, your absolutely right.
The ECRS Mk 2 features a single-jointed, rotating barrel-type repositioner, as employed by the Leonardo ES-05 Raven radar for the Gripen E/F. (Photo: BAE Systems) https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sha...s-long-awaited-radar-two-program-breaks-cover
UK defense minister Jeremy Quin announced in early September that a £317 million ($409 million) contract had been signed covering the integration of the new ECRS Mk 2 active electronically scanned array (AESA, or E-Scan) radar on Royal Air Force Typhoons fighters. A test and evaluation contract for the “Radar Two” project had been widely expected to allow the development of the radar to be completed.
The UK has long resisted pressure to join the existing Typhoon AESA program, insisting that it needed a more advanced radar, with electronic attack (EA) and electronic warfare (EW) capabilities, in order to operate autonomously in the most challenging contested environments or to add value to a 4th/5th generation force mix.
In the wake of the contract announcement, more detailed information about the new radar emerged. ECRS Mk 2 has been developed by Italy's Leonardo group and will be integrated by BAE Systems, the UK’s prime contractor for the Typhoon.
Although designated as the ECRS (European Common Radar System) Mk 2, the new UK radar has little in common with previous AESA radars developed by the Euroradar consortium, despite sharing the same ECRS designation prefix. The ECRS Mk 0 AESA radar fitted to Kuwaiti and Qatari Typhoons, and the ECRS Mk 1 radar that is being developed for the German/Spanish retrofit program, are derivatives of the mechanically scanned (M-Scan) Captor-C, using the same back end but married to a new AESA array with a double swashplate repositioner. They are collectively known as Captor-E variants.
The ECRS Mk 2 radar does share a common interface with the platform and weapons system, via the German-supplied attack computer, and uses the same power generation and cooling, but from the power supply forward the new radar uses completely new hardware. ECRS Mk 2 has a new processor, a new receiver, a dedicated EW receiver and techniques generator, and a different repositioner that uses a single rotating joint rather than the double swashplate arrangement of Captor-E. The aircraft will feature a new radome to support the wider bandwidth that comes with ECRS Mk 2.
The Radar Two has significantly more transmit-receive elements than other radars, leading Leonardo to claim that it is the most capable AESA fighter radar in the world, while also allowing simultaneous wide-band electronic warfare operation. The ECRS Mk 2 radar makes use of both gallium arsenide (GaAs) and gallium nitride (GaN) semi-conductors within its array, blending the strengths of the different technologies to cost-effectively provide a differentiating military capability.
ECRS Mk 2 is built on the lineage of the Advanced Radar Targeting System (ARTS) and Bright Adder technology demonstrators, and on the ES-05 Raven radar used in the Saab Gripen E/F, rather than on the original Captor radar and the AESA-equipped Captor-E.
Bright Adder was based on the ARTS concept, using a form factor suited to the Typhoon. It was intended to be better than the Typhoon’s existing air-to-air radar, while also offering electronic attack capabilities as well. Though built as a flyable asset, the Bright Adder radar was not flown and was instead tested in Leonardo’s rooftop lab at Crewe Toll in Edinburgh. However, it will now fly in a Typhoon as part of the ECRS Mk 2 test and evaluation (T&E) effort, with several test radars and the first three production systems. The first Radar Two will fly in a Typhoon in 2022, and the T&E fleet will build steadily from there, achieving IOC (initial operational capability) for the ECRS Mk 2 soon after 2025.
The initial plan is for all 40 of the UK’s Tranche 3 aircraft to be equipped with ECRS Mk.2 equipment, though there is an option to re-equip Tranche 2 Typhoons as well. Tranche 2 and Tranche 3 aircraft have the necessary “pre-mods” to allow ECRS Mk 2 retrofit. The new radar is also being offered to export customers, including Finland, where the Typhoon offer is based on the RAF aircraft standard, with Radar Two.
The ECRS Mk2 is a multi-functional array (MFA) that will give UK Typhoons a world-leading Electronic Warfare capability, in addition to traditional radar functions, including wide band Electronic Attack.
Airbus (AIR.PA) has offered to assemble Eurofighter aircraft in Switzerland if Bern picks it for a 6 billion Swiss franc ($6.5 billion) defence contract, a top salesman at the consortium told a Swiss Sunday newspaper.
Even before US-EU WTO litigation is settled, Airbus double down on the same trend suggesting that a Typhoon sale would open better industrial cooperation beyond the defense domain and settle diplomatical tensions with Brussels:
Les éléments économiques et politiques sont tout aussi importants", [indique Bernhard Brenner, responsable des ventes chez Airbus Défense et Espace] . Airbus fait valoir que, suite à l'abandon de l'accord-cadre, si la Suisse décidait de coopérer avec trois Etats de l'UE, cela simplifierait le dialogue avec Bruxelles et aiderait à trouver de nouvelles voies.
------------------------------//-----------------------
The economic and political elements are just as important ", [Bernhard Brenner, head of sales department at Airbus Defense and Space] argues. Airbus argues that, following the abandonment of the framework agreement, if Switzerland decided to cooperate with three EU states, it would simplify dialogue with Brussels and help to find new avenues.
Sera-t-il américain ou européen? Peu de temps avant que la décision ne soit prise, un débat animé a lieu au sein de l'administration fédérale sur les types d'avions de combat qui équiperont prochainement les forces aériennes. Quatre ministres européens ont adressé une lettre à la cheffe de...
Even before US-EU WTO litigation is settled, Airbus double down on the same trend suggesting that a Typhoon sale would open better industrial cooperation beyond the defense domain and settle diplomatical tensions with Brussels:
Les éléments économiques et politiques sont tout aussi importants", [indique Bernhard Brenner, responsable des ventes chez Airbus Défense et Espace] . Airbus fait valoir que, suite à l'abandon de l'accord-cadre, si la Suisse décidait de coopérer avec trois Etats de l'UE, cela simplifierait le dialogue avec Bruxelles et aiderait à trouver de nouvelles voies.
------------------------------//-----------------------
The economic and political elements are just as important ", [Bernhard Brenner, head of sales department at Airbus Defense and Space] argues. Airbus argues that, following the abandonment of the framework agreement, if Switzerland decided to cooperate with three EU states, it would simplify dialogue with Brussels and help to find new avenues.
Sera-t-il américain ou européen? Peu de temps avant que la décision ne soit prise, un débat animé a lieu au sein de l'administration fédérale sur les types d'avions de combat qui équiperont prochainement les forces aériennes. Quatre ministres européens ont adressé une lettre à la cheffe de...
And yet another potential FACO for the Typhoon program that will go down in history as the only aircraft that had as many planned manufacturing lines than airframes built...
As part of their industrial participation offering for the HX programme, BAE Systems has said that final assembly and check-out (FACO) of the aircraft is being offered as a “fully exercisable option” in their bid, should Finland choose to take advantage of the proposal.
Finland is being offered partner status in the Eurofighter programme as part of the consortium's bid for Finland's HX fighter procurement, BAE Systems representatives...
The German air force recently completed flight tests for its newest air-to-air missile, the Meteor, and have deemed the weapon ready for use aboard the nation’s Eurofighter Typhoon fleet.
www.defensenews.com
Notice the need to replace the ejector clamp with a specific one.
The announcement says "Current development work on Typhoon includes the design and exploitation of new large touchscreen cockpit displays, funded by BAE Systems, enabling pilots to assess and respond to increasing volumes of data from the aircrafts sensors and datalinks." Is this the Wide Area Display shown recently or the same three screens but a bit larger? The present MFDs are rather small in area as the function-defining buttons use discrete buttons in the MFD rims with LED text in the buttons instead of the functions dynamically rendered on the display edges as usual. This principle is very space-intensive. Larger MFDs with the functions at the edge would enable larger MFDs by replacing MFD+Button rim with a larger MFD. A change to WAD means a new front cockpit wall.
With the first production AESA radars for the Eurofighter Typhoon now being delivered, further development is being conducted in two separate efforts.
www.ainonline.com
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.
ECRS Mk0 radars are initially being fielded in export aircraft, beginning with the Typhoons for Kuwait and followed by those for Qatar. However, the four Typhoon partner nations (Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK) have taken their time in committing to providing an e-scan radar for their own aircraft, but now there are two separate programs to equip the Typhoon with AESA radars, both of which offer significant advances in capability and functionality over the Mk0. These advances may also be part of future export drives for both new-build aircraft and to retrofit existing Typhoons.
These (german and spanish) aircraft will be fitted with the ECRS Mk1 radar, which is now in development by Hensoldt. While using Mk0 components, the Mk1 introduces a new digital multi-channel receiver and new transmit-receive modules that significantly enhance frequency range and target recognition ability. The greater capabilities also open up potential for new applications such as electronic attack and ultra-high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (UHR-SAR) imaging.
Deliveries of new radars are due to begin in 2023, but they will initially be in Mk0 configuration. The Mk1-specific modules will be available from 2026, and new radars delivered from that date will be in full Mk1 configuration. The earlier radars can be easily upgraded by the rapid exchange of one major module and some cabling. Initial Mk1s will be delivered as Step 1 radars, with considerably expanded capability over the Mk0. Since July 2021 Spain’s Indra has been a partner in the ECRS Mk1 program, and is now working with Hensoldt on the development of the Step 2 iteration. This represents a major software upgrade that will further exploit the processing capabilities inherent in the system, adding electronic attack/warfare functions and the ability to conduct UHR-SAR imaging.
ECRS Mk 2 is much more of a new radar than the Captor-based Mk1. The interface with the aircraft—including attack computer, power, and cooling—remains the same, but much of the hardware is of the new design. The multi-function antenna array has more transmit/receive modules, with a mix of gallium arsenide (GaAs) and gallium nitride (GaN) elements. Whereas the Mk1 retains the double-swashplate mechanical repositioner of the Mk0, the Mk2 has a rotating drum-type repositioner, as first employed by the Leonardo ES-05 Raven radar developed for the Saab Gripen E/F.
A new processor, new receiver and dedicated electronic warfare receiver and techniques generator are installed, greatly expanding the system’s detection capabilities while also adding the ability to conduct electronic attack and jamming in the defense suppression role. A new radome, being developed by Meggitt, is also required for the aircraft to cater to the radar’s wider bandwidth. An initial test ECRS Mk2 is due to fly in a Typhoon next year.
Hmm interesting note on the "more TRM" and the same power and cooling. It appears that the module may not necessarily increase in power but actually shrink in size.
GaN benefit is more power density for the same size of amplifier chip as GaAs, but one can also make the chip smaller for the same level of power as the GaAs. This might be the breakthrough in the Mk-2. The module architecture might be different e.g Tile to make better use of the size reduction offered by using the GaN. Where the GaAs part coming ? The LNA or receiving part of TRM where GaAs perform its best, probably it use same proven architecture as Mk1 to save development cost.
The range advantage is proportional to N^3 where the N is the number of the TRM's. If the antenna can carry twice the amount of modules, assuming everything else is the same the range of the set will increase by factor of 1.68. If it allows three times the range factor become 2.2.
I've merged the following 9 Eurofighter threads in A&S into one:
Son of Eurofighter
Eurofighter TVC
Kuwait opts for eurofighter
Eurofighter Typhoon (this is where they will merge into, and its only 5 pages)
Eurofighter in air combat
Austria to replace Eurofighter
Eurofighter comparison with F-18
UK audits Eurofighter
Eurofighter with CFT
so this thread grew from 5 to 8 pages, which is still rather small, especially when you look at the Rafale, LTS or F-35 thread
I've merged the following 9 Eurofighter threads in A&S into one:
Son of Eurofighter
Eurofighter TVC
Kuwait opts for eurofighter
Eurofighter Typhoon (this is where they will merge into, and its only 5 pages)
Eurofighter in air combat
Austria to replace Eurofighter
Eurofighter comparison with F-18
UK audits Eurofighter
Eurofighter with CFT
so this thread grew from 5 to 8 pages, which is still rather small, especially when you look at the Rafale, LTS or F-35 thread
But it's actually N^(3/4), because range is the 4th root in the range equation. Basically because you have an expanding cone outwards and then again on the return.
It's hard to tell from the angle that the Typhoons are at in the photo, but I think that they have just got airborne and that is the gear doors shutting just after the landing gear has just been retracted and that is the gear doors closing.
The event was the first operational air-to-air engagement conducted by an RAF Typhoon, and also the first RAF air-to-air missile firing during Operation SHADER.
www.gov.uk
Seems to be some surprise that an ASRAAM did what it is supposed to. I have to wonder what type of drone it was.
Good to see that the ASRAAM finally getting used in combat, any idea as if the pilot used the helmet mounted cueing system to lock on to the drone? It would be interesting to see it it was locked on using that method.
I believe the original comment may be in relation to the 1999 proposal to limit UK gun-armament fit to the first 53 batch-1 aircraft and not used operationally, on cost grounds, but this decision was reversed in 2006.
There was a proposal based on cost grounds in 1999 to limit the gun fit to only the first 53 batch 1 Typhoons aircraft destined for the RAF, only on the basis that the guns would be used as ballast and not used operationally, but this decision was reversed in 2006 and spares and ammunition are now frequently purchased by the RAF.
With the first production AESA radars for the Eurofighter Typhoon now being delivered, further development is being conducted in two separate efforts.
www.ainonline.com
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.
ECRS Mk0 radars are initially being fielded in export aircraft, beginning with the Typhoons for Kuwait and followed by those for Qatar. However, the four Typhoon partner nations (Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK) have taken their time in committing to providing an e-scan radar for their own aircraft, but now there are two separate programs to equip the Typhoon with AESA radars, both of which offer significant advances in capability and functionality over the Mk0. These advances may also be part of future export drives for both new-build aircraft and to retrofit existing Typhoons.
These (german and spanish) aircraft will be fitted with the ECRS Mk1 radar, which is now in development by Hensoldt. While using Mk0 components, the Mk1 introduces a new digital multi-channel receiver and new transmit-receive modules that significantly enhance frequency range and target recognition ability. The greater capabilities also open up potential for new applications such as electronic attack and ultra-high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (UHR-SAR) imaging.
Deliveries of new radars are due to begin in 2023, but they will initially be in Mk0 configuration. The Mk1-specific modules will be available from 2026, and new radars delivered from that date will be in full Mk1 configuration. The earlier radars can be easily upgraded by the rapid exchange of one major module and some cabling. Initial Mk1s will be delivered as Step 1 radars, with considerably expanded capability over the Mk0. Since July 2021 Spain’s Indra has been a partner in the ECRS Mk1 program, and is now working with Hensoldt on the development of the Step 2 iteration. This represents a major software upgrade that will further exploit the processing capabilities inherent in the system, adding electronic attack/warfare functions and the ability to conduct UHR-SAR imaging.
ECRS Mk 2 is much more of a new radar than the Captor-based Mk1. The interface with the aircraft—including attack computer, power, and cooling—remains the same, but much of the hardware is of the new design. The multi-function antenna array has more transmit/receive modules, with a mix of gallium arsenide (GaAs) and gallium nitride (GaN) elements. Whereas the Mk1 retains the double-swashplate mechanical repositioner of the Mk0, the Mk2 has a rotating drum-type repositioner, as first employed by the Leonardo ES-05 Raven radar developed for the Saab Gripen E/F.
A new processor, new receiver and dedicated electronic warfare receiver and techniques generator are installed, greatly expanding the system’s detection capabilities while also adding the ability to conduct electronic attack and jamming in the defense suppression role. A new radome, being developed by Meggitt, is also required for the aircraft to cater to the radar’s wider bandwidth. An initial test ECRS Mk2 is due to fly in a Typhoon next year.
The ECRS Mk 0 and 1 are upgrades of the original Captor architecture, a 20 years old base architecture.
The ECRS 2 is a 100% new design based on the Raven 5 design for the Gripen (also called Vixen in export versions outside Gripen and Typhoon). It's a 100% Leonardo Edinburgh design where the different hardware stages and base software have been trialed and perfected on the Gripen NG demo aircraft together with SAAB since 2015. It adds variable polarisation to the Mk 0 and 1 as it has the IFF function separate (by definition vertically polarized L-band emission/reception). This allows the Raven style rotation of the antenna, giving wider field of the regards combined with variable polarisation (important for ESM/ECM function).
As I ventured previously the GaN is probably used in the receive path as it improves the LPI characteristics by increasing sensitivity (GaN, being robust with excellent noise figures, enables higher sensitivity as it can do away with lossy protection limiters in the receive front end) whereas GaN in the power transmitting path drives cost and the name of the game today is not higher emission levels, rather a lower emission profile at higher sensitivity and selectivity.
The number of modules is, in the end, a matter of the base frequency as module spacing shall be close to half the wavelength and the design is a classical stick architecture. The Raven has ~1000 modules and it puts the ECRS 2 at around 1680 TRMs. Once again the power is not the main gain, rather the narrower lobe width despite an aggressive aperture weighting (giving low sidelobes) and a higher antenna gain (over 36dB), once again serving the sensitivity and selectivity.
With the Raven and ECRS Mk2 Leonardo has the most advanced fighter radar in serial delivery (the first Raven 5 are in the first serial batch of Gripens to BrAF and SWAF delivered in December). Its back-end architecture is about 15 years younger than the F-35 radar (fewer IF levels and earlier/faster ADCs) and it's the only one with a Swashplate, giving the important shoot and turn away capability, while still sending target updates to the missile via the radar's missile datalink.
LONDON: Kuwait has referred two senior army officers to the public prosecutor over suspected corruption related to a deal to buy Eurofighter Typhoon jets, the state anti-corruption body on Monday. Kuwait received last month its first two Eurofighter Typhoons as part of an order for a total of 28...
LONDON: Kuwait has referred two senior army officers to the public prosecutor over suspected corruption related to a deal to buy Eurofighter Typhoon jets, the state anti-corruption body on Monday. Kuwait received last month its first two Eurofighter Typhoons as part of an order for a total of 28...
As a result of some rumours, Leonardo intends to clarify that the Eurofighter Kuwait program is progressing in line with expectations and with success in terms of deliveries, contractual milestones and cash collections.
As a result of some rumours, Leonardo intends to clarify that the Eurofighter Kuwait program is progressing in line with expectations and with success in terms of deliveries, contractual milestones and cash collections.
That is good news about the Kuwait order GTX, I was worried that it would get cancelled. I had read that the first two Typhoons in the order had already been delivered to Kuwait in Combat Aircraft.
Bangladesh has a requirement for 16 new multirole combat aircraft (MRCA) to augment and eventually replace its aging Chengdu F-7s and MiG-29s, and the nation wants to turn westward after decades of purchasing its fighter aircraft from Russia and China.
(...)
the Saab Gripen and Lockheed Martin F-16 reportedly have been offered and considered, though Bangladesh now plans to acquire more capable twin-engined fighters. The Dassault Rafale (in service with the Indian Air Force, which could be a drawback) and the Eurofighter Typhoon stand as the aircraft under consideration.
(...)
Many in the Dhaka defense establishment believe that the Eurofighter Typhoon could give Bangladesh the capability edge it needs and could provide the deterrent capability it has lacked since the country became independent in 1971. For the Bangladesh Air Force, operating the Typhoon would provide a useful route toward forging relationships with the four high-tech Eurofighter partner nations and their air forces, and could provide opportunities to operate and train with the four GCC air arms that also fly the Typhoon.
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