Luftwaffe to roll out E-Scan radar across entire Eurofighter fleet

The Luftwaffe intends to equip all its Eurofighter combat aircraft with the ECRS Mk 1 E-Scan radar. (Luftwaffe)

The German Luftwaffe will equip its entire fleet of Eurofighter combat aircraft with electronically scanned (E-Scan) radar sets, the government disclosed on 21 September.

Included in the Bundestag's Budget Committee approval list was the commitment to receive all newbuild Eurofighters with the European Common Radar System Mark 1 (ECRS Mk 1) E-Scan radar, and to retrofit the Luftwaffe's existing fleet of aircraft with Captor-M mechanically scanned (M-Scan) radars.

“All [Luftwaffe] Eurofighters will be equipped with a modern E-Scan radar,” the Bundeswehr said. “Newly ordered fighter jets will be delivered directly with the E-Scan radar, as 38 Eurofighters will arrive in the force from 2025. The remaining machines will have their radars retrofitted in the following years.”

Under the terms of the committee's approval, EUR197.7 million (USD210.4 million) has been earmarked for the development, procurement, and retrofitting of the ECRS Mk 1 over the term of the upcoming budget cycle. More funding will need to be made available for its completion.

“This decision enables our pilots to better discover and track air-to-air and air-to-ground targets. This should also make possible several missions at the same time, and [to conduct them] independently of each other. The new electronic beam sweeping radar will also be harder to jam,” the Bundestag said.