Posted by John McHale
PARIS, 25 June 2011. Eurofighter and Euroradar consortia officials announced at the Paris Air Show this week that they have agreed to continue full scale development program of the next generation E-Scan radar with an entry into service targeted for 2015. Supported by the Eurofighter partner nations -- the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and Spain -- Eurofighter GmbH and Euroradar engineers began full scale development of the new CAPTOR-E radar last year.

The new radar will have active electronically scanned array (AESA) capability and retain key features of the existing Captor-M radar in order to exploit the maturity of the current system. The Typhoon's AESA radar will offer a variety of benefits over M-Scan, including increased detection and tracking ranges, advanced air-to-surface capability, and enhanced electronic protection measures.
The new AESA array, larger than the others on the market due to the Typhoon's large radome, will be fitted on a repositioner that will provide a wider field of regard.