The German Parliament’s budget committee has approved funding to equip its Eurofighter warplanes with electronic combat capability.
Airbus, who is building the planes for Germany, said in a press release announcing the development that among the Eurofighter equipment to be provided are Saab’s transmitter location and protection system and Northrop Grumman’s antiradar missiles.
The approved budget’s amount was not mentioned, but Bloomberg reported in January that the German government has allocated about $43.2 billion spending for its next-generation jet fighter by 2040.
According to the Airbus announcement, the aircraft, now dubbed Eurofighter EK (Electronic Combat), is expected to be certified by NATO in 2030 and eventually replace the Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat Reconnaissance), the alliance’s warplane for the Suppression of Enemy Air Defence program in Europe.
The Saab and Northrop Grumman add-ons to Eurofighter EK will make the warplane capable of detecting and disabling anti-aircraft radars, Airbus said. In addition, the Eurofighter features smart technologies from small and medium-sized suppliers, such as an AI solution for onboard radar data analysis for rapid and precise self-protection measures, the company noted.