European Common Radar System Mk2 begins ground-testing in UK
Ground-testing the ECRS Mk2 requires a special anechoic chamber. (Photo: BAE Systems)
BAE Systems hopes to work out any issues before the radar is sent for flight testing.
The new European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk2 radar has begun ground-testing on a Eurofighter Typhoon, ahead of undergoing flight trials.
The radar was tested by BAE Systems flight engineers at Warton, Lancashire, with support from teams from Leonardo UK. Leonardo helped develop the radar at two UK sites in Edinburgh and Luton.
The ground testing involved a series of electromagnetic tests in a unique anechoic chamber.
The radar, contracted by the UK MoD’s procurement arm Defence Equipment and Support, will support Royal Air Force (RAF) operations in highly challenging situations, allowing pilots to actively suppress enemy air defences using high-powered jamming techniques. That should bring additional safety to RAF pilots, who will also be able to engage with targets while they themselves remain out of the signal reach of potential threat-aircraft.
When it is deployed in the air, the radar will work as a wide-band array, able to track both airborne targets and surface-based emitters without having to emit a signal itself. That will give the ECRS one of its signature abilities, essentially seeing the signals of hostiles without betraying its own presence.
A high gain sensor is behind the radar’s ability to jam the defences of enemy aircraft, adding to the control the Typhoon will be able to command over its threat environment.
The ECRS Mk2 was commissioned by the UK Ministry of Defence at a cost of £870 million (US$1.1 billion), and is being comprehensively ground-tested before flight tests begin. BAE Systems and the RAF hope that will eradicate any issues with the technology before it is taken into the air.
Group Captain Matt D’Aubyn, Typhoon programme director at the Royal Air Force, said: “Embodiment of this prototype new radar into the test aircraft is a positive step on the continuous evolution of Typhoon’s control of the air capabilities, preserving its technological advantage.”
Flight testing of the ECRS Mk2 is expected to take place later in 2024.
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