Europeans Commit to EUR1 Billion Eurofighter Upgrade -- Update

(Adds more detail on the contract)

 
   By Robert Wall 
 

LONDON--The U.K., Germany, Italy and Spain on Wednesday jointly committed to a 1 billion euro ($1.25 billion) upgrade to equip their Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets with a more advanced type of radar, the British defense ministry said.

"This contract marks a major milestone in the development of the Typhoon program and offers a significant increase in the capability of the aircraft," the U.K.'s defense equipment minister Philip Dunne said in a statement.

International buyers increasingly require the kind of advance radar that can track more targets on their strike aircraft. The Typhoon's new radar system is called Captor-E.

The Typhoon combat jet is built by a consortium comprising BAE Systems PLC (BAESY)--as system integrator--Airbus Group NV (AIR.FR) and Italy's Finmeccanica SpA (FNC.MI).

BAE Systems, Europe's largest defense company, said on Wednesday that its share of the contract is valued at GBP365 million ($572 million). Finmeccanica said its program share is valued at EUR400 million.

The European companies are eager to upgrade the Typhoon after the fighter lost out to others in a series of international competition for export orders. Japan, South Korea, and India are among the countries opting for other jets. Typhoon production is at risk of finishing before the end of the decade unless foreign orders can be secured.

Lockheed Martin Corp., the world's largest defense company, and Boeing Co. already offer the more advanced radar system on their combat jets, as do European rivals Dassault Aviation SA and Saab AB.

"This is a major step forward in the development of Typhoon," said Martin Taylor, managing director for combat air at BAE.

In recent years, the Eurofighter companies have been investing their own money to mature the radar sensors and minimize the gap with rivals in introducing the system. The radar first flew on a Typhoon this year and is expected to enter service with the U.K. Royal Air Force around 2020.

Write to Robert Wall at [e-mail]

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