Eurofighter’s future assured through Long Term Evolution Technology Maturation contract
December 22, 2024
Up to now, new capabilities have been brought onto the Eurofighter Typhoon via a series of numbered ‘Phase Enhancements’, culminating in the ongoing Phase Four Enhancement (P4E), which will fully integrate new AESA radars (including ECRS.Mk 1 and Mk 2) and will include automated task-based management for all Typhoon radars, an improved cockpit interface and enhanced Radio Frequency Interoperability (RFIO), as well as DASS (Defensive Aids Sub-System) upgrades and the German IOC (Initial Operating Capability) standard ‘additional electronic warfare capability’ for the Eurofighter EK. The Phase 4 Enhancement (P4E) SD (system definition) package was finalised earlier this year.
Looking further ahead into Typhoon’s future is the so-called Long Term Evolution (LTE). This has been described by Eurofighter as: “a revolution for Eurofighter Typhoon. It’s not about adding new software capabilities, it’s a redesign of the aircraft for the next 40 years. It’s a whole new chapter for Eurofighter.”
The LTE Study period began in 2019, and allowed time for the partner nations (the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain) to agree on the future direction, and as to where the three-year Technology Maturation Phase should focus. The Technology Maturation Phase now being launched will de-risk and mature the required technologies before the exact configuration of an LTE Eurofighter is finally decided.
Although Eurofighter is not stealthy, and, excepting those aircraft with Radar Two, will not be a Day One weapon, the LTE aircraft will operate in the contested and congested future operating environment across several roles. LTE will have to make the Eurofighter weapons system ‘mission proof’ out to the 2060s, while serving as a bridge to the Tempest/GCAP and SCAF/FCAS future combat air systems. Crucially, Typhoon LTE will be expected to enter service between five and ten years earlier.
The LTE Eurofighter and the new future combat air systems will use many of the same technologies including highly fused and networked sensors, artificial intelligence, cyber resilience, seamless networking, and rapid capability/technology insertion. This will require more powerful and agile architectures.
Tomorrow’s combat air platforms will be data driven and data hungry, and will require much more processing power. Eurofighter LTE will have its own top class sensors, but will need to maximise situational awareness by fusing the data provided by both onboard and offboard sources. This in turn will demand high speed data networks and a state-of-the-art cockpit.
LTE is not just about avionics, however, and further airframe and aerodynamic improvements can also be expected.
Vitally, LTE is not a single monolithic upgrade, but rather it provides a baseline architecture that will facilitate continued capability enhancements for the remaining life of the weapons system. AVM Ellard, the head of NETMA said that: “LTE will significantly advance the capabilities of the Eurofighter. The enhancements delivered will ensure the aircraft remains at the forefront of innovation, delivering technological superiority and cutting-edge performance for its operators.”
At the Farnborough Internationl Airshow in July 2024, Giancarlo Mezzanatto, CEO of the Eurofighter consortium, said that the technology maturation phase for the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) package would be signed off before the end of the year, and he was proved right! Eurofighter and the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) formally launched Part 1 of the LTE TMP on 19 December, following the granting of German parliamentary approval earlier in the month
Mezzanatto said that: “The signature of the LTE contract demonstrates the commitment of our Customers to continue the effectiveness of the Eurofighter aircraft and programme for many years to come. It will also meet the evolving needs of our Air forces.”
“LTE will be the major midlife technology upgrade for the Eurofighter, bringing several major enhancements to the jet – specifically to its avionics architecture. There will be an evolution of the cockpit configuration and Human Machine Interface, and an expansion in its ability to handle large amounts of data, much faster,” Mezzanatto said, emphasising that LTE would encompass upgrades to the Eurofighter’s cockpit design and human-machine interface (HMI), mission computing, flight-control computing, communications and armament control systems, but also to the overall mission system architecture, defensive aids, and engine performance.
