The Eurofighter program hit a new milestone on its journey to develop a mid-life upgrade for the Typhoon, as the participant nations signed the contract for part one of the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technology maturation phase (TMP).
Following German Parliamentary approval, Giancarlo Mezzanatto, the Chief Executive of Eurofighter, and Air Vice Marshall Simon Ellard (ret.),, the General Manager of the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA), signed the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) contract on behalf of the partner nations of the Eurofighter Program, Italy, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.
According to Mezzanatto the “LTE will be the major mid-life technology upgrade for the Eurofighter, bringing several major enhancements to the jet – specifically to its avionics architecture.”
The next stage of the Eurofighter Typhoon’s future evolution has become clearer with the signing of a new contract ✈️
The Long Term Evolution (LTE) Programme will bring:
· Enhanced cockpit design
· Faster mission computing
· New flight controls computing
·… pic.twitter.com/4JAiYe7qrp
— Eurofighter Typhoon (@eurofighter) December 19, 2024
This upgrade program aims to introduce enhancements to the cockpit configuration and Human Machine Interface (HMI) to increase the pilot’s ability to handle large amounts of data coming in from both the aircraft’s own sensors and other information sources. These enhancements will primarily update the avionics of the aircraft, with the development of a new cockpit with a large multi-function display, improved mission and flight control computers, communications equipment and armament control systems.
The LTE Typhoon is centered on data processing and sensor fusion with the upgrades looking to get more processing power out of the platform, so that it can enable a better understanding of the battlespace. Data gathering, processing and dissemination in real time is a huge technological challenge, but once achieved will offer Typhoon pilots an elevated understanding of their combat environment, enabling a better pursuit of their mission parameters.
At the Farnborough air show earlier this year, Paul Smith, Head of Typhoon Strategy, said to Key Aero representatives that they want to “leverage AI processing” as a part of the LTE to increase the speed with which the aircraft will be able to display processed data to the pilot. This is then planned to be integrated into a network across domains and platforms so that the Typhoon will be able to share data with Lightning, the Global Combat Air Programme aircraft, warships, land vehicles, space sensors and autonomous systems that are currently in development.
These upgrades will bridge the gap until the delivery of Europe’s first sixth generation aircraft and keep the Typhoon forces of these nations and other export customers viable in a world in which sixth generation aircraft will dominate. The consortium recognizes that Typhoon is not a day one aircraft because it lacks a stealth capability, but it is still expected to work alongside 5th and 6th generation aircraft as their own systems mature.
Technology Maturation Phase
According to the Eurofighter consortium this phase aims to de-risk and mature the required technologies before final decisions are made on what the mid-life upgrade will look like.
Over a three year period, the cockpit, the avionics solutions and basic technology enablers will be tested to ensure that they are capable enough to be included in the LTE Typhoon. There is a potential that flight testing will be included in this phase to examine how the proposed upgrades will work under flight conditions, but this will be reliant on the speed with which the consortium can overcome initial testing challenges.
As the main objective with the LTE Typhoon is future proofing until the 2060s immature technologies, with AI being highlighted. AI offers the ability for information harvested by the Typhoon’s sensors to be automatically processed and delivered to the pilot, increasing their ability to respond to a given stimulus, whether it be the location of friendly forces or a hostile aircraft. Reducing workload for pilots is essential to giving them the focus they need to survive in the case of a difficult tactical scenario.
Large Area Display
Similar in size to a home desktop computer, the 12×22 inch Large Area Display (LAD) aims to revolutionize the Human Machine Interface (HMI) on board the Typhoon. Produced by BAE Systems, the display will replace the three existing 6×6 inch multifunction head-down displays (MHDDs) and head-up display, which have been described as “challenging to maintain situational awareness” with due to them only being able to display a single set of information at a time.
We are constantly evolving the capability of @eurofighter including a new Large Area Display cockpit.
This new investment in world-leading technology is part of our offer to Finland.
Our former @RoyalAirForce test pilot Andrew Malleryblythe explains its benefits to a pilot. pic.twitter.com/pdYnrIAXTV
— Eurofighter Finland (@BAES_Finland) August 6, 2021
It is hoped that with the Large Area Display the pilot will have a better understanding of all the information they need to fly and fight in the aircraft on their own or alongside large formations of other friendlies. Typhoon Operational Requirements Manager, Andrew ‘Blyty’ Mallery-Blythe, a former Test and Evaluation pilot for the RAF, believes the situational awareness granted by the display will remove the limitations of the older MHDDs and, when combined with the RAF’s new ECRS Mk.2 radar and Striker II helmet, will provide the Typhoon an edge over other possible adversary aircraft.
The ECRS Mk.2 will be integrated on 40 Tranche 3 Typhoons of the RAF and will be an option for other Eurofighter operators, but it will not be the European standard. However, the Striker II helmet is likely to join the LAD in the LTE Typhoon, with a £133 Million contract signed by the consortium for BAE to continue its development.
The helmet takes most of the information displayed in 2D on the LAD and overlays it on the 3D outside world. This is then combined with in-built night vision and existing tactical symbols to extend the range at which the pilot is able to view targets both in the air and on the ground.
Mallery-Blythe believes that the combination of the Large Area Display and the Striker II will “give a pilot valuable extra seconds to think and react,” giving them the advantage in any tactical situation.
Current sales
This news comes amidst an uptick in international orders for the Eurofighter Typhoon. As of this publication, the German, Italian and Spanish governments have ordered another batch of Typhoon aircraft to sustain their fleets as their early model Tranche 1 aircraft near the end of their usable service life.
In 2020, Germany ordered 38 new Tranche 4 Typhoons for delivery from 2025, before ordering a further 20 on the Jun. 5, 2024, of an as of yet unknown Tranche 5 variant. It is possible, although unconfirmed, that this will be the Typhoon LTE that the Eurofighter consortium is pushing for partner nations and international customers to adopt.
A contract for up to 24 extra Typhoons was signed on the Dec. 23, 2024, by the Italian government, following on from a Spanish order for 25 aircraft to replace their ageing EF-18A/B Hornets. As of yet, the United Kingdom is the only original operator of the Typhoon to have not ordered new aircraft to replace their Tranche 1 aircraft.
🔴#LDO_PR The leaders of @eurofighter and #NETMA (the @NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency) today signed the contract for up to 24 @ItalianAirForce Eurofighters in #Rome. The announcement comes at a strategically important time for the Eurofighter programme and follows… pic.twitter.com/gkh1U5mM3J
— Leonardo (@Leonardo_live) December 23, 2024
Following a state visit by the Emir of Qatar to the UK, the Qatari government confirmed plans to purchase a further 12 Typhoons adding to their previous order of 24. This move strengthens the relations of the UK with Qatar and adds to the European orders of Typhoons.
BAE systems also eyes potential deals on further Typhoons to Saudi Arabia and the opening of a market in Turkey now that bans on exports to these countries have been lifted. Future orders of Typhoon could very well become LTE variants, however it must be waited until the TMP is completed before a solid understanding of what a mid-life updated aircraft will look like.
Turkey’s Eurofighter Procurement Talks Make Progress: Two RAF Typhoon Jets Land in Ankarahttps://t.co/1ACATcj5XM#Turkey #Aviation #EuroFighter pic.twitter.com/7FpNFqGxop
— OvertDefense (@OvertDefense) December 20, 2024
More importantly though, the signing of the LTE contract ensures that the future of the Typhoon remains secure, with Mezzanatto describing it as a demonstration of the “commitment of our customers to continue the effectiveness of the Eurofighter aircraft and programme for many years to come.”
