ROME, ITALY — British firm BAE Systems, a partner in the Eurofighter fighter jet program along with Airbus and Leonardo, has revealed that Italy is “considering the acquisition of new Typhoons”, as the planes are known.
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This is reflected in a letter that the British parliamentary committee received from the company in connection with the possible modernization of the oldest aircraft of this model that the United Kingdom has. The text mentions that Italy is considering this purchase to compensate for the withdrawal of its Tornado aircraft and “potentially replace” its Eurofighter Tranche 1.
The French portal Zone Militaire explains that the revelation from BAE Systems shows that the Italian Air Force is considering equipping itself with the Eurofighter for electronic warfare to cover the gap left by the 13 Tornadoes that are now required to provide this service, of which a total of 54 which still owns and which are mainly being replaced by F-35A aircraft.
In any case, the electronic warfare [ECR]] version of the Eurofighter is still under development. Airbus, which has 46% of the company that coordinates the design, production, and improvements of the model [Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug, of which BAE Systems has 33% and Leonardo the remaining 21%], revealed in 2019 the details of the new electronic warfare variant which, if the planned schedule is met, will be available in 2026. This is a variant that, according to the manufacturer, will be able to provide threat localization and jamming and will offer a variety of electronic attack [EA] configurations.
Double cabin
It will also be prepared to suppress or destroy air defenses [SEAD or DEAD, for the English acronym of these concepts]. The Eurofighter ECR, originally designed to meet the needs of the German Air Force, will be equipped with the latest electronic escort technology available to any operator.
The new aircraft will also have a two-seater cabin equipped with a panoramic multi-function touch screen. The seat will include the necessary resources to be able to manage the mission teams.
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