By Richard Scott
Saab has been contracted by Airbus Defence and Space to supply an emitter locater variant of its Arexis sensor suite for the Luftwaffe’s new Eurofighter EK (Elektronischer Kampf) electronic warfare variant.
The Eurofighter EK is planned to replace the Tornado Electronic Combat Role (ECR) in the suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) role from 2030. Saab is the incumbent supplier of the EW system equipping the Tornado ECR aircraft.
Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) in June last year announced that it had selected Saab to supply Arexis for Eurofighter EK. This followed a market survey activity undertaken by BAAINBw which evaluated EW/emitter location solutions available from a range of European and international EW suppliers.
A total of 15 Eurofighter aircraft will be adapted to EK configuration by Airbus to deliver the SEAD mission: as well as the Arexis sensor suite, these aircraft will be equipped with the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile.
Saab’s contract will run through to 2026. According to the company, the Arexis EW solution for Eurofighter EK will exploit advanced hardware and software – including a high-end artificial intelligence (AI) platform provided by its strategic AI partner Helsing (Munich, Germany) – to achieve superiority in complex and congested electromagnetic environments. This includes near-instantaneous detection, identification and measurement of radar threats, as well as very high accuracy emitter location.
