Airbus flies ATRA test aircraft modified for Eurofighter E-Scan radar

Airbus flew the ATRA flight test aircraft that has been modified for the Eurofighter electronically scanned (E-Scan) radar on 21 January. (Airbus)

Airbus has flown the Advanced Technology Research Aircraft (ATRA) flight test aircraft (FTA) that has been modified for the Eurofighter electronically scanned (E-Scan) radar.

The A320-232 airliner-based FTA departed the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt: DLR) facility at Braunschweig in northern Germany on 21 January, fitted for the first time with a Eurofighter radome on its nose. The aircraft, which has been in use with the DLR since 2008, will now be used to help develop and test the new European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk 1 E-Scan radar for German and Spanish Eurofighter combat aircraft.

“Operated by Airbus and the DLR, in close co-operation with the Bundeswehr, the modified A320 ATRA will be used to test and mature the new AESA [active electronically scanned array] Mk 1 radar, which will be integrated, for example, into the latest-generation Eurofighters of Spain's ‘Halcón' and Germany's ‘Quadriga' orders. The radar will ultimately enhance the Eurofighter's capabilities in multimode air-to-air and air-to-ground operations with features to also complement electronic warfare capabilities in the future,” Airbus said.

As noted in the announcement, the most distinctive feature of the ATRA is the new Eurofighter radome that was developed and assembled specifically for the test aircraft by Airbus at its Manching facility in Bavaria. “In addition to integrating the new nose, the teams will, in a next step, also install extensive test equipment in the A320 ATRA cabin, including a customised Eurofighter avionic test rig and supporting cooling and power infrastructure requirements,” Airbus said.

With the first flight now flown, radar testing will begin later in 2025.