Sweden’s aerospace prime Saab enters the supply chain as a subcontractor for the German Air Force’s effort to equip 15 of its 141 Eurofighter Typhoons for electronic warfare (EW) missions.
Airbus Defence and Space, the prime contractor for the programme, looked to the Scandinavian company to supply its Arexis sensor suite as part of the programme.
The German defence procurement office announced in June 2023 that it had selected Arexis for the Eurofighter EK, an EW variant of the German Air Force’s Eurofighter aircraft.
Following the parliamentary approval by the German budget committee in November 2023, Airbus was tasked to equip 15 German Eurofighters for electronic combat – and equip them with a transmitter location and self-protection system from Saab, as well as ‘AARGM’ anti-radar missiles from the US prime Northrop Grumman.
Eurofighter EK is to be Nato-certified by 2030 and the fleet will subsequently replace Germany’s Tornado aircraft that has performed a suppression of enemy air defence role for more than 40 years.
Arexis delivers situational awareness in a complex signal environment with gallium nitirde Active Electronically Scanned Arrays. It is a modular system that can be fitMicted onboard an aircraft, in a missioned pod, or as payload on an uncrewed vehicle.
Saab will be supproted by its strategic artificial intelligence (AI) partner Helsing and the Arexis suite will feature Helsing’s AI platform. Arexis enables the user to detect, locate and identify radar emitters in complex and congested electromagnetic environment.
“Our solid experience of developing EW systems for airborne platforms and our long-standing co-operation with Airbus will be crucial to support the delivery of the Eurofighter EK to the German Air Force,” stated Micael Johansson, CEO and president of Saab.
According to GlobalData intelligence, the global EW market, valued at $13.9bn in 2023, is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.6% over the next ten years. It is expected to reach $21.8bn by 2033 and cumulatively value $194.2bn over the forecast period. The market is expected to be dominated by the airborne platform segment, which accounts for 55.1% of the market value.
