The Eurojet industry consortium has been contracted to supply up to 54 EJ200 engines to power a new batch of Eurofighter combat aircraft ordered by Italy.

Signed by Eurojet and the NATO Eurofighter & Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) on 27 June, the order spans the production of engine modules by Eurojet partners Rolls-Royce, MTU Aero Engines, ITP Aero, and Avio Aero.

Italy’s Avio Aero will be responsible for final assembly of the propulsion systems.

Rome in December 2024 signed a deal to acquire up to 24 new Eurofighters, with the jets to replace its oldest, Tranche 1-standard examples.

“This agreement, coming so soon after the [25-aircraft] Spanish Halcon II acquisition, underscores the strong, ongoing trust from the nations in the EJ200 engine and the Eurofighter platform,” says Eurojet chief executive Ralf Breiling.

“The EJ200 engine continues to deliver superior performance for the Eurofighter, ensuring the aircraft has the power it needs to secure the skies over Italy and NATO’s eastern flank,” states Simon Ellard, general manager of NETMA.

Separately, Euroradar consortium partners Hensoldt and Indra have declared a significant milestone in their work on the ECRS Mk1 active electronically scanned array radar in development for Eurofighter operator nations Germany and Spain.

Also announced on 27 June, “the production of the first radars with the advanced subsystems for the processor and the antenna power supply and control [APSC]” clears the way for series production of the Mk1 Step 1 standard to be launched “during summer 2025”.

Noting that the initial configuration “will provide robust air-to-air capability”, Hensoldt says: “Further software upgrades will evolve the Mk1 into a full multi-role radar including air-to-ground and electronic warfare tasks.”

“The new APSC and processor give [the] Mk1 a significant boost in performance, both for ultra-fast mode switching, real-time mission flexibility, and future autonomous task-based and AI-supported operations,” says Dr William Gautier, Hensoldt’s technical director Eurofighter radar.

“These enhancements not only improve current performance but also provide the necessary headroom for future software evolutions and sensor fusion capabilities,” adds Borja Mino, his counterpart at Indra.

The ECRS Mk1 sensor will be installed on Quadriga- and Halcon-series aircraft on order for Germany and Spain, respectively.