The German Air Force (official name: Luftwaffe der Bundeswehr) will be reinforced with new Eurofighter multi-role fighters in the new Tranche 5 variant.
A contract for 20 aircraft was signed with Airbus, under which the aircraft will be delivered from 2031 to 2034 at a rate of five fighters per year.
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The agreement was expected following the approval of €3.75 billion in budget expenditures, together with €7 billion allocated for other defense projects.
The German Eurofighter Tranche 5, including additional engines, will cost €187.5 million. This price is slightly higher than Spain's contract at the end of 2024, when Madrid ordered 25 Eurofighters for €4 billion, or €160 million each.
German vehicles are to be equipped with the new EScan radar (also known as Euroradar Captor), which is based on digital antenna array technology and can detect targets at significant but undisclosed ranges.
It is significantly more resistant to electronic warfare, features a 50% wider field of view than radars with AFAR, and can operate simultaneously in air-to-air and air-to-ground modes.
In addition, German Eurofighter Tranche 5 aircraft will be equipped with Arexis electronic warfare systems from Sweden's Saab, an updated human-machine interface (HMI), and other innovations.
The Eurofighter Tranche 5 contract, expected to be completed in the 2030s, has an extended timeline because in 2020, Germany ordered 38 Tranche 4 aircraft for €5.4 billion (€142 million each). All these aircraft are to be manufactured by 2030.
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