What is the most modern Eurofighter?

The Eurofighter Typhoon has been built in successive batches, each improving on the last. Tranche 4 is the most recent in production: Germany ordered it in 2020 under the name Quadriga to replace its Tranche 1 aircraft, and Spain in 2022 and 2023 with the Halcón I and II programs. Its major innovation is the ECRS Mk1 radar, developed by Hensoldt and Indra, an active electronically scanned array radar that replaces the mechanical Captor-M and allows tracking many more targets, better resisting jamming, and acting as an electronic warfare sensor. Added to this are a redesigned cockpit, greater processing capacity, and the P4E software package, which prepares the aircraft for future weapons.

The United Kingdom has opted for its own radar, Leonardo's ECRS Mk2, more ambitious because it integrates electronic attack functions; its entry into service has been pushed back toward the end of the decade. Germany, meanwhile, has launched the Eurofighter EK (Elektronischer Kampf), 15 aircraft intended to suppress air defenses with anti-radar missiles and jamming pods, which will replace the Tornado ECR starting in 2030. Italy and Germany have also announced new batches that will keep the assembly line open well into the decade.

The consortium is working on the LTE (Long Term Evolution) program, which is studying new displays, a more efficient engine, and additional sensors to keep the aircraft relevant until the 2060s. None of these upgrades turns the Typhoon into a sixth-generation fighter: that role will be taken on by the British-Italian-Japanese GCAP and the French-German-Spanish FCAS, alongside which the Eurofighter will have to coexist for many years as the backbone of European air forces.