Spanish Air Force F-18 aircraft (designated EF-18A) based in the Canary Islands would be replaced by 20 Typhoons with the new E-Scan AESA radar, under a formal proposal submitted by the Eurofighter consortium.
Negotiations are in progress between Airbus and the Spanish government, with a contract expected to be signed in 2021.
The 20 new aircraft would supplement the Spanish Air Force fleet of 73 Typhoons as part of the wider Project Halcon F-18 replacement programme.
A total of 64 more F-18s will be replaced in this initiative, with Typhoon likely to compete against Lockheed Martin (offering the F-35) and Boeing (with the F/A-18E/F).
Shephard Defence Insight estimates the overall 84-aircraft programme will cost $7.3 billion.
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The company has tested over 15 mission sets for the drone, with the rotorcraft used to demonstrate the viability of armed forces utilising large uncrewed aerial systems’ (UAS) for autonomous missions in the future.
The US Navy’s answer to a sixth-generation fighter has experienced a range of setbacks and delays to the programme, with only $47 million in this latest proposed budget set aside for completing the aircraft.
The UAE’s Edge Group has been positioning itself as a key defence and technology partner to Indonesia, where it has been focusing on naval platforms, UAVs and long-term industrial collaboration.
With roughly 80% of combat missions flown by Typhoons in Europe, the Eurofighter consortium is emphasising the continued relevance of its jet and wants to ramp up production to continue to deliver combat mass in light of a shifting geo-political world order.
In the past 18 months, Boeing’s MQ-28A Ghost Bat uncrewed aerial system (UAS) has achieved several milestones including teaming with manned aircraft, achieving 100 flight hours and training of first military pilot.
The order for two more aircraft for the NATO Multinational Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) fleet comes as Airbus considers increasing A330 MRTT production to meet demand.
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