Hensoldt, Indra test first ECRS Mk1 Step 1 Eurofighter radars for Germany, Spain

The Hensoldt and Indra ECRS Mk1 Step 1 AESA radar for German and Spanish Eurofighter combat aircraft. (Hensoldt, Indra)

Hensoldt and Indra Group have commenced live testing of the first European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk1 Step 1 sets for German and Spanish Eurofighter combat aircraft, the industrial partners announced on 5 June 2026.

The German and Spanish industrial subcontractors to Airbus for the ECRS Mk1 said that testing of the electronically scanned (E-Scan)/active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar to equip their national Eurofighter fleets had begun.

“The development of the new radar for German and Spanish Eurofighter combat aircraft is picking up speed, paving the way from ground-based testing to airborne trials in 2026,” Hensoldt said. “The ECRS Mk1 consortium partners Hensoldt and Indra have started testing the radar in live operations. For this testing phase, the Mk1 radar is fully fitted with hardware and with the most advanced software version to date. The Mk1 radar is stimulated with live targets of opportunity and live cooperative targets to simulate real scenarios and to enable maturation of the Mk1 radar software.” As noted in the announcement, first results have been positive.

The ECRS E-Scan is also sometimes referred to as Captor-E, named after the Captor-M mechanically scanned radar that preceded it. The baseline E-Scan radar is the Leonardo UK ECRS Mk0, and is the system for Kuwait and Qatar. This ECRS Mk0 has been updated with some undisclosed modifications into the ECRS Mk1 Step 0, which is now equipping the first Project Quadriga and Halcón jets that are now rolling off the line for Germany and Spain respectively. As previously explained to Janes