RAF pilots test Eurofighter advanced weapons and software upgrades

Air August 4, 2017

The Royal Air Force Test and Evaluation pilots at RAF Coningsby are putting the Eurofighter Typhoon through its paces following a new package of advanced weapons, software and avionics enhancements.

The work is a major part of Project Centurion – the programme to ensure seamless transition of capability from the Tornado GR4 to Typhoon.

Operational testing and evaluation of the upgrades, known as the Project Centurion Phase 1 capability package, includes trials of MBDA’s Meteor ‘beyond visual range’ air-to-air and Storm Shadow deep attack air-to-surface missile software systems. The test work is being supported by BAE Systems.

Meteor will introduce an extreme ‘beyond visual range’ air-to-air capability to Typhoon, providing an active radar guided missile designed to provide a multi-shot capability against long-range, moving targets, such as fast jets, small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and cruise missiles, in dense electronic warfare environments.

Storm Shadow provides the aircraft with stand-off air-to-surface capability, enhancing Typhoon’s abilities against well-defended infrastructure targets.

The work also includes a number of new UK-only national capabilities, which will bring additional human machine interface and other improvements, specifically required by the Royal Air Force, to the aircraft.

James Glazebrook, Head of UK Centurion and Eurofighter Capability Programmes at BAE Systems Military Air & Information, said: “Planned testing and evaluation by 41(R) Squadron is now well underway. This is another important milestone on the Project Centurion programme and has been achieved through hard work and excellent collaboration between our teams and the Royal Air Force.”

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BAE Systems Eurofighter Typhoon Project Centurion Phase 1 RAF