An interesting armament decision has apparently been made at the BMVg. As Matthias Gebauer of Spiegel reports on Twitter, the German Eurofighters are to be enabled for electronic warfare by 2030 with Integrated Electronic Warfare Systems “Arexis” from Saab – in cooperation with the company Helsing. Gebauer writes: “According to the BMVg, Saab’s system, which is in use and has been field-tested, meets German requirements most comprehensively,” and the integration risk is also “lowest” compared to other models. The corresponding 25-mi. bills are still to come in 2023.”
The fact that Eurofighters are to take over the role of electronic combat from Tornados was announced on March 14, 2022, by then Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht and Air Force Inspector Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz. According to the decision at the time, nuclear participation is to be provided by F-35s, while electronic warfare is to be taken over by the Eurofighter. Currently, the Bundeswehr has 93 Tornados, which fulfill the roles of nuclear sharing, electronic warfare (EW), reconnaissance and air attack. By committing to only the two aircraft, F-35 and Eurofighter, the German Air Force stuck to its proven two-fleet concept.
Dorothee Frank, Head of editorial team
