Airbus A320 With a Eurofighter Nose Starts Flight Operations to Test the New ECRS Mk1 Radar

Airbus Defence and Space completed commissioning flights of the German Aerospace Center’s modified A320 Advanced Technology Research Aircraft at Manching, clearing it to serve as the flying testbed for the Eurofighter Common Radar System Mk1. The airliner carries a Eurofighter nose, a dedicated cooling system and cabin workstations that let engineers monitor the active electronically scanned array and evaluate software during flight. The Hensoldt and Indra radar is intended for Germany’s Quadriga and Tranche 5 Eurofighters and Spain’s Halcón aircraft, with initial deliveries of the radar targeted for 2027.