Leonardo, on behalf of the EuroDASS Consortium, has signed a contract to supply the Praetorian Defensive Aids Sub-System (DASS) for the new Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft being supplied under the German Quadriga programme. This will see 38 of the latest standard Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft delivered to the German Luftwaffe to replace their Tranche 1 Typhoon aircraft.

The Typhoon’s Praetorian DASS equips the aircraft with advanced protection from threats including Infra-Red (IR or heat-seeking) and radar-guided missiles. The system is well-regarded by users and has been battle-tested on peace-keeping operations in Libya and Syria. It integrates sensors and electronic warfare jamming to provide exceptional situational awareness, platform protection and advanced electronic deception techniques.

Critically, Praetorian is an open and programmable electronic warfare system. This means that Germany is in complete control of its mission data and can boost the survivability of its Typhoons by fine-tuning the system to the actual situation on the battlefield on a mission-by-mission basis. Mission data can be fed into the Praetorian system in an extremely short time, often just hours. In comparison, some other aircraft are equipped with defensive aids systems that include a generic mission data set and that feedback loop can take several months.

Quadriga is a vote of confidence in the Eurofighter Typhoon that says that the platform will be the backbone of the Luftwaffe out to the 2060s. This sends a strong message to potential future partners, in the near term Finland and Switzerland, who will be able to rely on long-term commitment to Typhoon. Further opportunities for Typhoon and Praetorian include additional orders from Spain and Germany as well as future export orders.

Looking towards the future, EuroDASS are keen to support technology de-risk for the next generation of fighters. Praetorian presents a stable platform to spiral develop future technology, which will not only provide future capability gain for Typhoon, but also provide valuable knowledge and technology transfer into the next generation of future combat air systems.

Through the Eurofighter Long Term Evolution (LTE) study, EuroDASS are working with the Eurofighter Partner Companies and Nations to consider national requirements and how they can be delivered in an agile, cost effective manner, providing capability longevity to the Typhoon’s out of service date, whilst remaining supportive to future air combat development work.