{"id":383764,"date":"2026-01-22T07:47:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T07:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/383764\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T07:47:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T07:47:07","slug":"uk-to-spend-nearly-half-a-billion-upgrading-typhoon-fighters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/383764\/","title":{"rendered":"UK to spend nearly half a billion upgrading Typhoon fighters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>        More than half a billion pounds has been committed this week to upgrading the Royal Air Force\u2019s Typhoon fighter fleet, a move the government says will secure over 1,500 skilled jobs across the United Kingdom and reinforce the aircraft\u2019s role as the backbone of British air defence.<\/p>\n<p>The investment includes a \u00a3453 million contract awarded to UK industry for the manufacture of advanced radar systems, with Defence Secretary John Healey confirming the deal during a visit to Leonardo UK\u2019s site in Edinburgh. Under the contract, BAE Systems, Leonardo UK and Parker Meggitt will deliver new radar capability for RAF Typhoons over the coming years. The work will sustain around 300 highly skilled jobs in Scotland, alongside 120 roles in Lancashire and more than 100 in Luton. Across the wider supply chain, the Typhoon programme supports more than 20,000 jobs at 330 companies nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>The radar contract follows a \u00a3205 million five-year agreement announced earlier this week with QinetiQ to provide long-term engineering support for the Typhoon fleet, sustaining up to 250 further jobs. Combined, the two announcements represent more than \u00a3650 million in defence investment in a single week.\u00a0The funding delivers on commitments made in the Strategic Defence Review to continue upgrading Typhoon, which is expected to remain in frontline service until at least the 2040s.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ukdefencejournal.org.uk\/behind-the-scenes-with-leonardos-ecrs-mk2-aesa-radar\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Behind the scenes with the Leonardo ECRS Mk2 AESA radar<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Defence Secretary John Healey said the aircraft remained central to UK and NATO security.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur Typhoon fleet is the backbone of UK and NATO air defence, operated across Europe by the Royal Air Force and our allies to protect our skies and security. As the threats we face increase, and as Russian drones continue to strike Ukraine and violate NATO airspace, this cutting-edge radar capability will keep Britain secure at home and strong abroad for many years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that the investment was directly linked to sustaining skilled employment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn Edinburgh and across the UK, we\u2019re backing more than 20,000 skilled workers on the Typhoon programme who ensure our RAF remains ready to protect Britain. Our government has backed their high-skilled work with more than \u00a3650 million of investment this week alone, securing British jobs and making defence an engine for growth in Scotland and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The upgrade programme will deliver 40 European Common Radar System Mk2 radars for RAF Typhoons, including 38 new systems and modifications to two test units. Once fitted, the radars will allow aircraft to detect, identify and track multiple air and ground targets simultaneously, while also providing electronic attack and high-powered jamming capabilities in contested environments.<\/p>\n<p>Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said the contract underlined Scotland\u2019s role within the UK\u2019s defence industrial base.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis \u00a3453 million contract award to build state-of-the-art radar systems for Typhoon fighter jets shows just how vital Scottish expertise is to the UK\u2019s national security. This upgrade to the RAF fleet, sustaining 300 jobs at Leonardo in Edinburgh and many more in the supply chain, is the latest in an impressive line of defence dividend wins for Scotland.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Leonardo UK said the programme would support advanced engineering skills across multiple disciplines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cECRS Mk2 isn\u2019t just an exceptional radar,\u201d said Mark Stead, Senior Vice President of Radar and Advanced Targeting at Leonardo UK. \u201cIt\u2019s equipped with advanced electronic surveillance and electronic attack capabilities which will make RAF Typhoons more potent against their adversaries, adapting to new and unpredictable threats.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said the contract would secure 300 roles in Edinburgh and around 100 in Luton, while supporting more than 70 UK-based suppliers.<\/p>\n<p>BAE Systems Managing Director for Europe and International, Richard Hamilton, said continued investment in Typhoon was essential to maintaining combat air capability.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Typhoon programme is a fundamental pillar of the UK\u2019s national defence and security,\u201d he said. \u201cOperating at the heart of NATO operations, Typhoon aircraft provide air policing along Europe\u2019s eastern flank.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than half a billion pounds has been committed this week to upgrading the Royal Air Force\u2019s Typhoon&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":383765,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-383764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=383764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}