A320 with a Eurofighter nose: Airbus flying radar lab starts flight operations

The Airbus A320 ATRA has completed its commissioning flights at the Airbus site in Manching, Germany. Fitted with a customised Eurofighter nose, this aircraft owned by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) will support the continued development of the Eurofighter's new E-Scan radar.

It is a beautiful October day at the Airbus site in Manching, Germany, where an Airbus A320 has just rolled onto the runway, guaranteed to stop aircraft spotters in their tracks. This is no ordinary passenger aircraft – that much is instantly apparent. Mounted on its nose is the unmistakable pointed radome of a Eurofighter. Is Airbus testing a radical new aircraft design here? 

Actually, this is the Airbus A320 ATRA (Advanced Technology Research Aircraft), a flying laboratory that will be used to test and further develop the Eurofighter's next-generation radar system. Today, it embarks on one of multiple commissioning flights that mark the aircraft's entry into service as a flying test bed for said system.

The A320 ATRA with the Eurofighter nose will serve as a flying test bed for the new Eurofighter E-Scan radar.

A new radar for the Eurofighter

“The upcoming Eurofighters of the German Quadriga and Tranche 5 as well as the Spanish Halcón programmes will be equipped with a new radar called the Eurofighter Common Radar System Mk1,” says Erik Lorch, Head of the E-Scan Mk1 Programme. While the current focus is on equipping these jets with the new radar system, retrofitting already operational Eurofighters is also planned for the future.

The new Eurofighter radar is an active electronically scanned array (AESA), also known as E-Scan. “This radar greatly enhances the capabilities of the Eurofighter in both air-to-air and air-to-ground operations,” explains Lorch.

The A320 ATRA underwent final validation during commissioning flights.

A perfect hybrid for the job

To be able to test the radar in flight, Airbus has joined forces with the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR), the owner of the A320 ATRA. “It is a distinguished platform that has already spent years flying as a research aircraft,” says Sebastian Ritz, who leads the A320 Flying Test Bed Programme at Airbus Defence and Space. "We have taken it and repurposed it for our needs."

To carry the Eurofighter nose, the A320 fuselage was reinforced and hundreds of metres of data cables were laid. In addition, a liquid and air cooling system was installed to regulate the temperature of the radar system. The cabin contains several workstations where experts can access the relevant information in real time. They not only see everything the radar provides to the pilot, but also get a full view of what is happening 'under the nose'. “We can monitor how the hardware performs and also test new software versions or features,” says Ritz. “The insights we generate will inform and accelerate the maturation and further development of the system.” 

The E-Scan Mk1 flying test bed has been fully validated and is now operational.

In early 2025, the structurally modified aircraft flew for the first time, still without an active radar, to test its basic airworthiness. This was followed by extensive ground tests where the radar was put through its paces. “During the recent commissioning flights, we confirmed that the aircraft and the radar also perform effectively in the air,” says Ritz. “This was the final step in the validation phase, and the E-Scan Mk1 flying test bed is now operational.”  

With the military flying test bed now up and running, momentum is building for the continued development of the Eurofighter's E-Scan radar. Meanwhile, the eye-catching A320 ATRA is set to become a regular fixture on the flight line at the Airbus site in Manching.