Espanhois ou Ingleses.
Ao menos trazem o IRST PIRATE, o que não se pode dizer dos alemães.
Os 17 Tranche 1 espanhóis já possuem a OFP modernizada, menos mal, mas parece-me um número algo escasso para substituir a frota F-16.
The Tranche 1 Retrofit
“The replacement of Tranche 1 EUROFIGHTERs is not an issue at the moment. Tranche 1 fleet has just started a modernisation programme, which includes hardware and software upgrades, taking care of obsolescence issues by integrating Tranche 2 hardware. Operational upgrades include new capabilities, like the possibility of carry litening targeting pods”, the official spokesperson of the Spanish Air Force, Lieutenant-Colonel Marcos Díez Estévez, told ESD.
Last February, Airbus delivered the first upgraded Tranche 1 EUROFIGHTER to the Spanish Air Force. The upgrade was carried out at the Airbus facilities in Getafe and involved the introduction of hardware modifications, which support the Operational Flight Programme 02 (OFP-02) developed by the Armament and Experimental Logistics Centre (CLAEX) in the Spanish Air Force.
The upgrade developed by Airbus includes modifications that integrate Tranche 2 and Tranche 3 equipment on the aircraft, such as a Computer Symbol Generator, Digital Video and Voice Recorder, Laser Designator Pod and Maintenance Data Panel. “This first single-seat EUROFIGHTER (serial number SS003), to be followed by a second two-seat aircraft currently undergoing the upgrade, will be used initially by CLAEX as a test aircraft for the qualification of these new capabilities that will be implemented on the Air Force’s fleet of 17 Tranche 1 EUROFIGHTERs”, Fernando Peces, responsible for the EUROFIGHTER programme at Airbus DS in Spain, stated.
https://euro-sd.com/2019/06/articles/13666/a-long-life-for-the-spanish-eurofighter/
OFP 02 was set for a mid-2017 delivery and added Litening III, GBU-48, AIM-120C-7 and an updated computer symbol generator.
https://www.key.aero/article/spanish-swing-role
Os F-16M têm mesmo de estar nas lonas para se cogitar esta solução, já que no plano estritamente de capacidade militar parece-me apenas uma pequena melhoria face ao que temos ao serviço. O radar é o CAPTOR-M e não há capacidade de emprego do Meteor. Obviamente existirá um outro conjunto de razões por detrás desta possível escolha que tem vindo a ser aqui intensamente falado e discutido.
O ponto positivo é que o armamento dos F-16 poderá transitar quase diretamente para estes Eurofighter, restando então apurar em concreto o estado das células, vida útil restante, e se eventualmente poderão ser ou não modernizadas no futuro.
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