Arexis: AI powered EW en route for German Eurofighters

Most of NATO’s suppression of enemy air defence capability is provided by a pool of American specialist aircraft located in Europe. It is imperative that Europe develops its own SEAD capabilities to deter Russia, and the latest contract with Saab and the Arexis electronic warfare pod supports that need.

The German Air Force is all set to bring electronic warfare (EW) pods enabled with artificial intelligence into service under a new contract awarded to Saab on November 14th. The Swedish company was selected in 2023 to provide its Arexis EW suite for the country’s Eurofighter upgrade in a bid to restore some of its lost capabilities against enemy air defences.  At the time, Saab and Helsing were working together in one of the fledgling company’s earliest projects. The goal was to integrate Helsing’s AI into the Arexis pod to “enable the analysis of the radar data gathered onboard the plane and generate precise self-protection measures against modern enemy radars in milliseconds,” the Helsing press release said at the time. A follow-on contract was awarded by Airbus, the prime for the Eurofighter, in 2024 and this latest contract comes in at €549 million ($363.3 million/£483.2 million). 

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It is divided into two orders, the first will see Arexis pods delivered as they are, and the second is to include Helsing’s AI. The first is valued at €291 million and the second at €258 million. Delivery is set to be completed between 2025 and 2028, the Saab press release states. Saab does not provide any details on the quantity, but the original Helsing press release explains that 15 Eurofighters were to be upgraded with the new EW suite. It is understood that this relates to Helsing’s share of the contract, and as many as 35 Eurofighters could be fitted with Arexis in total, the remaining 20 coming from Tranche 5 production. Our sources also indicate that further aircraft could be upgraded once the system is in service.  Either way, the Arexis suite will make a considerable improvement to the ability of the German Air Force to operate against adversary air defence systems. Especially if it is combined with the AARGM anti-radiation missile as reported. 

Tech profile: Arexis

A concept image of the Arexis wingtip pod. Credit: Saab

As is increasingly common for advanced radars, Arexis uses gallium nitride GaN Active Electronically Scanned Arrays (AESAs), which improve the power and sensitivity of a radar compared to other materials. The power is particularly relevant for jamming a radar, as very powerful radars can simply “burn through” jamming if the source is too weak. Arexis also uses Digital Radio Frequency Memories, which is a similar technology to that used in the UK’s StormShroud UAV-carried EW payload. 

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DRFM receives radar signals and then generates a return signal based on the radar’s design that paints a false picture of what is happening. This might, for example, indicate that there are no aircraft present, or that they are in a different place at a different speed and so on. All of this would ideally happen without the air defence crew becoming aware that they are being spoofed. Saab’s own product profile supports this assessment stating, “Arexis’ advanced escort jamming capabilities lets you create a tactical advantage by actively disturbing, deceiving and misleading your adversaries.” The system is also well-proven on the Gripen fleet in service with Sweden, and anecdotal evidence indicates that the EW suite on these aircraft is very capable indeed.  The additional Helsing AI should enable the system to more rapidly process and understand threat signals and generate a bespoke response to them. This should improve the system’s ability to counter adversary air defences with bespoke deception and spoofing. 

Calibre comment: Why this matters 

Russian air defences are quite capable, and its air force is too. In the event of a conflict with NATO, there would be a real need to push our air forces through Russia’s air defences to find its airpower and nuclear forces and try to prevent them contributing to the conflict. Most of NATO’s suppression of enemy air defence (SEAD) capability is provided by a shrinking pool of American specialist SEAD aircraft located in Europe. This raises two points: First, they would not be enough to support a NATO wide SEAD campaign. And secondly, they may be pulled out of Europe to support US operations in the Indo-Pacific where their unique capabilities are equally critical. In a nutshell, Europe needs to develop its own SEAD capacity, and do so quickly.  By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on November 18th, 2025. The lead image shows a Gripen fitted with the Arexis wingtip pod. Credit: Saab.