UK commits £5.4 billion to modernise all 107 RAF Typhoon fighters

The latest UK Defence Investment Plan will see the RAF upgrade all of its 107 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets instead of the 40 previously planned in January 2026. The UK has retired 26 of its Tranche 1 Typhoons, leaving it with a fleet of Tranche 2 and Tranche 3 fighters as well as four remaining Tranche 1s based at Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands.

RAF plans to upgrade all 107 Typhoon fighter jets

The UK Defence Journal quoted the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard, as saying, “The £5.4 billion Typhoon spend detailed in the DIP comprises the planned spend to maintain and upgrade the UK’s 107 Typhoons.”

Pollard explained, “It includes radar, communications, and software upgrades, new defensive aids systems, and improvements to weapons systems such as the upgraded helmet-mounted sight.”

The comments were in answer to a question by Conservative MP Andrew Snowden, whose constituency includes Warton, where BAE Systems builds the Typhoon fighter jet. Snowden had asked for a breakdown on the increased £5.4 billion figure slated for the Typhoons in the Defence Investment Plan.

The new Eurofighter Typhoon radars

These funds are to be spread out over the four years from FY 2026/2027 to FY 2029/2030. The Typhoon fleet is receiving a further £1.1 billion to upgrade and sustain the fleet into the 2040s, including through the Long Term Evolution programme. The Typhoon fleet is to continue to be the core of the combat air capability of the RAF into the 2040s.

Typhoon upgrade contracts BAE Systems, Leonardo UK, and Parker Meggitt. The new European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk2 radars are built in Scotland.

The older January 2026 Government plan had stated, “The investment will deliver an additional 40 advanced European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk2 radars for RAF Typhoons, including 38 new systems and modifications to two test systems, ensuring radars will be fitted to 40 aircraft.”

Typhoons to be part of a mixed fleet

Funding also includes £300 million in investment for Collaborative Combat Aircraft (aka loyal wingman drones), £8.6 billion for the GCAP/Tempest 6th-generation fighter jet programme, and £2.2 billion for the F-35 fighter jet.

The plan is to keep them at the forefront of the RAF’s combat power, working in tandem with the F-35. F-35s significantly increase the Typhoon’s situational awareness and combat capabilities. They will eventually receive Collaborative Combat Aircraft.

The Investment plan asserts, “We will create a Next Generation Royal Air Force, which will comprise an evolving mix of 4th, 5th and 6th generation crewed and uncrewed air systems, armed with the optimum mix of mass and exquisite weapons.”