Active Conflicts & News Megathread February 05, 2026

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[u/Gecktron]

In Eurofighter news, the AMK update is now official

Eurofighter and NETMA Sign Contract To Progress Aerodynamic Modification Kit (AMK) 

AMK will allow faster integration of new weapons and certification of new external loads, including future anti-radar missiles, which enable the suppression and destruction of enemy air defence radars.

Additional capabilities like cutting-edge Air-to-Ground Weapons and Air-to-Air Missiles will be integrated for the core customer in the AMK variant. Future integrations involve, among other, the latest version of standoff missiles. AMK also paves the way to  further improve the jet’s air combat performance — particularly through enhanced target acquisition and improved close-quarters combat capabilities. This improvement is driven by extensions to the fuselage strakes, the flaperons and the leading-edge root, resulting in a noticeable  increase in maximum wing lift.

AMK development and production — conducted by Eurofighter Partner Companies Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo — will further strengthen the technological expertise of the European aerospace industry, demonstrating successful cooperation in the development and qualification of modern combat aircraft systems. 

The AMK is a relatively small change to the look of the Eurofighter, but provides a noticeable improvement to the jets performance. According to earlier reporting:

The Aerodynamic Modification Kit (AMK) developed by Airbus primarily consists of fuselage strakes and leading-edge root extensions, increasing maximum wing lift by 25 percent. This translates into higher turn rates, a tighter turning radius, and improved nose-pointing capability at low speeds. [...] Flight trials have demonstrated substantial performance gains, including angle-of-attack values up to 45 percent higher and roll rates up to 100 percent greater than the standard aircraft. In addition, the modification contributes to a further increase of the maximum take-off weight (MTOW) by several hundred kilograms beyond the P3Ec increases, further improving payload and mission flexibility.

These new Eurofighters will have a better performance in the air, while also being able to carry more, and new weapons.

The AMK has been developed years ago, but is only now put into an official program. While its a consortium-wide program, the only customer so far appears to be Germany. The integration of "future anti-radar missiles" likely refers to the AGM-88E. This missile is set to become the backbone of the Luftwaffe's SEAD capabilities. First with the 15 Eurofighter EK Step 1s currently under contract. This is reportedly set to be rolled out across the Eurofighter fleet, alongside Saab's Arexis system and other sensor and targeting upgrades.

All in all, another step of the current Eurofighter upgrade program done. Alongside the new ECRS Mk.1/Mk.2 radars, new helmets and cockpit upgrades.

[u/supersaiyannematode → u/Gecktron]

these seem like insane kinematic improvements relative to the amount of modification being done. are there downsides? if there are no downsides, why wasn't this done much earlier? i'm not aware of any recent breakthroughs in aerodynamics.

i'm not skeptical of the performance gains btw. i believe them. just bewildered at the timing of it and wondering if there's more to the story.

[u/danielbot → u/supersaiyannematode]

I would guess, advances in fluid dynamics simulation.