Dassault Rafale

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_Rafale

The Dassault Rafale (French pronunciation: literally meaning "gust of wind", and
"burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta
wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation.
Equipped with a wide range of weapons, the Rafale is intended to perform air
supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike,
anti-ship strike and nuclear deterrence missions. The Rafale is referred to as
an "omnirole" aircraft by Dassault.

In the late 1970s, the French Air Force and Navy were seeking to replace and
consolidate their current fleets of aircraft. In order to reduce development
costs and boost prospective sales, France entered into an arrangement with UK,
Germany, Italy and Spain to produce an agile multi-purpose fighter, the
Eurofighter Typhoon. Subsequent disagreements over workshare and differing
requirements led to France's pursuit of its own development program. Dassault
built a technology demonstrator which first flew in July 1986 as part of an
eight-year flight-test programme, paving the way for the go-ahead of the
project. The Rafale is distinct from other European fighters of its era in that
it is almost entirely built by one country, involving most of France's major
defence contractors, such as Dassault, Thales and Safran.

Many of the aircraft's avionics and features, such as direct voice input, the
RBE2 AA active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and the optronique
secteur frontal infra-red search and track (IRST) sensor, were domestically
developed and produced for the Rafale programme. Originally scheduled to enter
service in 1996, the Rafale suffered significant delays due to post-Cold War
budget cuts and changes in priorities. The aircraft is available in three main
variants: Rafale C single-seat land-based version, Rafale B twin-seat land-based
version, and Rafale M single-seat carrier-based version.

Introduced in 2001, the Rafale is being produced for both the French Air Force
and for carrier-based operations in the French Navy. The Rafale has been
marketed for export to several countries, and was selected for purchase by the
Indian Air Force, the Egyptian Air Force, and the Qatar Air Force. The Rafale
has been used in combat over Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Iraq and Syria. Several
upgrades to the weapons and avionics of the Rafale are planned to be introduced
by 2018.

The Rafale's glass cockpit was designed around the principle of data fusion – a
central computer intelligently selects and prioritises information to display to
pilots for simpler command and control. The primary flight controls are arranged
in a hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS)-compatible configuration, with a
right-handed side-stick controller and a left-handed throttle. The seat is
inclined rearwards at an angle of 29° to improve g-force tolerance during
manoeuvring and to provide a less restricted external pilot view. An intelligent
flight suit worn by the pilot is automatically controlled by the aircraft to
counteract in response to calculated g-forces.


Role
Multirole fighter

National origin
France

Manufacturer
Dassault Aviation

First flight
Rafale A demo: 4 July 1986
Rafale C: 19 May 1991

Introduction
18 May 2001

Status
In service

Primary users
French Air Force
French Navy
Egyptian Air Force

Produced
1986–present

Number built
165 (as of July 2018)

Program cost
€45.9 billion (as of FY2013) (US$62.7 billion)

Unit cost

Rafale B: €74M (flyaway cost, FY2013)
Rafale C: €68.8M (flyaway cost, FY2013)
Rafale M: €79M (flyaway cost, FY2011)

In December 2000, the French Naval Aviation (Aéronavale), the air arm of the
French Navy, received its first two Rafale M fighters. On 18 May the following
year, the squadron Flottille 12F, which had previously operated the F-8
Crusader, became the first squadron to operate the Rafale after it was
officially re-activated prior to the delivery of the sixth Rafale. Flottille 12F
immediately participated in Trident d’Or aboard the aircraft carrier Charles de
Gaulle with warships from ten other nations. During the maritime exercise, the
Navy tested the Rafale's avionics during simulated interceptions with various
foreign aircraft, in addition to carrier take-offs and landings. After almost
four years of training, the Rafale M was declared operational with the French
Navy in June 2004.

Rafales were delivered to the French Air Force several years after the naval
variant, initially with the Centre d’Expériences Aériennes Militaires (French
Air Force Evaluation Centre) at Mont-de-Marsan Air Base in the trials and
training role. By this time, it was expected that Escadron de Chasse (Fighter
Squadron) 1/7 at Saint-Dizier would receive a nucleus of 8–10 Rafale F2s during
the summer of 2006, in preparation for full operational service (with robust
air-to-air and stand off air-to-ground precision attack capabilities) starting
from mid-2007 (when EC 1/7 would have about 20 aircraft, 15 two-seaters and five
single-seaters).

In 2007, after a "crash program" enhancement six Rafales were given the ability
to drop laser-guided bombs, in view of engaging them in Afghanistan. Three of
these aircraft belonging to the Air Force were deployed to Dushanbe in
Tajikistan, while the three others were Rafale Marine of the Navy on board
Charles De Gaulle. The first mission occurred on 12 March 2007, and the first
GBU-12 was launched on 28 March in support of embattled Dutch troops in Southern
Afghanistan, marking the operational début of the Rafale. Between January 2009
and December 2011, a minimum of three Rafales were stationed at Kandahar
International Airport to conduct combat operations in support of NATO ground
forces.

In September 2014, Rafales began flying reconnaissance missions over Iraq as
part of Opération Chammal, France's contribution to the international effort to
combat Islamic State (IS) militants. Six (later nine) Rafales were initially
tasked with identifying IS positions in support of US airstrikes, flying from Al
Dhafra Air Base, UAE. On 18 September, Rafales joined American operations in
conducting attacks, launching four strikes near the Northern Iraqi town of
Zummar that destroyed a logistics depot and killed dozens of IS fighters.

In April 2018, during the Syrian Civil War, five Rafale B fighters from the
Escadron de Chasse 1/4 Gascogne participated in the 2018 missile strikes against
Syria. Each jet was loaded with two SCALP EG missiles.

Specifications

General characteristics
Crew: 1–2
Length: 15.27 m (50.1 ft)
Wingspan: 10.80 m (35.4 ft)
Height: 5.34 m (17.5 ft)
Wing area: 45.7 m2 (492 ft2)
Empty weight:
10,300 kilograms (22,700 lb) (B)
9,850 kilograms (21,720 lb) (C)
10,600 kilograms (23,400 lb) (M)
Loaded weight: 15,000 kilograms (33,000 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 24,500 kilograms (54,000 lb) (B/C/D) ()
Fuel capacity: 4,700 kg (10,400 lb) internal for single-seater (C); 4,400 kg for
two-seater (B)
Powerplant: 2 × Snecma M88-2 turbofans Dry thrust: 50.04 kN (11,250 lbf) each
Thrust with afterburner: 75 kN (16,860 lbf) each


Performance
Maximum speed:
High altitude: Mach 1.8 (1,912 km/h, 1,032 knots)
Low altitude: Mach 1.1 (1,390 km/h, 750 knots)

Range: 3,700 km (2,000 nmi) with 3 drop tanks
Combat radius: 1,852 km (1,000 nmi) on penetration mission with two CFTs
(2,300 L), three tanks (5,700 L), two SCALP-EG and two MICA AAMs.
Service ceiling: 15,235 m (50,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 304.8 m/s (60,000 ft/min)
Wing loading: 328 kg/m2 (67.1 lb/ft2)
Thrust/weight: 0.988 (100% fuel, 2 EM A2A missile, 2 IR A2A missile) version B
Maximum g-load: +9/-3.6g (+11g in emergencies)

Armament

Guns: 1× 30 mm (1.18 in) GIAT 30/M791 autocannon with 125 rounds
Hardpoints: 14 for Air Force versions (Rafale B/C), 13 for Navy version (Rafale
M) with a capacity of 9,500 kg (20,900 lb) external fuel and ordnance and
provisions to carry combinations of: Missiles:

Air-to-air: Magic II
MBDA MICA IR or EM
MBDA Meteor (planned)

Air-to-ground: MBDA Apache
MBDA Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG
AASM-Hammer (SBU-38/54/64)
GBU-12 Paveway II, GBU-22 Paveway III, GBU-24 Paveway III, GBU-49 Enhanced
Paveway II
AS-30L
Mark 82

Air-to-surface: MBDA AM 39-Exocet anti-ship missile

Nuclear Deterrence: ASMP-A nuclear missile

Other:
Thales Damocles targeting pod
Thales AREOS (Airborne Recce Observation System) reconnaissance pod
Thales TALIOS multi-function targeting pod in the future (F3R Standard)
Up to 5 drop tanks
Buddy-buddy refuelling pod






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