Posted on 07/07/2006 3:50:07 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Rafale Strike Version Enters Operation With French Air Force
By Michael A. Taverna
07/02/2006 11:22:38 PM
SHOWTIME
The Dassault Rafale F2 strike aircraft is poised to enter the French air force inventory, augmenting Europe's force-projection capability and opening a new chapter in the battle with rival U.S. and European manufacturers for lucrative foreign military sales contracts.
The first F2 squadron stood up at the St. Dizier air base in eastern France last week, in the presence of a host of dignitaries led by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. The high-profile event underscored not only the operational and industrial importance of the new strike version, but also its pioneering position as the first "fourth-generation" fighter to enter service in both air defense and strike configuration--and the only one designed from scratch for a full multirole capability.
The Rafale F2 can carry the Franco-British Scalp/Storm Shadow cruise missile and AASM precision strike weapon. The F2 is also equipped with the infrared-guided version of the Mica beyond-the-horizon air-to-air missile and MIDS/Link 16 terminals allowing data exchange within the fleet and other allied assets, along with IR-guided Micas and other basic air-to-air capabilities already available on the F1 air defense version.
Taking advantage of a rare respite from problems facing his beleaguered government--including the EADS/Airbus crisis (see p. 36)--Villepin cited the enhanced role the F2 will allow France to play in meeting contemporary threats. He also urged candidates for the future government to be elected next year not to succumb to pressure to stretch out deliveries, as past administrations did in the 1990s, or cut back the program. An initial wing of 10 Mirage M naval fighters in F1 air-to-air configuration entered service in 2004--almost a decade behind the initial timetable. Together, the air force and navy plan to take 294 aircraft, with deliveries continuing through 2022-23.
Two of the six Rafale B twin-seat aircraft and three Rafale C single-seaters declared operational by the air force last week were immediately deployed on quick-reaction alert, a high-readiness status created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S. Nine more twins and a pair of additional single-seaters are to be delivered between now and December, when the squadron (known as 1/7 Provence) should reach full strength.
ALL 20 AIRCRAFT HAVE BEEN DELIVERED, although only three of them are in the final F2.2 software configuration. This configuration, which covers changes to the AASM fire control and Spectra self-protection system, is due to be qualified by the beginning of July. The other aircraft are to be upgraded by December.
Members of the 1/7 Provence squadron, where all future Rafale pilots will be trained, say 10 air force crews are now trained to fly the F2, and 10 additional pilots will be ready by year-end. However, only 10-15 navigators are likely to be ready by that time, suggesting a limited number of aircraft may be fielded initially.
The wing is to undergo trials this summer and to reach full operating capability by the autumn, allowing up to four aircraft, along with support personnel and equipment, to be deployed for external operations. Air force program officers say commanders plan to fly the F2 later this year in a joint exercise with Eurofighter Typhoon air interdiction aircraft in Spain, and perhaps to deploy the aircraft to the French base in Djibouti for Scalp trials.
The F2 is expected to be introduced into the NATO Reaction Force next year, and Villepin hinted it might be deployed in the not-too-distant future to Afghanistan, where Rafale F1s based on the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle have already seen duty. However, the full F2 strike capability will not be ready for another two years. The AASM is not expected to be operational until the end of 2007, and the Damocles laser designator and GBU-12/Paveway 2 until late 2008, when the full-multirole F3 version is scheduled to be introduced.
Military officials say current-generation French Mirage fighters are capably supporting NATO and U.S. ground forces in Afghanistan with GBU-12s, and they see no immediate need to replace them.
The Rafale's 9.5-metric-ton external payload capability and 14 hard points allow the F2 to accommodate two Scalps, four Micas and three drop tanks in the same mission, which the French say is without equivalent in Europe. The fighter's 11.5-ton internal and external fuel capacity provide a better than 3-hr. air patrol loiter time and permit cruise missile firings more than 1,000 naut. mi. from its base. Tanker and buddy-buddy inflight refueling capability can further extend operational range.
The F2 shares characteristics of the basic Rafale--a top speed of Mach 1.8, 55,000-ft. ceiling, 1,000-fps. climb capability, 120-kt. approach speed and landing distance of 450 meters (1,475 ft.).
Patrick Dufour, program manager for the French armaments agency, says the DGA is on schedule to deliver an initial flotilla of F2 strike fighters for the CDG carrier in 2008. The first naval F2 was handed over in April, and a second, now on the assembly line, is due to follow later this year (AW&ST Mar. 27, p. 62).
Executives at prime contractor Dassault Aviation say production is gradually ramping up from one unit a month to "between 1 and 1.5 per month"--eight aircraft are currently on the assembly line--and the bulk of deliveries between mid-2007 and mid-2008 will be for the naval F2 version.
Dufour also insists that the full multirole F3 version will meet its end-of- 2008 deadline, despite alleged difficulties with some systems. Requiring a simple software change on F2 aircraft, the Rafale F3 will add reconnaissance, nuclear strike and antiship roles, in addition to rounding out conventional ground attack capabilities. This will allow it eventually to replace all other aircraft in the French inventory--including the Mirage 2000, introduced in 1982--another first.
The initial air force F3 squadron is due to stand up in St. Dizier in 2008, to be followed by two more in 2010-11. Formation of the first naval F3 flotilla is likely to be delayed at least a year to allow pilots to familiarize themselves first with the F2 standard. Of 120 aircraft ordered for delivery by 2011, 82 are earmarked for the air force (44 single-seaters and 28 twins) and 34 for the navy.
Dufour also says negotiations with prime contractor Dassault Aviation and the main Rafale system suppliers--Thales, Safran and MBDA--for a package of improvements aimed at further expanding the Rafale's multirole capability are at an advanced stage and should be completed "within the coming weeks." Dufour says the specifics of the package, dubbed Post-F3, are still in discussion. However, Jean-Marc Gasparini, deputy Rafale program director at Dassault, says the likely configuration will include an active-array antenna to replace the present passive-scan array, along with a new-generation OSF infrared track-and-scan system and missile warning receiver (MWR) and bigger GBU-24/Paveway 3 laser-guided bombs.
An enhanced prototype of the active-array antenna flew in May. Together with the MWR and OSF, with its TV/IR/laser range finder sensor package, the antenna is expected to greatly augment the fighter's data fusion capability. Obsolescence issues related to the Rafale's drawn-out development program caused the MWR and OSF to be left off a 59-unit batch-three order placed in 2004.
Software changes to accommodate the next-generation Meteor radar-guided BVR missile, which has already undergone carriage trials on the Rafale, may also be part of the package if France can be assured of early delivery of the missile, due to enter service with Typhoon in 2012 (AW&ST June 26, p. 32). But modifications to the M88 engine to boost thrust or extend service life are likely to be deferred until later, Gasparini says.
PROGRAM MANAGERS indicate the Post-F3 improvements will be introduced on a staggered basis between 2009 and 2012 in return for the deferral of eight Rafale deliveries in the batch-three purchase. The goal is to introduce the GBU-24 laser-guided bomb capability by 2009, and the active-array antenna and the MWR by the time the last of the 120 Rafales now on order are delivered in 2011-12.
Introduction of the Post-F3 export package, along with the Rafale F2's entry into operational service, is expected to help revive efforts to sell the French combat aircraft abroad. These two factors were cited as major reasons that the Rafale was unsuccessful in sales to South Korea, Netherlands and Singapore, and most recently for a Saudi Arabian air defense fighter requirement. The French are hopeful the Rafale can still meet Saudi strike aircraft needs, but they are also anticipating breakthroughs in several other nations, including Morocco.
The nearest-term potential buyers appear to be Greece (see article below) and Switzerland. Military and press delegations from both countries were on hand here.
French officials point out that France has historically managed to win 10-15% of fighter export sales, which would translate into 200-300 Rafale sales over the next two decades. They note that nearly half of the orders for the Mirage 2000, which ended its production run recently, were generated by foreign clients.
In addition to its operational capabilities, officials point to other advantages, including maintenance man-hour costs said to be 23% below those of the Mirage 2000, an open architecture permitting use of foreign weapon systems, and the possibility of introducing further upgrades through 2030 and beyond with minimal changes to the aircraft itself.
Ping!!!!
They didn't finish theirs.
Our F22's and F35's are amazing.
Is that all? (/sarcasm). Most airplanes won't do that going down!
does it come with a white flag?
It's twin-engined & has a higher external payload.
It must have really galled the French to have to do that.
Actually everyone allows for that incl.the US & the Russians.
'I remember how the Eurofighter was supposed to be this cool air superiority weapon rivaling the best that America could produce.
They didn't finish theirs.
Our F22's and F35's are amazing.'
What's the Typhoon got to do with the Rafale?
As for 'Our' F35, well Britain is a 20% tier 1 partner responsible for the tailplane, fuel systems, crew escape, PHM systems, all Electronic warfare systems, the VMC and communication, navigation and ident systems and the EOTS laser systems. Oh, and those nice Rolls-Royce engines in your picture!
Other partners include Italy, Holland, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Israel and Singapore. And don't forget good old Islamic Turkey! :D
Actually France was part of the EF consortium till about the mid-80s but withdrew due to differences in requirements as well as political wrangling.
WE saved you from the Nazis.
Lend-Lease, anyone? ;^)
Errr... and I suspect you are 0% responsible for the F-22. :^D
I thought the F-35 was not fielded yet ... but it might be me.
EF and rafale are not ment to rival the F-22 - since its assigned to a different role.
Eurofighter is a capable platform but cannot outperform the F-22 in anything but external load and turning capability. The F-35 certainly will neither. Rafalle is a way less capable and way less expensive airplane then the EF.
AESA capability still lacking in rafale as well as eurofighter makes them a whole class inferior - but EF excells with magnificient aerodynamic performance (can outturn an F-22) and supercruise capabilities (slower than F-22 but the only plane second to the F22 at all capable to do so)
AESA shall be added in the future but military projects have a legendary record of beeing delayed and over budget. (see F-35 - new method of budget controll)
A special topic is stealth.
Stealth is just a word for obscuring the plane to sensors like radar and IR, so it's not like a plane is either stealth or not. It's the question who could detect, locate identify it with what effort.
Modern Radar (like the on in the F-22) is very well capable of tracking an object like the F-35 over hundreds of kilometers. The F-22 is not so easy to detect, but far from invisible.
Given the rapid advances in semiconductor and software tech. it's only a matter of a small number of years time until the chineese (e.g.) will be able to control larger airspaces for planes like the F-35 and probably the F-22.
EF and Rafale are much easier to detect (somewhat stealtheir then an F-18 - depending on the angle or typ of radar)
Therefore it's discussed that the F-22 and the F-35 will have to be replaced in many mission profiles by UAVs which can be designed even stealthier and don't mean the loss of an (expensively trained) pilot.
F-35s apeal is it modularity, maintainablity and total cost of ownership. Nations will buy it because the folks on the buyers list where promised work packages in engineering and production. A multicultural fighter so to say.
you really fought in WWII ?
Respect for your ability with new media old man ;-)
You must be well in your 80s by now.
.....do you have Elven wizards deployed that can throw fireballs?
America does.
The avionic display system is the same as in the eurofighter - made by BAE.
Thrust vectoring was engineered in a cooperation with german DASA (you - money and proving grounds - we engineers) in the 80s.
That's all I know of, but there may be more.
Welcome to the web of defense tech.
Pff her hairdo was done by a european hair stylist (looks like victoria beckham)
That fighter is being piloted by a cheese-eating surrender-monkey!
Sacre bleu!
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