Awsome! Terrain-following autopilot capability eyed for Rafale fighters

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Terrain-following autopilot capability eyed for Rafale fighters
Published April 12, 2015 | By admin
SOURCE : UPI

French Air Force and Navy authorities are jointly working to develop an autopilot terrain-following capability for its single-seat Rafale fighters.

The terrain-following capability, which is to undergo flight trials by the Air Force’s Centre d’Expériences Aériennes Militaires, or military aircraft test center, and the French Navy’s Détachement du Centre d’Expérimentations Pratiques de l’Aéronautique Navale, or Naval Aviation Flight Trials Detachment, would allow single-seat Rafales to perform fire support missions as well as intercept unidentified aircraft flying at very low altitude, even through low cloud cover.

“Integrated into the aircraft, this flight control mode allows it to fly at high speed and low level over the ground or sea, the French Air Force said. “In complete safety and under all weather conditions, the aircraft can operate at very low level by day and night thanks to its sophisticated advanced autopilot, which protects the crew by preventing the aircraft from impacting natural (terrain features) and artificial (antennas, bridges, cables, etc) obstacles. The crew is thus free to concentrate on the prosecution of its mission, on surviving in a hostile environment and on achieving its operational objectives.”

Information on how far development of the system has progressed and when flight trials may begin was not disclosed in the service’s announcement.

Terrain-following autopilot capability eyed for Rafale fighters | idrw.org

 

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Information on how far development of the system has progressed and when flight trials may begin was not disclosed in the service’s announcement.

idrw did nt print the whole article. the articles unofficial translation by Defense-Arospace.com further states

Pilots testing this capability seek, above all, to ensure the safety of single-seat aircraft and their pilots during use of the terrain-following mode. The current trials aim to provide Air Force and Navy staffs a training profile offering lower costs, and including flight operations as well as simulator flights. However, this feature is currently only authorized on two-seat Rafales, whose crews include both pilot and navigator.

A twin ambition for the Air Force

These trials allow the air force to evaluate the feasibility of allowing combat squadrons equipped with the single-seat Rafale variant, and based at Saint-Dizier and Mont-de-Marsan, to carry out fire support missions as well as aerial interceptions in all weather conditions.

The goal is two-fold. First, perform “show of force” demonstrations by flying high-speed, low-level passes over enemy forces, a tactic that is routinely used by Mirage 2000D Rafale two-seat fighters during foreign missions.

A terrain-following capability will also allow air-defense pilots to intercept unidentified aircraft flying at very low altitude, even through low cloud cover, in complete safety.


The original french article added

A double ambition for the Air Force
This experiment allows the Air Force to evaluate the possibility to achieve by squadrons equipped Gust cars (in Saint-Dizier and Mont-de-Marsan) fire support missions as well as aerial interceptions all types of weather. The goal is twofold. First, perform shows of strength (strength demonstrations), running low and rapid transition over enemy troops, aerial maneuvers regularly conducted operations by Mirage 2000D and Rafale. On the other hand, this field tracking capability provides an air defense pilots the opportunity to achieve the interception of an unknown aircraft flying at very low altitude, and this safely, even through the clouds