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Rafale's Multirole Capability
French air force and navy Rafale F3 combat aircraft are touted as true “omnirole fighters.” Military officials say there are multirole fighters that conduct reconnaissance, air-to-air combat, air-to-surface attack or deterrence, but only one at a time. The F3 can perform all in a single mission, they maintain.
Stephane Reb, Rafale program manager at French procurement agency DGA, explains: “The intention from the outset [with the F3] was to have a joint and omnirole fighter to replace all other aircraft in the air force.”
Indeed, when it comes to air-to-air combat, he says the F3 takes the place of the Mirage 2000 RDI and Mirage 2000-5. For deterrence it replaces the Mirage 2000N. In air-to-ground attack it replaces the SEM, Mirage 2000D and Mirage F1 CT, and for reconnaissance the Mirage F1 CR. “By 2015 we will have only the Rafale and Mirage 2000D in our fleet, and by 2030 only the Rafale,” Reb says.
Dassault Aviation was from the outset tasked with designing one plane that could fulfill all of these roles and remain in service for 40-50 years. The F1 version, delivered to the Aeronavale in 2004, only had air-to-air combat capability. The F2, delivered to the air force at St. Dizier in 2006, introduced the Scalp cruise missile, AASM air-to-surface missile, IR MICA infrared air-to-air missile, NATO L16 data link and front-sensor optronics.
The F3, first delivered in July 2008, is the F2 plus the ASMP-A advanced air-to-surface medium-range nuclear missile, Exocet AM39 antiship missile and RECO-NG (Areos) reconnaissance pod. “Two Rafales are equivalent to two Mirage 2000-5 fighters and four Mirage 2000D aircraft with respect to payload,” says a senior Rafale pilot identified for security reasons as Junior. In operations over Libya, using fewer aircraft reduces the complexity of the raids and the refuelling plan. (For a story on AWACS air operations over Libya, see p. 21.)
The F3-04T version currently under development is the F3 plus active, electronically scanned array radar (with capabilities that include detection of low-signature targets), a new-generation missile-warning system and front-sensor optronics with improved technology.
The 10 F1 versions already delivered will be upgraded to F3, Reb says. The F2s have already been upgraded.
France’s strategy is to stretch out Rafale production, at the record slow rate of one aircraft per month, while fully funding upgrades and seeking export contracts. Production is secured until 2019. The 100th aircraft is due for delivery in September. Ultimately, the air force will have 228 Rafale B (twin-seat) and C (single-seat) aircraft, while the navy will have 58 single-seat aircraft.
The DGA says that production of the aircraft will continue to 2025, when the mid-life upgrade begins. Until then, Reb says the aircraft’s architecture will allow it to remain at a “top level of performance and interoperability” without major hardware changes.
Even improvements to the M88 engine to turn it into the M88‑4E—with lower maintenance of key parts and a 30% increase in the life of the high-pressure turbine—can be introduced piece-by-piece. The first M88-4E will be delivered in November and be the base configuration of the Rafale engine.
Pilots flying the Rafale over Libya and Afghanistan are pleased with its performance. Junior says the Rafale “allows the observation, orientation, decision and action loop to be drastically reduced because we can act in the cockpit.” He notes that “over Libya we’re omnirole: While your recce is working by itself, you’re scanning the skies and sending pictures to other aircraft. With one trigger pull of the AASM you can hit six targets simultaneously, in all weather and day or night.”
Junior says the cockpit displays are intuitive. “It takes a Mirage pilot just 30 minutes to understand them the first time,” he remarks, adding that “you can select what information you receive. I like a relatively silent cockpit, which I can have and yet be fully part of the network-centric warfare.”
Rafale's Multirole Capability | AVIATION WEEK
French air force and navy Rafale F3 combat aircraft are touted as true “omnirole fighters.” Military officials say there are multirole fighters that conduct reconnaissance, air-to-air combat, air-to-surface attack or deterrence, but only one at a time. The F3 can perform all in a single mission, they maintain.
Stephane Reb, Rafale program manager at French procurement agency DGA, explains: “The intention from the outset [with the F3] was to have a joint and omnirole fighter to replace all other aircraft in the air force.”
Indeed, when it comes to air-to-air combat, he says the F3 takes the place of the Mirage 2000 RDI and Mirage 2000-5. For deterrence it replaces the Mirage 2000N. In air-to-ground attack it replaces the SEM, Mirage 2000D and Mirage F1 CT, and for reconnaissance the Mirage F1 CR. “By 2015 we will have only the Rafale and Mirage 2000D in our fleet, and by 2030 only the Rafale,” Reb says.
Dassault Aviation was from the outset tasked with designing one plane that could fulfill all of these roles and remain in service for 40-50 years. The F1 version, delivered to the Aeronavale in 2004, only had air-to-air combat capability. The F2, delivered to the air force at St. Dizier in 2006, introduced the Scalp cruise missile, AASM air-to-surface missile, IR MICA infrared air-to-air missile, NATO L16 data link and front-sensor optronics.
The F3, first delivered in July 2008, is the F2 plus the ASMP-A advanced air-to-surface medium-range nuclear missile, Exocet AM39 antiship missile and RECO-NG (Areos) reconnaissance pod. “Two Rafales are equivalent to two Mirage 2000-5 fighters and four Mirage 2000D aircraft with respect to payload,” says a senior Rafale pilot identified for security reasons as Junior. In operations over Libya, using fewer aircraft reduces the complexity of the raids and the refuelling plan. (For a story on AWACS air operations over Libya, see p. 21.)
The F3-04T version currently under development is the F3 plus active, electronically scanned array radar (with capabilities that include detection of low-signature targets), a new-generation missile-warning system and front-sensor optronics with improved technology.
The 10 F1 versions already delivered will be upgraded to F3, Reb says. The F2s have already been upgraded.
France’s strategy is to stretch out Rafale production, at the record slow rate of one aircraft per month, while fully funding upgrades and seeking export contracts. Production is secured until 2019. The 100th aircraft is due for delivery in September. Ultimately, the air force will have 228 Rafale B (twin-seat) and C (single-seat) aircraft, while the navy will have 58 single-seat aircraft.
The DGA says that production of the aircraft will continue to 2025, when the mid-life upgrade begins. Until then, Reb says the aircraft’s architecture will allow it to remain at a “top level of performance and interoperability” without major hardware changes.
Even improvements to the M88 engine to turn it into the M88‑4E—with lower maintenance of key parts and a 30% increase in the life of the high-pressure turbine—can be introduced piece-by-piece. The first M88-4E will be delivered in November and be the base configuration of the Rafale engine.
Pilots flying the Rafale over Libya and Afghanistan are pleased with its performance. Junior says the Rafale “allows the observation, orientation, decision and action loop to be drastically reduced because we can act in the cockpit.” He notes that “over Libya we’re omnirole: While your recce is working by itself, you’re scanning the skies and sending pictures to other aircraft. With one trigger pull of the AASM you can hit six targets simultaneously, in all weather and day or night.”
Junior says the cockpit displays are intuitive. “It takes a Mirage pilot just 30 minutes to understand them the first time,” he remarks, adding that “you can select what information you receive. I like a relatively silent cockpit, which I can have and yet be fully part of the network-centric warfare.”
Rafale's Multirole Capability | AVIATION WEEK