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117-547: The Dassault Rafale ( French pronunciation: [ʁafal] , literally meaning "gust of wind", or "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. It

234-649: A great circle route. Hence, in case of an engine failure in a twinjet (like Boeing 777 ), the twin-jet could make emergency landings in fields in Canada , Alaska , eastern Russia , Greenland , Iceland , or the British Isles . The Boeing 777 has also been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration for flights between North America and Hawaii , which is the world's longest regular airline route with no diversion airports along

351-400: 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. Great emphasis has been placed on pilot workload minimisation across all operations. Among the features of

468-518: A podded engine usually mounted beneath, or occasionally above or within, each wing. Most notable examples of such a configuration are the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 . The second has one engine mounted on each side of the rear fuselage, close to its empennage , used by many business jets , although some airliners like the Fokker 70 , Douglas DC-9 and COMAC ARJ21 utilise such a design as well. In

585-694: A 48-aircraft (28 firm and 20 options) production run with delivery between 2002 and 2007. A further order of 59 F3 Rafales was announced in December 2004. In November 2009 the French government ordered an additional 60 aircraft to take the total order for the French Air Force and Navy to 180. The Rafale is manufactured almost entirely in France, except for some imported non-sensitive components. Different components are produced in various plants across

702-531: A built-in ladder, carrier-based microwave landing system , and the new fin-tip Telemir system for syncing the inertial navigation system to external equipment. Altogether, the naval modifications of the Rafale M increase its weight by 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) compared to other variants. The Rafale M retains about 95 percent commonality with Air Force variants including, although unusual for carrier-based aircraft, being unable to fold its multi-spar wings to reduce storage space. The size constraints were offset by

819-440: A central collimated display. These displays have been strategically placed to minimise pilot distraction from the external environment. Some displays feature a touch interface for ease of human–computer interaction (HCI). A head-mounted display (HMD) remains to be integrated to take full advantage of its MICA missiles. The cockpit is fully compatible with night vision goggles (NVG). The primary flight controls are arranged in

936-406: A combination of canards , delta wings and a single vertical tail-fin . The ACX project was given political impetus when the French government awarded a contract for two (later reduced to one) technology demonstrator aircraft on 13 April 1983. The government and industry would each provide half of the development cost, with first flight to take place in 1986. At the time, there was no guarantee that

1053-419: A common request for proposal. In 1975, the country's Ministry of Aviation initiated studies for a new aircraft to complement the upcoming and smaller Dassault Mirage 2000 , with each aircraft optimized for differing roles. The Rafale aircraft development programme was the end product of efforts by various European countries for a common fighter aircraft. In 1979, Dassault-Breguet (later Dassault Aviation) joined

1170-497: A joint venture between Thales and MBDA . Various methods of detection, jamming , and decoying have been incorporated, and the system has been designed to be highly reprogrammable for addressing new threats and incorporating additional sub-systems in the future. Operations over Libya were greatly assisted by SPECTRA, allowing Rafales to perform missions independently from the support of dedicated Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) platforms. The Rafale's ground attack capability

1287-497: A lead role, with the commensurate technical and industrial primacy, whereas the other countries were accepting of a more egalitarian programme structure. There was little common ground between France and the other members of this project, but by 1983, the five countries had agreed on a European Staff Target for a future fighter. Nevertheless, differences persisted, and so France withdrew from the multilateral talks in July 1985 to preserve

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1404-658: A month of shore based training at Naval Air Station Oceana . In April 2005, the Air Force received its first three F2 standard Rafale Bs at the Centre d'Expériences Aériennes Militaires (CEAM, i.e. the Military Air Experiment Centre) at Mont-de-Marsan , where they were tasked to undertake operational evaluation and pilot conversion training. By this time, it was expected that Escadron de Chasse (Fighter Squadron) 1/7 at Saint-Dizier would receive

1521-473: A non-polluting combustion chamber, single-crystal turbine blades, powder metallurgy disks, and technology to reduce radar and infrared signatures. The M88 enables the Rafale to supercruise while carrying four missiles and one drop tank. Qualification of the M88-2 engine ended in 1996 and the first production engine was delivered by the end of the year. Due to delays in engine production, the Rafale A demonstrator

1638-429: 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). Twinjet There are three common configurations of twinjet aircraft. The first, common on large aircraft such as airliners, has

1755-413: A part of Airbus . On 6 June 1968, Messerschmitt AG merged with the small civil engineering and civil aviation firm Bölkow , becoming Messerschmitt-Bölkow. The following May, the firm acquired Hamburger Flugzeugbau (HFB), which had originated as a branch of Blohm+Voss . To reflect the latter's acquisition, the company changed its name to Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB). Upon its formation, 51% of

1872-493: A reputation for reliability and safety, MBB, along with one of its major shareholders , Boeing Vertol , began studying options during the 1970s for producing an enlarged version to accompany the Bo 105. However, Boeing withdrew from the venture, leading to MBB search for another partner; this was found in the form of Japanese company Kawasaki Heavy Industries . On 25 February 1977, MBB and Kawasaki signed an agreement to cooperate on

1989-408: A specified distance from an available diversion airport. Overwater flights near diversion airports need not be ETOPS/LROPS-compliant. Since the 1990s, airlines have increasingly turned from four-engine or three-engine airliners to twin-engine airliners to operate transatlantic and transpacific flight routes. On a nonstop flight from America to Asia or Europe, the long-range aircraft usually follows

2106-517: A trainer, but the Gulf War showed that a second crew member was invaluable on strike and reconnaissance missions. The Air Force therefore switched its preferences towards the two-seater, and planned that the variant would constitute 60 percent of the Rafale fleet. The service originally planned to order 250 Rafales, later reduced to 234 aircraft, 95 "C" and 139 "B" models", and then to 212 aircraft. The Navy originally planned to order 86 Rafales, which

2223-541: A trijet aircraft) and Boeing worked on new widebody twinjet designs that would become the Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 , respectively. The MD-11's long range advantage was brief as it was soon nullified by the Airbus A330-300 and the extended-range Boeing 767-300ER and Boeing 777-200ER. The Airbus A320 twinjet stands out as the most produced jet airliner. The Boeing 777X is the world's largest twinjet, and

2340-562: Is capable of withstanding from −3.6 g to 9 g (10.5 g on Rafale solo display and a maximum of 11 g can be reached in case of emergency). The Rafale is an aerodynamically unstable aircraft and uses digital fly-by-wire flight controls to artificially enforce and maintain stability. The aircraft's canards also act to reduce the minimum landing speed to 115 knots (213 km/h; 132 mph); while in flight, airspeeds as low as 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) have been observed during training missions. According to simulations by Dassault,

2457-533: Is deliberately not employed for safety-critical elements of the aircraft's operation, such as the final release of weapons. In the area of life support , the Rafale is fitted with a Martin-Baker Mark 16F "zero-zero" ejection seat , capable of operation at zero speed and zero altitude. An on-board oxygen generating system , developed by Air Liquide , eliminates the need to carry bulky oxygen canisters. The Rafale's flight computer has been programmed to counteract pilot disorientation and to employ automatic recovery of

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2574-411: Is heavily reliant upon sensory targeting pods, such as Thales Optronics 's Reco New Generation/Areos reconnaissance pod and Damocles electro-optical/laser designation pod . Together, these systems provide targeting information, enable tactical reconnaissance missions, and are integrated with the Rafale's IMA architecture to provide analysed data feeds to friendly units and ground stations, as well as to

2691-474: Is not an issue, as one of the engines is more than powerful enough to keep the aircraft aloft (see below). Mostly, ETOPS certification involves maintenance and design requirements ensuring that a failure of one engine cannot make the other one fail also. The engines and related systems need to be independent and (in essence) independently maintained. ETOPS/LROPS is often incorrectly thought to apply only to long overwater flights, but it applies to any flight more than

2808-545: Is referred to as an "omnirole" 4.5th generation aircraft by Dassault. In the late 1970s, the French Air Force and French Navy sought to replace and consolidate their existing fleets of aircraft. In order to reduce development costs and boost prospective sales, France entered into an arrangement with the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain to produce an agile multi-purpose "Future European Fighter Aircraft" (which would become

2925-422: Is typically outfitted with 14 hardpoints (only 13 on Rafale M version), five of which are suitable for heavy armament or equipment such as auxiliary fuel tanks, and has a maximum external load capacity of nine tons. In addition to the above equipment, the Rafale carries the 30 mm GIAT 30 revolver cannon and can be outfitted with a range of laser-guided bombs and ground-attack munitions. According to Dassault,

3042-518: The 777X in November 2013, while then-CEO Fabrice Brégier preferred to focus on product improvement rather than all-new concepts for 10 years. It would have a 10-abreast economy like the 777; its 565 m (6,081 sq ft) wing, slightly more than the 747-8, would have an 80 m (262 ft) span, as wide as the A380 , for a 892,900 lb (405 t) MTOW compared to 775,000 lb (352 t) for

3159-399: The Boeing 777 , Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 have matched or surpassed older quad-jet designs such as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A340 in these aspects, and twinjets have been more successful in terms of sales than quad-jets. In 2012, Airbus studied a 470-seat twinjet competitor for the Boeing 747-8 with lower operating costs expected between 2023 and 2030, revived after Boeing launched

3276-720: The Eurocopter EC135 during the early 1990s which, like its Bo 105 ancestor, achieved similar commercial success. Perhaps the most important partnership that MBB was involved in was the Airbus A300 . On 26 September 1967, the British, French, and West German governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding to start development of the A300. At this point, the A300 was only the second major joint aircraft programme in Europe,

3393-604: The Eurofighter Typhoon ). Subsequent disagreements over workshare and differing requirements led France to pursue its own development programme. Dassault built a technology demonstrator that first flew in July 1986 as part of an eight-year flight-test programme, paving the way for approval 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

3510-715: The Gulf of Oman , where its complement of Rafales undertook training operations. In June 2002, while Charles de Gaulle was in the Arabian Sea, Rafales conducted several patrols near the India-Pakistan border. In 2016, Rafales operating from Charles de Gaulle struck targets associated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (IS). In December 2015, American and French military officials reportedly discussed

3627-501: The MBB / BAe "European Collaborative Fighter" project which was renamed the "European Combat Aircraft" (ECA). The company contributed the aerodynamic layout of a prospective twin-engine, single-seat fighter; however, the project collapsed in 1981 due to differing operational requirements of each partner country. In 1983, the "Future European Fighter Aircraft" (FEFA) programme was initiated, bringing together France, Italy, Spain, West Germany and

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3744-583: The MICA at beyond visual range distances; it can also be used for detecting and identifying airborne targets, as well as those on the ground and at sea. Dassault describes the OSF as being immune to jamming and capable of providing covert long-range surveillance. In 2012, an improved version of the OSF was deployed operationally. Initial deliveries of the Rafale M were to the F1 ("France 1") standard, which were equipped for

3861-587: The Serbian Air Force . The Rafale is considered one of the most advanced and capable warplanes in the world, and among the most successful internationally. It has been used in combat over Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Iraq and Syria. In the mid-1970s, the French Air Force ( Armée de l'Air ) and French Navy ( Marine Nationale ) had separate requirements for a new generation of fighters to replace those in or about to enter service. Because their requirements were similar, and to reduce cost, both services issued

3978-539: The United States Navy facility at NAS Lakehurst , New Jersey . The aircraft then carried out shipboard trials aboard Foch in April 1993. The aircraft conducted landings and launches from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in July 1999. Testing showed that the aircraft had the ability to land with significant loads of unexpended ordnance. The Rafale B was initially expected to be just

4095-483: The 72.9 kN (16,400 lbf) M88 in early 1990, and the aircraft flew under the updated powerplant configuration in May 1990. The aircraft thereafter attained a speed of Mach 1.4 without the use of engine reheat , thereby demonstrating supercruise. The Rafale A was used until January 1994, and was retired after 867 sorties. The early successful demonstration programme increased French industry and government confidence in

4212-753: The 777-200LR variant has the world's second longest aircraft range (behind Airbus A350-900 ULR). Other Boeing twinjets include the 767 , 757 (With the latter having stopped production, but still in commercial service) and 787 . Competitor Airbus produces the A320 family , the A330 , and the A350 . Some modern commercial airplanes still use four engines ( quad-jets ) like the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8 , which are classified as very large aircraft (over 400 seats in mixed-class configurations). Four engines are still used on

4329-432: The 777X, with a composite structure for an operating empty weight of 467,400 lb (212 t), and a 8,150 nmi (15,090 km) range at Mach 0.85. When flying far from diversionary airports (so called ETOPS/LROPS flights), the aircraft must be able to reach an alternate on the remaining engine within a specified time in case of one engine failure. When aircraft are certified according to ETOPS standards, thrust

4446-480: The AM39 Exocet sea skimming missile, while reconnaissance flights would use a combination of onboard and external pod-based sensor equipment. Furthermore, the aircraft could conduct nuclear strikes when armed with ASMP-A missiles. In 2010, France ordered 200 MBDA Meteor beyond-visual-range missiles which greatly increases the distance at which the Rafale can engage aerial targets. The F4 standard program

4563-422: The Air Force. The ACX programmed was renamed Rafale ("squall") in April 1985. Construction of the Rafale A (ACX) technology demonstrator started in 1984. It had a length of 15.8 m (52 ft), a wingspan of 11 m (36 ft), and a 9.5 t (21,000 lb) empty weight. The austere aircraft lacked in major subsystems, and had the minimal cockpit systems and a fly-by-wire flight control system for

4680-723: The Airbus A300, the world's first twin-engine widebody airliner. The project intended to produce an aircraft that was smaller, lighter, and more economical than its three-engine American rivals, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar . Shortly after the Paris Air Show agreement, it was decided that, to provide effective management of responsibilities, a Groupement d'intérêt économique would be established, allowing

4797-562: The American company Chrysler Corporation , the aerospace division was renamed DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG on 7 November 1998. As part of the prevailing trend of European defense consolidation of the late 1990s saw DASA being merged with Aerospatiale-Matra of France and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) of Spain to form the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) during 2000. The former assets of

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4914-563: The Areos reconnaissance pod, and it has been reported that all aircraft built to the earlier F1 and F2 standards are to be upgraded to become F3s. F3 standard Rafales are capable of undertaking many different mission roles with a range of equipment, namely air defence/superiority missions with Mica IR and EM air-to-air missiles, and precision ground attacks typically using SCALP EG cruise missiles and AASM Hammer air-to-surface missiles. In addition, anti-shipping missions could be carried out using

5031-492: The Bo 105C, was developed, this model quickly superseded the Bo 105A. Following its introduction to service in 1970, the Bo 105 quickly proved to be a commercial success. Production continued until 2001; by the end of production, 1,406 rotorcraft had been manufactured and delivered to operators in 55 nations worldwide. It served as the basis for several derivatives, such as the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 . Having established

5148-409: The Bo 108 was originally intended to be a technology demonstrator, combining attributes of the successful Bo 105 with new advances and an aerodynamically streamlined design. Technologies included the first full-authority digital engine controls ( FADEC ) on a helicopter, a hingeless main rotor, and the adoption of a new transmission. First flown on 17 October 1988, a production version was introduced as

5265-529: The ECA, Dassault received contracts for the development of project ACT 92 ( Avion de Combat Tactique , meaning "Tactical Combat Airplane"). The following year, the National Office for Aviation Studies and Research began studying the possible configurations of the new fighter under the codename Rapace ("Bird of Prey"). By March 1980, the number of configurations had been narrowed down to four, two of which had

5382-478: The EFA project in early September 1985. The four-nation project eventually resulted in the Eurofighter Typhoon 's development. In France, the government proceeded with its own programme. The Ministry of Defence required an aircraft capable of air-to-air and air-to-ground, all-day and adverse weather operations. As France was the sole developer of the Rafale's airframe , avionics , propulsion system and armament ,

5499-541: The F/A-18 Hornet, pending the availability of the Snecma M88 turbofan engines . It was rolled out in December 1985 at Saint-Cloud , and on 4 July 1986, made its first flight from the company's Istres test facility in southern France, piloted by Guy Mitaux-Maurouard. During the one-hour flight, the aircraft reached an altitude of 11,000 m (36,000 ft) and a speed of Mach 1.3. The aircraft participated in

5616-459: The Farnborough air show the following month. The aircraft participated in an intensive flight test programme that saw it simulate air force and naval operations. The test vehicle flew approaches to the carrier Clemenceau , and also tested for coordination with Foch . By 1987, the aircraft had been flown by Air Force, Navy and CEV test pilots. Its port-side F404 engine was replaced with

5733-467: The IMA greatly assists combat operations via data fusion, the continuous integration and analysis of the various sensor systems throughout the aircraft, and has been designed for the incorporation of new systems and avionics throughout the Rafale's service life. The Rafale features an integrated defensive-aids system named SPECTRA , which protects the aircraft against airborne and ground threats, developed as

5850-412: The M88-2 engines, man-machine interface and weapons, and expand the flight envelope . Due to budgetary constraints, the second single-seat prototype was never built. The aircraft differed significantly from the Rafale A demonstrator. Although superficially similar to the heavier test vehicle, the aircraft was smaller, with a length of 15.3 m (50 ft) and a wingspan of 10.9 m (36 ft). It

5967-544: The Netherlands, and Norway, about the possible collaboration on the project. To meet the various roles expected of the new aircraft, the Air Force required two variants: the single-seat Rafale C ( chasseur , meaning "fighter") and the Rafale B ( biplace , "two-seater"). Its first flight on 19 May 1991 occurred at the company's test facility in Istres. This signalled the start of a test programme which primarily aimed to test

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6084-561: The Rafale M was declared operational with the French Navy in June 2004. The Rafale M is fully compatible with United States Navy aircraft carriers and some French Navy pilots have qualified to fly the aircraft from US Navy flight decks. On 4 June 2010, during an exercise on USS  Harry S. Truman , a French Rafale became the first jet fighter of a foreign navy to have its engine replaced on board an American aircraft carrier. In 2002,

6201-558: 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,

6318-414: The Rafale has sufficient low speed performance to operate from STOBAR -configured aircraft carriers, and can take off using a ski-jump with no modifications. The Rafale M features a greatly reinforced undercarriage to cope with the additional stresses of naval landings, an arrestor hook , and "jump strut" nosewheel, which only extends during short takeoffs, including catapult launches. It also features

6435-961: The Rafale is being produced for both the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations in the French Navy. It has been marketed for export to several countries, and was selected for purchase by the Egyptian Air Force , the Indian Air Force , the Indian Navy , the Qatar Air Force , the Hellenic Air Force , the Croatian Air Force , the Indonesian Air Force , the United Arab Emirates Air Force and

6552-588: The Rafale to launch miniaturised satellites . In January 2014, the defence ministry announced that funds had been allocated towards the development of the F3R standard. The standard includes the integration of the Meteor BVR missile, among other weapons and software updates. The standard was validated in 2018. Development work started on the F4 standard in 2019. The design received radar and sensor upgrades that facilitate

6669-523: The Rafale's components, assisting with various aspects of the design, manufacture and through-life support. The computer-aided arrangement also simplified routine maintenance. Production of the first aircraft series formally started in December 1992, but was suspended in November 1995 due to political and economic uncertainty, and resumed in January 1997 after the Ministry of Defence and Dassault agreed on

6786-498: The Rafale's onboard mission systems enable ground attack and air-to-air combat operations to be carried out within a single sortie, with many functions capable of simultaneous execution in conjunction with another, increasing survivability and versatility. The Rafale is fitted with two Snecma M88 engines, each capable of providing up to 50 kilonewtons (11,000 pounds-force) of dry thrust and 75 kN (17,000 lb f ) with afterburners. The engines feature several advances, including

6903-588: The Rafale's unit cost had significantly increased due to additional development work to improve the RBE2's detection range. The RBE2 AA active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar now replaces the previous passively scanned RBE2. The RBE2 AA is reported to deliver a greater detection range of 200 km, improved reliability and reduced maintenance demands over the preceding radar. A Rafale demonstrator began test flights in 2002 and has totaled 100 flight hours as of December 2011. By December 2009, production of

7020-481: The Rafale's visibility to threats remain classified. The Rafale's glass cockpit was designed around the principle of data fusion —a central computer selects and prioritises information to display to pilots for simpler command and control. For displaying information gathered from a range of sensors across the aircraft, the cockpit features a wide-angle holographic head-up display (HUD) system, two head-down flat-panel colour multi-function displays (MFDs) as well as

7137-560: The Rafale, and provides a significantly improved reconnaissance capability over preceding platforms. Areos has been designed to perform reconnaissance under various mission profiles and condition, using multiple day/night sensors and its own independent communications datalinks. The Rafale was first outfitted with the Thales RBE2 passive electronically scanned multi-mode radar . Thales claims to have achieved increased levels of situational awareness as compared to earlier aircraft through

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7254-511: The Rafales were first deployed to a combat zone; seven Rafale Ms embarked aboard Charles de Gaulle of the French Navy during " Mission Héraclès ", the French participation in " Operation Enduring Freedom ". They flew from the aircraft carrier over Afghanistan, but the F1 standard precluded air-to-ground missions and the Rafale did not see any action. In March 2002, the aircraft carrier was stationed in

7371-528: The Sniper and LITENING pods; so work began on an upgraded pod, designated Damocles XF, with additional sensors and added ability to transmit live video feeds. A new Thales targeting pod, the Talios, was officially unveiled at the 2014 Farnborough Air Show and is expected to be integrated on the Rafale by 2018. Thales' Areos reconnaissance pod is an all-weather, night-and-day-capable reconnaissance system employed on

7488-626: The United Arab Emirates (UAE). As of 2007, a thrust vectoring variant of the engine designated as M88-3D was also under development. 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

7605-477: The United Kingdom to jointly develop a new fighter, although the latter three had their own aircraft developments. French officials envisioned a lightweight, multirole aircraft that—in addition to fulfilling both air force and naval roles —it was believed, would be attractive on the export fighter market. This was in contrast to the British requirement for a heavy long-range interceptor. France also demanded

7722-453: The air-to-air interceptor combat duties, but lacked any armament for air-to-ground operations. The F1 standard became operational in 2004. Later deliveries were to the "F2" standard, which added the capability for conducting air-to-ground operations; the first F2 standard Rafale M was delivered to the French Navy in May 2006. Starting in 2008 onwards, Rafale deliveries have been to the nuclear-capable F3 standard that also added reconnaissance with

7839-478: The aircraft during negative flight conditions. The auto-pilot and autothrottle controls are also integrated, and are activated by switches located on the primary flight controls. An intelligent flight suit worn by the pilot is automatically controlled by the aircraft to counteract in response to calculated g-forces. The Rafale core avionics systems employ an integrated modular avionics (IMA), called MDPU (modular data processing unit). This architecture hosts all

7956-665: 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. There are 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,

8073-456: The aircraft's sensors and avionics, and to allow additional armament integration. In 2011, upgrades under consideration included a software radio and satellite link, a new laser-targeting pod, smaller bombs and enhancements to the aircraft's data-fusion capacity. In July 2012, fleetwide upgrades of the Rafale's battlefield communications and interoperability capabilities commenced. At one stage, French officials were reportedly considering equipping

8190-594: The battle for the F/A-18s, I guess you could say that we had at least some success by 'persuading' the government to give us initial delivery priority". The first production Rafale B took its first flight on 24 November 1998, followed by the first Rafale M for the French Navy on 7 July 1999. The Rafale has been designed with an open software architecture that facilitates straightforward upgrades. Dassault and its industry partners have therefore undertaken continuous tests and development primarily aimed at progressively improving

8307-753: The country, including the fuselage in Paris, wings in Martignas, and fins in Biarritz, with final assembly taking place in Merignac near Bordeaux. Dassault carries out 60% of the work, its partner Thales 25%, and its other partner Safran 15%. The three companies rely on a network of 500 subcontractors, many of which are small and medium enterprises , providing work for 7,000 direct and indirect employees. As of 2012, each fighter took 24 months to manufacture, with an annual production rate of eleven aircraft. The Rafale

8424-587: The design of which was headed by German engineer Ludwig Bölkow , made use of a revolutionary hingeless main rotor composed of fibreglass . On 13 October 1970, the German Civil Aviation Authority certified the Bo 105; initial deliveries for the first customers, ADAC Air Rescue and the Bavarian State Police , took place shortly thereafter. During 1972, an improved version of the rotorcraft with more powerful engines,

8541-461: The detection of airborne stealth targets at long range, as well as improved capabilities in the helmet-mounted display. With improved communications equipment, it is also more effective in network-centric warfare. Flight tests were conducted starting in 2021 and the first F4-standard aircraft was delivered in 2023. Previous aircraft will be upgraded to the standard, with a further 30 aircraft to be ordered in 2023. The total programme cost, as of FY2013,

8658-454: The development and manufacture of various aircraft during its existence. Among its best-known products were the MBB Bo 105 light twin-engine helicopter and its enlarged derivative, the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 . MBB was also a key early partner on the Airbus A300 , a wide-body twin-jet airliner ; the company's involvement in the A300's development and production led to it forming a key component of

8775-601: The development of a new rotorcraft. Under the terms of this agreement, the two corporations merged their previously separate projects to produce twin-engined general purpose helicopters, these being the Bo 107 by MBB and the KH-7 from Kawasaki. Separate elements were assigned to each company; MBB were responsible for developing the rotors (these were based on the rigid rotor system previously used on MBB's Bo 105 ), tailboom, flight controls and hydraulic system while Kawasaki undertook

8892-478: The development of the landing gear , airframe , main transmission, electrical system and other minor components. Each company established its own final assembly line for the type, on which they produced the rotorcraft to meet demands within their respective local markets. An even more advanced derivative of the Bo 105, initially designated by MBB as the Bo 108 began development during the 1970s. The company developed it in partnership with France's Aérospatiale ;

9009-457: The earlier detection and tracking of multiple air targets for close combat and long-range interception, as well as real-time generation of three-dimensional maps for terrain-following and the real-time generation of high resolution ground maps for navigation and targeting. In early 1994, it was reported that technical difficulties with the radar had delayed the Rafale's development by six months. In September 2006, Flight International reported

9126-480: The effort would result in a full-scale development programme, and the aircraft remained a purely "proof-of concept" test vehicle. In an effort to harmonize design specifics with the requirements of other countries while collaboration talks were being held, Dassault sized the ACX aircraft in the 9.5 tonne range. After France decided to pull out of the multilateral talks, designers focused on a more compact size, as specified by

9243-431: The entry of the aircraft into service. At one stage, French naval authorities investigated the possibility of acquiring used F/A-18s to replace the obsolete F-8 for its carriers, but the French government intended an all-Rafale fleet, and did not go ahead with the plan. Deliveries of the Rafale M were subsequently given a high priority to replace the Navy's aged F-8 fighters. In the words of a naval official, "Although we lost

9360-655: The first being the Anglo-French Concorde . Under the terms of the memorandum, Britain and France were each to receive a 37.5 per cent work share on the project, while Germany received a 25 per cent share. France's Sud Aviation was recognized as the lead company for A300, while Hawker Siddeley was selected as the British partner company. On 29 May 1969, during the Paris Air Show , French transport minister Jean Chamant and German economics minister Karl Schiller signed an agreement officially launching

9477-547: The first time they would fly combat missions from one. As many as 18 Rafale Ms could be deployed on a carrier, although some room would have to be made for French Navy support crews familiar with maintaining the Rafale, as well as for spare parts and munitions. Operation Chesapeake, a test of this interoperability, was conducted in May 2018, when 12 Rafales of Flottilles 11F, 12F, and 17F , along with nearly 350 support personnel embarked aboard USS George H.W. Bush for two weeks of carrier qualifications and exercises after conducting

9594-513: The highly digitised cockpit is an integrated direct voice input (DVI) system, allowing a range of aircraft functions to be controlled by spoken voice commands, simplifying the pilot's access to many of the controls. Developed by Crouzet  [ fr ] , the DVI is capable of managing radio communications and countermeasures systems, the selection of armament and radar modes, and controlling navigational functions. For safety reasons, generally DVI

9711-419: The industry. CATIA enabled digitization and efficiency improvements throughout the programme, as it implemented recently developed processes such as digital mockup and product data management (PDM). Engineers worked directly with computers in generating 3D models of the aircraft, and took advantage of the design software in facilitating machine-tool preparation. The system consisted of 15GB databases of each of

9828-416: The initial technology demonstrator include a reduction in the size of the tail-fin, fuselage reshaping, repositioning of the engine air inlets underneath the aircraft's wing, and the extensive use of composite materials and serrated patterns for the construction of the trailing edges of the wings and canards. Seventy percent of the Rafale's surface area is composite. Many of the features designed to reduce

9945-450: The introduction of Charles de Gaulle , France's first nuclear-powered carrier , which was considerably larger than previous carriers, Foch and Clemenceau . Although not a full-aspect stealth aircraft , the cost of which was viewed as unacceptably excessive, the Rafale was designed for a reduced radar cross-section (RCS) and infrared signature . In order to reduce the RCS, changes from

10062-479: The introduction of ETOPS rules that allowed twin-engine jets to fly long-distance routes that were previously off-limits to them, Airbus was able to further develop the A300 as a medium- to long-range airliner to increased sales; Boeing launched its widebody twinjet, the Boeing 767 , in response. In the 1980s the Boeing 727 was discontinued, as its central engine bay would require a prohibitively expensive redesign to accommodate quieter high-bypass turbofans, and it

10179-449: The largest cargo aircraft capable of transporting outsize cargo , including strategic airlifters . Twin-jets tend to be more fuel-efficient than trijet (three engine) and quad-jet (four engine) aircraft. As fuel efficiency in airliners is a high priority, many airlines have been increasingly retiring trijet and quad-jet designs in favor of twinjets in the twenty-first century. The trijet designs were phased out first, in particular due to

10296-433: The main aircraft functions such as the flight management system , data fusion, fire control , and the man-machine interface. The total value of the radar, electronic communications and self-protection equipment is about 30 percent of the cost of the entire aircraft. The IMA has since been installed upon several upgraded Mirage 2000 fighters, and incorporated into the civilian airliner, the Airbus A380 . According to Dassault,

10413-494: The merger of the aircraft manufacturers Focke-Wulf , Focke-Achgelis , and Weserflug . During the following year, MBB acquired the astronautics company Entwicklungsring Nord (ERNO; to reflect this change, the company was rebranded as MBB-ERNO . In 1989, MBB was taken over by Deutsche Aerospace AG (DASA), which was renamed "Daimler-Benz Aerospace" in 1995. Following the 1998 merger of the German industrial group Daimler Benz and

10530-410: The more complicated design and maintenance issues of the middle engine mounted on the stabilizer. Early twinjets were not permitted by ETOPS restrictions to fly long-haul trans-oceanic routes, as it was thought that they were unsafe in the event of failure of one engine, so quad-jets were used. Quad-jets also had higher carrying capacity than comparable earlier twinjets. However, later twinjets such as

10647-484: The multinational Airbus consortium. It was also involved in numerous experimental aircraft programmes, such as the MBB Lampyridae , an aborted stealth aircraft . The ownership and assets of MBB changed drastically throughout its roughly two decades of existence. The company was bought by Deutsche Aerospace AG (DASA) in 1989; following several mergers and restructures, the assets of what was MBB presently form

10764-592: The newly formed company. On 15 March 1974, type certificates were granted for the A300 from both German and French authorities, clearing the way for its entry into revenue service. Ten years after the official launch of the A300, the company had achieved a 26 per cent market share in terms of dollar value, enabling Airbus Industries to proceed with the development of its second aircraft, the Airbus A310 . During 1981, MBB acquired rival company Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke (VFW), which itself had been formed via

10881-459: The pilot. Damocles provides targeting information to the various armaments carried by the Rafale and is directly integrated with the Rafale's VHF / UHF secure radio to communicate target information with other aircraft. It also performs other key functions such as aerial optical surveillance and is integrated with the navigation system as a FLIR . The Damocles designation pod was described as "lacking competitiveness" when compared to rivals such as

10998-414: The possibility of French naval Rafale Ms flying combat missions from a US Navy Nimitz -class aircraft carrier as soon as January 2017. This would enable continued French Navy operations against ISIL while Charles de Gaulle undergoes its year-and-a-half-long major refit, scheduled to begin in early 2017. Although Rafales have launched and landed on U.S. carriers to demonstrate interoperability, it would be

11115-457: The pre-series RBE2 AA radars was underway. In early October 2012, the first Rafale equipped with an RBE2 AA radar arrived at Mont-de-Marsan Air Base for operational service (the development was described by Thales and Dassault as "on time and on budget"). By early 2014, the first Air Force front-line squadron were supposed to receive Rafales equipped with the AESA radar, following the French Navy which

11232-699: The requirement that an aircraft be able to continue a takeoff if an engine fails after the takeoff decision speed is reached. Thus, with all engines operating, trijets must be able to produce at least 150% of the minimum thrust required to climb and quad-jets 133%. Conversely, since a twinjet will lose half of its total thrust if an engine fails, they are required to produce 200% of the minimum thrust required to climb when both engines are operating. Because of this, twinjets typically have higher thrust-to-weight ratios than aircraft with more engines, and are thus able to accelerate and climb faster. Messerschmitt-B%C3%B6lkow-Blohm Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB)

11349-810: The resultant aircraft was to replace a multitude of aircraft in the French Armed Forces . The Rafale would perform roles previously filled by an assortment of specialised platforms, including the Jaguar , Mirage F1C/CR/CT , Mirage 2000C/-5/ N in the French Air Force, and the F-8P Crusader , Étendard IVP/M and Super Étendard in French Naval Aviation. At the same time as the multinational talks were occurring, Dassault-Breguet had been busy designing its Avion de Combat Experimental (ACX). During late 1978, prior to France's joining of

11466-438: The second on 8 November 1993. These aircraft differed from the air force variants in having reinforced structure to allow the aircraft to operate aboard ships, and provision for a tail hook and an in-built ladder, which increased the weight of the Rafale M by 500 kg (1,100 lb) over other production variants. Since France has no land-based catapult test facility, catapult trials were carried out in mid-1992 and early 1993 at

11583-598: The shares in MBB was owned by the Blohm family, Willy Messerschmitt and Ludwig Bölkow ; 22.07% was owned by the German State of Hamburg , 17.05% by the state of Bavaria , 7.16% by Thyssen AG , 7.16% by Siemens AG , 7.13% by Allianz Versicherungs-AG , 7.13% by Robert Bosch GmbH and 6.15% by Friedrich Krupp GmbH . Perhaps the most successful product produced primarily by MBB was the Bo 105 helicopter. This rotorcraft,

11700-548: The successor to the Rafale as the New Generation Fighter . This fighter aircraft, under development by Dassault Aviation and Airbus Defence and Space , is to replace France's Rafale, Germany's Eurofighter Typhoon, and Spain's F/A-18 Hornet in the 2030–2040 timeframe. The Rafale was developed as a modern jet fighter with a very high level of agility; Dassault chose to combine a delta wing with active close-coupled canard to maximize manoeuvrability. The aircraft

11817-408: The technological independence of its fighter aircraft industry. West Germany, the UK and Italy opted out and established a new European Fighter Aircraft (EFA) programme. In Turin , on 2 August 1985, West Germany, the UK and Italy agreed to go ahead with the EFA, and confirmed that France, along with Spain, had chosen not to proceed as a member of the project. Despite pressure from France, Spain rejoined

11934-589: The third configuration both engines are within the fuselage, side-by-side, used by most fighters since the 1960s. Later fighters using this configuration include the Su-27 'Flanker', the F-15 Eagle , and the F-22 Raptor . The first twinjet to fly was the German fighter prototype Heinkel He 280 , flying in April 1941 with a pair of nacelled Heinkel HeS 8 axial-flow turbojets. The twinjet configuration

12051-461: The validation of the design's basic airframe-engine layout. The company desired to use the Rafale A to continue the company approach of risk reduction through incremental improvement and to test the aerodynamically unstable delta wing-canard configuration. The aircraft was Dassault's 92nd prototype in 40 years. At the time of its construction, the aircraft had two 68.8 kN (15,500 lbf) General Electric F404 engines that were then in service with

12168-470: The various partners to work together on the project while remaining separate business entities; this would be the origins of the Airbus Group. On 18 December 1970, Airbus Industrie was formally established following an agreement between Aérospatiale (the newly merged Sud Aviation and Nord Aviation ) of France and the antecedents to Deutsche Aerospace of Germany, each receiving a 50 per cent stake in

12285-408: The viability of a full-scale development programme for the Rafale. In June 1987, French prime minister Jacques Chirac declared that the government would proceed with the project. A contract for four pre-production aircraft (one Rafale C, two Rafale Ms and one Rafale B) was awarded on 21 April 1988 for a test and validation programme. There was nevertheless government uncertainty in the programme, as it

12402-450: The way. On large passenger jets, the cost of the engines makes up a significant proportion of the plane's final cost. Each engine also requires separate service, paperwork, and certificates. Having two larger engines as opposed to three or four smaller engines will typically significantly reduce both the purchase and maintenance costs of a plane. Regulations governing the required thrust levels for transport aircraft are typically based upon

12519-471: Was a West German aerospace manufacturer . It was formed during the late 1960s as the result of efforts to consolidate the West German aerospace industry; aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt AG merged with the civil engineering and aviation firm Bölkow in 1968, while rival aircraft manufacturer Hamburger Flugzeugbau was acquired by the company in the following year. The company was responsible for

12636-634: Was around €45.9 billion, which translated to a unit programme cost of approximately €160.5 million. This figure takes in account improved hardware of the F3 standard, and which includes development costs over a period of 40 years, including inflation. The unit flyaway price as of 2010 was €101.1 million for the F3+ version. The Rafale is planned to be the French Air and Space Force's primary combat aircraft until at least 2040. In 2018, Dassault announced

12753-452: Was expected to cost some Ffr120 billion (1988 francs) in total development and procurement costs. Prime minister Michel Rocard was concerned about the state of the project and the failure of the previous government to secure cooperation with other countries, but stated that, "It is inconceivable that we should not be able to build the weapons necessary for our independence". France had earlier entered unsuccessful talks with Belgium, Denmark,

12870-655: Was initially powered by the General Electric F404 engine. In May 2010, a Rafale flew for the first time with the M88-4E engine, an upgraded variant with lower maintenance requirements than the preceding M88-2. The engine is of a modular design for ease of construction and maintenance and to enable older engines to be retrofitted with improved subsections upon availability, such as existing M88-2s being upgraded to M88-4E standard. There has been interest in more powerful M88 engines by potential export customers, such as

12987-494: Was launched on 20 March 2017 by the French ministry of defence. The first F4.1 standard test aircraft was delivered in March 2023. For compatibility with armaments of varying types and origins, the Rafale's onboard store management system is compliant with MIL-STD-1760 , an electrical interface between an aircraft and its carriage stores, thereby simplifying the incorporation of many of their existing weapons and equipment. The Rafale

13104-576: Was less detectable by radar due to the canopy being gold-plated and the addition of radar-absorbent materials; Dassault had also removed the dedicated airbrake. The sole Rafale B two-seat preproduction aircraft, B01, made its first flight on 30 April 1993, and served as a platform for testing of weapons and fire-control systems, including the RBE2 radar and the SPECTRA electronic warfare suite. The first of two Rafale M ( maritime , "naval") prototypes, M01, made its maiden flight on 12 December 1991, followed by

13221-611: Was originally planned to enter service in 1995. The aircraft's development proceeded on time, on budget, and without major difficulties. However, the project needed to compete with other defense acquisition programmes for a dwindling national defense budget. This occurred in a political environment in which the chief security threat, the Soviet Union, no longer existed. The French government consequently reduced Rafale orders, which Dassault and other companies involved claimed impeded production management and led to higher costs, and delayed

13338-568: Was reduced to 60 by to budget cuts, 25 M single-seaters and 35 two-seat Ns. The two-seater was later cancelled. The ACX and subsequent production Rafale was designed in a "virtual" format. Dassault used the experience and technical expertise of its sister company Dassault Systèmes , which had invented the CATIA (Computer Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application) system, a three-dimensional computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacture (CAD/CAM) software suite that became standard across

13455-435: Was slated to receive AESA-equipped Rafales starting in 2013. To enable the Rafale to perform in the air supremacy role, it includes several passive sensor systems. The front-sector electro-optical system or Optronique Secteur Frontal (OSF), developed by Thales, is completely integrated within the aircraft and can operate both in the visible and infrared wavelengths. The OSF enables the deployment of infrared missiles such as

13572-656: Was soon supplanted by twinjets for the narrow-body market; Airbus with the A320 , and Boeing with the 757 and updated "classic" variants of the 737 . During that decade only McDonnell Douglas continued development of the trijet design with an update to the DC-10 , the MD-11 , which initially had a range advantage over its closest medium wide-body competitors which were twinjets, the in-production Boeing 767 and Airbus A300/A310. In contrast to McDonnell Douglas sticking with their existing trijet configuration, Airbus (which never produced

13689-484: Was used for short-range narrow-bodied aircraft such as the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 737 . The Airbus A300 was initially not successful when first produced as a short-range widebody, as airlines operating the A300 on short-haul routes had to reduce frequencies to try and fill the high-capacity aircraft, and lost passengers to airlines operating more frequent narrow-body flights. However, after

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