Rafale

The Rafale is a French twin-engine delta multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation.

Table of contents

1 History 2 Variants 3 Characteristics (Rafale D prototype?) 4 Characteristics (Rafale F2)

History

In the 1980s, France and other European countries were looking to replace their existing fighter aircraft. There were discussions on building an aircraft jointly, however because of differences between France and the others countries, they went their saparate ways, France building the Rafale, and the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain collaborating on the Eurofighter.

There is an active debate over the relative capabilities of the two aircraft, which will not likely be resolved until they both see combat service; see Comparison of 2000s fighter aircraft for notes on this.

France had a requirement to replace existing fighters for Armée de l'Air (air force) and a more urgent requiement to replace the aging F-8 Crusader used by the Aéronavale (naval aviation).

The Rafale A technology demonstrator first flew on July 4, 1986.

Variants

Rafale A was a technology demonstrator that first flew in 1986

Rafale D (D for discret or stealthy) was a prototype for the Armée de l'Air B and C variants

Rafale B is the 2-seater version for the Armée de l'Air; to enter service in 2004

Rafale C is the single-seat version for the Armée de l'Air; to enter service in 2004

Rafale M is the carrier-borne version for the Aéronavale, which entered service in 2001.

Rafale N is a 2-seater naval version, to enter service in 2008

(There are also F designations, F1, F2 and F3 (?))

Characteristics (Rafale D prototype?)

• Powerplant: 2 Snecma M88-2, each rated at 5,100 kgf military thrust and 7,648 kgf maximum thrust
• Size:
  • Length: 15.27 m
  • Height: 5.34 m
  • Wingspan: 10.80 m
  • Wing area: 46 m²
• Weight:
  • Empty: 9,060 kg
  • Normal Takeoff: 14,710 kg
  • Maximum: 21,500 kg
• Speed: Mach 2 at altitude, Mach 1.14 at sea level
• Ceiling: about 16.75 km
• Range (with external tanks):
  • combat range: 1850 km; endurance 3 hr
  • lo-lo-lo ground attack with 3 t bombs, 4 AAM: 1055 km
  • Ferry: ? km
• take off / landing distance: 400, 300? m
• Wing Loading: 320 kg/m² at normal takeoff weight
• Thrust/weight ratio: 1.04 at normal takeoff weight
• Armament:
  • 30mm DEFA 719B cannon
  • 8 AAMs with a mix of MICA, AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-132 ASRAAM, AIM-120 AMRAAM
  • air-to-ground weapons include: MBDA Apache, SCALP EG

• Cost:
• First flight: 1986 (Rafale A), 1991 (Rafale D)
• In service date: 2001 (Rafale M and B/C/F)
• Users: France