The Rafale was designed by Dassault. It will become the main aircraft of the French Airforce. It comes both in a single seat (Rafale C) and dual seat (Rafale B) version. The French use the Rafal M aboard their carrier the Charles de Gaulle.
France was originally a partner in the Eurofighter progamme. It didn't really work out and France dropped to start working on the Rafale instead. This aircraft was meant to be very multipurpose. The French call it omnirole. It will replace a lot other aircraft in French service. (Jaguar, F-8 Crusader, Mirage F1, Mirage 2000, Super Etendard)
Air-to-ground mission
The Eurofighter was primarily intended as a interceptor and air superiority fighter. The French wanted good A2G capabilities and carrier capability as well. That was one of the reasons for dropping out. The Rafale has a crew of one or two. For long missions, having two crewmen can be benefitial. Tasks can be shared, creating less stress for the pilot. The Rafale has 14 hardpoints and it can carry 9500 kg (20900lbs) of external ordnance and fuel. That is really a lot for a fighter. Five hardpoints are suitable for external fuel tanks to give the airplane extra range.
The Rafale has quite a lot of sensors. The input from all these sensors is presented to the pilot in a coherent manner. The countermeasures and electronic warfare suite of the Rafale called SPECTRA has a very good reputation. The Rafale is not a stealth aircraft but it does use some composite materials, it has jamming equipment and warning systems. It is quite resistant to SAM threats. The radar of the Rafale has a terrain-following mode which means that the Rafale can fly very low with little risk of crashing into obstacles.
Its armament includes the AASM and Paveway laser-guided bombs.
Overall it is a great aircraft for air-to-ground missions.
Air-to-air mission
The Rafale is a close-couple canard delta wing design. Don't worry this has nothing to do with duck tape holding it together. The design is inherently unstable but computers keep it flying. This unstability makes it a very maneuverable aircraft. It has a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 and a service ceiling of 15235 m (50000 ft). Pretty decent stats.
It will be armed with the Meteor radar-guided missile and the MICA infrared and active radar homing missile. Unlike the Typhoon, the Rafale is already equipped with an AESA radar and it has a good IRST system. One point of notice is that the Rafale will use a one-way data link with the Meteor (the same as with the MICA). The Typhoon and Gripen will have a two-way data link. A one-way link allows the aircraft to send information to the missile. A two-way link allows the Meteor to send information back to aircraft as well.
Overall quite a good air-to-air fighter as well.
Cost and ease of maintenance
The unit flyaway cost for the Rafale C is about 95 million USD (85 million euro).
The operating cost is about 16500 USD/flight hour.
The Rafale is not cheap. But it seems to be cheaper than the Eurofighter Typhoon and the F-35.
The Rafale is built with modularity in mind for easy repair.
More here : dassault-rafale-analysis
It is not the cheapest fighter but it is not the most expensive one either.
Cooperation
France uses the Rafale. Other than that, Egypt, Qatar and India have ordered it. So cooperation would be mostly limited to France. But that might not be a bad thing. Belgium cooperates a lot with France. Belgian and French pilots train together on lead-in Alpha Jets. Much of the training for the new fighter could be done with France as well if Belgium chooses the Rafale.
The Frenchness of the Rafale is sometimes used as an argument against the Rafale but it doesn't matter as much in the case of Belgium. Remember when I wrote about Belgian companies in the article about the F-16? You may have noticed that Dassault is a major shareholder of SABCA and that Techspace Aero is part of the Safran group.
The Rafale uses some unique French weapons. It can't use the AIM-120C AMRAAM or the AIM-9 Sidewinder at this moment but the question is do you really want to? These two missiles are rather old designs. New missiles like the Meteor, IRIS-T and MICA are far more effective. It might be a good idea to acquire new missiles anyway. Belgium tends to maintain only a small stock of weapons and buys/borrows extra when needed. A switch to new missiles shouldn't be to difficult.
Air-to-ground weapons are a different matter. US ordnance tends to be cheaper than French ordnance because they are manufactured in larger quantities. The Rafale comes now with French ordnance like the AASM Hammer but it can also be equipped with the widespread Paveway laser-guided bombs. The Rafale could probably be equipped with other US ordance as well but this will require some modifications and upgrades.
Air-to-ground weapons are a different matter. US ordnance tends to be cheaper than French ordnance because they are manufactured in larger quantities. The Rafale comes now with French ordnance like the AASM Hammer but it can also be equipped with the widespread Paveway laser-guided bombs. The Rafale could probably be equipped with other US ordance as well but this will require some modifications and upgrades.
Suitable for Belgium?
The Rafale is a strong contender for Belgium. It has excellent air-to-ground characteristics but it is still a very decent air-to-air fighter. It is a bit expensive but less so than some other aircraft. Plus being a neighbour of France brings some unique opportunities. It does tie Belgium to closely to France. Any further upgrades or additions will depend on the wishes of the French armed forces. The dependence on French weapons and the one-way data link for the Meteor should be kept in mind as well.
It is interesting to compare the Rafale to the F-35. The Rafale possesses almost all the capabilities of the F-35 except for the improved stealth. One could say that Dassault sacrificed some stealth in order to gain extra speed, payload, maneuverability, altitude... Lockheed Martin did the opposite and sacrificed some speed, payload, maneuverability and altitude to gain that extra stealth.
A lot will depend on the question of the integration of ordnance and on the money. If the F-35 doesn't get to full operational capability by 2018, then the Rafale has a strong case. If India decides to buy the Rafale in large numbers, then the programme cost would drop a lot. Future investments and upgrades would be guaranteed as well. The Rafale is a great aircraft but at the moment, it suffers from its small number of users.
It is interesting to compare the Rafale to the F-35. The Rafale possesses almost all the capabilities of the F-35 except for the improved stealth. One could say that Dassault sacrificed some stealth in order to gain extra speed, payload, maneuverability, altitude... Lockheed Martin did the opposite and sacrificed some speed, payload, maneuverability and altitude to gain that extra stealth.
A lot will depend on the question of the integration of ordnance and on the money. If the F-35 doesn't get to full operational capability by 2018, then the Rafale has a strong case. If India decides to buy the Rafale in large numbers, then the programme cost would drop a lot. Future investments and upgrades would be guaranteed as well. The Rafale is a great aircraft but at the moment, it suffers from its small number of users.
No comments:
Post a Comment