Dassault Rafale NEWS ONLY

[TomcatViP]

Rafale fighter cuts power line

Rafale fighter cuts power line On 17 February 2021, two Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace (AdlA, French Air and Space Force) Dassault Rafales from the 4e Escadre de Chasse (EC-4), base...

www.scramble.nl

Remark that they are supposed to have the power lines location in their navigation database so they weren't probably in automatic terrain following mode.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Unless the lines had been shifted or raised for some reason.

 

[Jemiba]

A sympathetic Smiley doesn't hurt neither.

Link

It's not what you say, but how you say it !
.. and your post had been edited ....

 

[TomcatViP]

You make it looks like I am a thug that fill his words with insults. C'mon.

 

[TomcatViP]

VIDEO: TNI AU Akan Punya Tempur Rafale Buatan Perancis

Sejumlah persenjataan baru dan modern akan segera dibeli untuk memperkuat Tentara Nasional Indonesia.

cnnindonesia.com

 

[stealthflanker]

Visitation by Dassault official to Our MOD

https://www.kemhan.go.id/pothan/202...viation-perancis-ke-dirjen-pothan-kemhan.html

The team was actually arrived earlier but they got delayed due to our sudden COVID-19 prevention policy.

Thanks a lot stealthflanker

Can you help us for the translation of the article ?

I understood (thanks to Google trad) :

Thursday February 11, 2021. Director General Pothan Kemhan, accompanied by other Indonesian officials, received the visit of a delegation from Dassault. On this occasion, the Director General declared that this meeting was a presentation of the French company, represented by the vice-president of business development, Jean Claude Piccirillo, and the vice-president of Dassault Offset, Michael Paskoff.

Director General Pothan welcomed the arrival of the Dassault delegation as part of the acquisition of the Rafale multi-role combat aircraft. He hopes that defense cooperation between Indonesia and France will benefit both sides and can advance the Indonesian defense industry.

The two sides hope that discussions on offsets for the acquisition of the Rafales will take place in a good atmosphere, while allowing progress on both sides, as well as an early implementation.

What is good, or not, in my translation ?

That's pretty much on point. Excellent work.


Regarding latest news tho... I would suggest following Alman Helvas Ali. He is former Janes contributor for our country

https://twitter.com/AHelvas

 

[Deltafan]

Visitation by Dassault official to Our MOD

https://www.kemhan.go.id/pothan/202...viation-perancis-ke-dirjen-pothan-kemhan.html

The team was actually arrived earlier but they got delayed due to our sudden COVID-19 prevention policy.

Thanks a lot stealthflanker

Can you help us for the translation of the article ?

I understood (thanks to Google trad) :

Thursday February 11, 2021. Director General Pothan Kemhan, accompanied by other Indonesian officials, received the visit of a delegation from Dassault. On this occasion, the Director General declared that this meeting was a presentation of the French company, represented by the vice-president of business development, Jean Claude Piccirillo, and the vice-president of Dassault Offset, Michael Paskoff.

Director General Pothan welcomed the arrival of the Dassault delegation as part of the acquisition of the Rafale multi-role combat aircraft. He hopes that defense cooperation between Indonesia and France will benefit both sides and can advance the Indonesian defense industry.

The two sides hope that discussions on offsets for the acquisition of the Rafales will take place in a good atmosphere, while allowing progress on both sides, as well as an early implementation.

What is good, or not, in my translation ?

That's pretty much on point. Excellent work.


Regarding latest news tho... I would suggest following Alman Helvas Ali. He is former Janes contributor for our country

https://twitter.com/AHelvas

Thank you very much stealthflanker, we will follow your advice

 

[totoro]

Does anyone have a news article or a publication that expands on the F3R standard conversion numbers? How many older planes have been modernized to that standard? And what's the overall pace of conversion? How many planes can be expected to be converted to said standard in the Air force and in the Navy?

 

[Deltafan]

Does anyone have a news article or a publication that expands on the F3R standard conversion numbers? How many older planes have been modernized to that standard? And what's the overall pace of conversion? How many planes can be expected to be converted to said standard in the Air force and in the Navy?

Hi Totoro,

I saw that you asked a similar question a few months ago, but I didn't and don't have the precise answers. For the moment, I can only report what is in the French Wikipedia article on the Rafale (and confirmed in many articles) :

On November 8, 2018, the DGA (the French General Directorate of Armaments) announced the qualification of the F3-R standard and confirmed that all the 144 Rafale already operational in the French army will be gradually upgraded to the F3-R standard, including the first ten before the end of 2018.

Dassault Rafale — Wikipédia

fr.wikipedia.org

 

[TomcatViP]

The modernisation takes around 12 months (my mem only but this should be in the thread).
All conversions to F3R should have been completed by fall 2021.

AIR International

AIR International Magazine has, over the years, established a reputation for authoritative reporting. The award-winning editorial team regularly visits trade shows, major manufacturers and operators to keep readers abreast of all the latest military and commercial industry news. The most...

www.airinternational.com

 

[totoro]

Thanks for that article, it's the only source I know so far that sets a timetable. It does seem a bit peculiar that new radar sets and other avionics would be replaced at a pace of 30+ per year though.

Having 10 planes modernized to F3R by 2018 (roughly within a year?) as the wiki article source claims and then further dozen or so per year onward would seem like something more suitable to otherwise glacial pace of procurement of new stuff that French air force seems to be able to afford.

Anyway, to sum it up - there is probably at least several dozen (50+?) of a 100 F3R in service with the French air force and Naval aviation (that's if the airinternational article is wrong) and possibly upward of 100 in service (if the airinternational article is right) ?

 

[Deltafan]

Thanks for that article, it's the only source I know so far that sets a timetable. It does seem a bit peculiar that new radar sets and other avionics would be replaced at a pace of 30+ per year though.

Having 10 planes modernized to F3R by 2018 (roughly within a year?) as the wiki article source claims and then further dozen or so per year onward would seem like something more suitable to otherwise glacial pace of procurement of new stuff that French air force seems to be able to afford.

Anyway, to sum it up - there is probably at least several dozen (50+?) of a 100 F3R in service with the French air force and Naval aviation (that's if the airinternational article is wrong) and possibly upward of 100 in service (if the airinternational article is right) ?

My two cents :

According to these two French websites :

RAFALE : Un avion évolutif - RAFALE : The omnirole fighter

Depuis sa mise en service, de régulières mises à jour lui permettent de rester à la pointe de la technologie. Le Rafale est un avion évolutif.

omnirole-rafale.com

Dassault Aviation termine le standard F3-R avant son entrée dans les forces - Defens'Aero

EXCLUSIF ! Début d'année 2014, le Ministère français de la Défense, la Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) et Dassault Aviation annoncent officiellement le lancement des travaux pour la mise au point du standard F3-R sur les Rafale M de la Marine Nationale...

defens-aero.com

Only a few hours are needed to "update" F3 to F3R

it would only take a few hours to integrate the F3-R into the aircraft system

but I am not able to confirm or not (and it seems that the information for the first link comes from the second.).


For the rest, i can only said that

-in the Navy, among the three flottillas (11F, 17F and 12F), the 12F will be the last to be upgraded to the F3-R stage. It seems that the three flottillas could be upgraded for summer 2021 :

https://www.defense.gouv.fr/marine/actu-marine/premiere-capacite-operationnelle-du-rafale-marine-au-standard-f3-r

The 11F is the first flotilla to obtain this qualification and thus precedes the 17F then the 12F for a GAé "all F3-R" in the summer of 2021.

but a "Groupe aéronaval" (GAé) is 24 (to 36 if necessary) Rafale on the "Charles de Gaulle".

-For the Air Force, among the seven Rafale escadrons, I saw that the F3-R upgrade is present on planes of the 4th and the 30th Escadres, but i don't know how much planes in the three escadrons of each. Conversely, I never saw that a plane of the 1/7 escadron was upgraded. For example :

Fin de mission Chammal pour les Rafale de la 30e Escadre de Chasse. — avionslegendaires.net

Le 12 décembre 2020, par Arnaud. Les femmes et les hommes de la 30e Escadre de Chasse vont pouvoir passer les fêtes de fin d'année en famille. Ce vendredi 11 décembre 2020 le Régiment de Aéronefs Militaires

www.avionslegendaires.net

For the rythm : it seems that the Air Force got 50 Rafale F3-R in 2020 (we have seen above that it would be 10 for Navy and AF in 2018. For the moment, 2019 and 2021 are lacking, and 2020 for Navy too) :

Une journée sur la base aérienne 105 d'Evreux-Fauville... - SDBR News - Le Blog - Security Defense Business Review - Blog

A l’invitation de l’Armée de l’air, nous avons pu accompagner une promotion de l’IHEDN sur la BA 105 d’Évreux. Cette journée a été l’occasion de faire le point sur la capacité opérationnelle de l’Armée de l’air française mais aussi sur ses objectifs stratégiques..

www.sdbrnews.com

In 2020, the French Air Force should receive 50 Rafale at F3R standard

But to be sure I think that it would be better to wait for official announces from France to say that all the Rafale are F3-R (or, separately, that all Navy or Air Force planes have been upgraded).

 

[totoro]

Thanks for all that info! Just to be clear, I have to ask perhaps a stupid question.
F3 does not include AESA array?
And F3R does include it?

If so, that'd mean there's hardware change to happen during the conversion process to F3R. Can that really be done, tested and certified in just a few hours?

 

[TomcatViP]

F3 had interchangeable nose cone Pesa/ Aesa. I understand that F3R brings it's own Aesa with the refined hardware that had proved fatal to the OSF suite (FLIR).
The software part of the upgrade is certainly something that can be done in a day if you discard the battery of checks and valitdation tests that are needed for something meant to fly safely further beyond the runway threshold.
My 2 cents.

(and that's not realistic since soft testing wouldn't happen before all the subcomponents (hardware) have been properly installed (and tested)).

 

[Deltafan]

Thanks for all that info! Just to be clear, I have to ask perhaps a stupid question.
F3 does not include AESA array?
And F3R does include it?

If so, that'd mean there's hardware change to happen during the conversion process to F3R. Can that really be done, tested and certified in just a few hours?

AESA was already in the F3 standard. But, for money reasons, there are only 60 AESA which were sold with the last batch (the 4th, from September 2013) of 60 Rafale (50 for the AF and 10 for the Navy). But, yes, they are interchangeable with the PESA of batches 1, 2 and 3.

RAFALE : Le radar RBE2 - RAFALE : The omnirole fighter

Le Rafale est le premier avion de combat européen en service à bénéficier d'un radar AESA. Une des pièces maîtresse du Rafale : Le radar RBE2.

omnirole-rafale.com

https://www.dassault-aviation.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/10/FR-Rafale-Marine-F1-F3.pdf

(For the OSF too: )

Dassault Rafale — Wikipédia

fr.wikipedia.org

RAFALE : L'Optronique Secteur Frontal - RAFALE : The omnirole fighter

L'Optronique Secteur Frontal fait partie des nombreux capteurs du Rafale, capable d'identifier des objectifs à plus de 50 kilomètres.

omnirole-rafale.com

The F3 standard brings the following changes:

-The addition to the Thales RBE2 radar of an active antenna (AESA) equipped with a thousand gallium arsenide transceiver modules instead of a single traveling wave tube (TOP) and allowing an increase of 50 % of span;
-A new version of the OSF, the OSF-IT, which sees the elimination of the obsolete double infrared channel and will be satisfied with an improved TV channel;

A sensor insensitive to jamming
In 2013, Rafale's F3-O4T standard saw the removal of the OSF IR channel in favor of a more efficient TV sensor: OSF-IT (Improve Technology). It was operational at the end of 2012 and has a longer range detection capability.

 

[TomcatViP]

The comprehensive take of the Aviationist on the informal Cable snapping activity that broke recent news headline:

French Rafale Hits Power Lines During Low Altitude Training Flight

The damaged Rafale aircraft landed safely ten minutes later. No casualties were reported on the ground. A Rafale of the Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace

theaviationist.com

 

[totoro]

AESA was already in the F3 standard. But, for money reasons, there are only 60 AESA which were sold with the last batch (the 4th, from September 2013) of 60 Rafale (50 for the AF and 10 for the Navy). But, yes, they are interchangeable with the PESA of batches 1, 2 and 3.

Let me see if I understand the situation then:
There are roughly 140 Rafales out there in the French Service.
Of those, 60 are F3 with AESA.
and 80 are F3 without AESA.

Now the entire fleet will be converting from F3 to F3R.

But will that mean that the 80 F3 without AESA will remain without it, even in F3R variant?
Or does the conversion automatically mean AESA array will be installed?
Or will the remaining 80 get the AESA eventually, but not necessarily soon; perhaps during a separate modernization effort to come in the coming years?

 

[TomcatViP]

The radar is a modified one and comes with each upgraded airframe.
The AESA cones were said to be interchangeable (an heresy IMOHO) and French Navy's Rafale were seen shipped with extra radar sets that were to be fitted on demand by the ship maintenance.

F3R apparently fixes that among many other points.

 

[Deltafan]

AESA was already in the F3 standard. But, for money reasons, there are only 60 AESA which were sold with the last batch (the 4th, from September 2013) of 60 Rafale (50 for the AF and 10 for the Navy). But, yes, they are interchangeable with the PESA of batches 1, 2 and 3.

Let me see if I understand the situation then:
There are roughly 140 Rafales out there in the French Service.
Of those, 60 are F3 with AESA.
and 80 are F3 without AESA.

Now the entire fleet will be converting from F3 to F3R.

But will that mean that the 80 F3 without AESA will remain without it, even in F3R variant?
Or does the conversion automatically mean AESA array will be installed?
Or will the remaining 80 get the AESA eventually, but not necessarily soon; perhaps during a separate modernization effort to come in the coming years?

AFAIK, for the moment, for France, there is no AESA radar to be bought for the 80 first Rafale upgraded or to be upgraded to the F3-R standard.

But, there may be further improvement of the PESA radar. And, as the radars are interchangeable, yes, other AESA radars may be purchased in the future for the 80 of the first batches, if there is money...

 

[H_K]

The radar is a modified one and comes with each upgraded airframe.

I believe this is incorrect and what Deltafan said is accurate: only *new build* Rafales from mid-2013 onwards (Tranche 4) were delivered with AESA radars:

B339 -> B358
C145 -> C148
M39 -> M46
+ Early production radars for C137, B301

So that’s a total of only 34 AESA radars delivered to date.

Note that since the radars are plug & play and interchangeable with PESA radars, they could be flying on any of the 147 Rafales in the French fleet (though more likely to be found in the fighter squadrons at Mont de Marsan and the Navy squadrons at Landivisiau than the 2 strike squadrons and OCU at St Dizier).

 

[TomcatViP]

F3R is listed with an aesa for any sold example abroad. So, would you say that there is a degraded F3R upgrade specifically for the AdlAE?

 

[Deltafan]

The radar is a modified one and comes with each upgraded airframe.

I believe this is incorrect and what Deltafan said is accurate: only *new build* Rafales from mid-2013 onwards (Tranche 4) were delivered with AESA radars:

B339 -> B358
C145 -> C148
M39 -> M46
+ Early production radars for C137, B301

So that’s a total of only 34 AESA radars delivered to date.

Note that since the radars are plug & play and interchangeable with PESA radars, they could be flying on any of the 147 Rafales in the French fleet (though more likely to be found in the fighter squadrons at Mont de Marsan and the Navy squadrons at Landivisiau than the 2 strike squadrons and OCU at St Dizier).

You are right, and I made a mistake, of course :

The three first batchs give : 13 + 48 + 59 = 120 Rafale with PESA.

And the batch 4 is 60, yes, but only batch 4T1 (32) was delivered. The batch 4T2 (M47 used as testbed to 2029 and 27 others) is to be delivered from December 2022).

RAFALE : Livraisons et coûts - RAFALE : The omnirole fighter

Point de situation sur les livraisons et coûts des Rafale.

omnirole-rafale.com

Then there would be now, for the 3 Navy flotillas and the 7 AF escadrons (then without the 5 lost and the 5 testbeds) :

-32 AESA radars

-Around 111 PESA radars.

 

[H_K]

F3R is listed with an aesa for any sold example abroad. So, would you say that there is a degraded F3R upgrade specifically for the AdlAE?

There is only one F3R standard, which applies to all Rafales as it is just software.

There are at least 2 hardware generations for the radar, optronics and missile detectors. Since the export Rafales were all late production numbers, they all got the newer hardware. Since many of the French Rafales were delivered earlier, they got the old hardware. The F3R software is said to adapt to whatever mix of hardware is on board a specific aircraft at a specific time.

It should be just like running the same OS on different generations of MacBooks, PCs or smartphones.

 

[TomcatViP]

I do not think that as an accurate representation of the facts. Proof is that the OSF ( FOS/FLIR) is modified (re-introduced), Meteor needs datalink and adaptator pylons and radar range is doubled among others.

Having an upgrade standard that varies in half regarding what radar is installed for example would be like having two different upgrades: one upped for the export market, the marketed F3R and one for the poor disdained French fighter pilots, an F3R-- [double minus] or, according to latin alphabetical order... The F3Q?

“A mechanically scanned antenna loses targets once two aircraft in a formation of four split away,” said Rafale program manager Jean-Noel Stock. “But with electronic scanning you can continue to track the split targets even if they are outside the radar’s search pattern.”

The AESA antenna also increases range by more than 50 percent, improves detection of targets with small radar cross sections and provides better resolution in ground mapping, he said. And in air-to-ground mode the radar technology supports simultaneous terrain following and high-resolution imaging for target identification and targeting.

 

[totoro]

That's some great info in this thread. Makes the Rafale situation in French air forces much more clear.
This is what I found in an interview with a Dassault spokesman from 2019.
3 Rafales were delivered in 2018.
None will be delivered in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
In 2022 deliveries to French air forces will start again. by 2024 a total of 28 new airframes will be delivered. (so 9+ per year in 2022 to 2024)

Hopefully that info also helps to draw an accurate picture of French air forces.
What does throw a wrench into it all is sales of used planes to other countries. Does that mean that out of 143 Rafales that are currently in service, by 2022 a dozen or two dozen will leave service, as they will be sold to Greece (12 airframes) and other countries (possibly another dozen)?

 

[helmutkohl]

Exports thus far, correct me if I am wrong
A comparison

Mirage 2000:
Egypt - 20
India - 49
Peru - 16
UAE - 36
Greece - 55
Taiwan - 60
Qatar - 12
Brazil - 12

Rafale:
Egypt - 24
India - 36
Qatar - 36
Greece - 18

 

[galgot]

Exports thus far, correct me if I am wrong
A comparison

Mirage 2000:
Egypt - 20
India - 49
Peru - 16
UAE - 36
Greece - 55
Taiwan - 60
Qatar - 12
Brazil - 12

Rafale:
Egypt - 24
India - 26
Qatar - 36
Greece - 18

India - 36

 

[Deltafan]

That's some great info in this thread. Makes the Rafale situation in French air forces much more clear.
This is what I found in an interview with a Dassault spokesman from 2019.
3 Rafales were delivered in 2018.
None will be delivered in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
In 2022 deliveries to French air forces will start again. by 2024 a total of 28 new airframes will be delivered. (so 9+ per year in 2022 to 2024)

Hopefully that info also helps to draw an accurate picture of French air forces.
What does throw a wrench into it all is sales of used planes to other countries. Does that mean that out of 143 Rafales that are currently in service, by 2022 a dozen or two dozen will leave service, as they will be sold to Greece (12 airframes) and other countries (possibly another dozen)?

For France :

Preliminary : the production rate by Dassault is 11 Rafale per year. As said in posts above, it will not be increased until the 2024-2027 production gap is definitively closed :


-Batch 1 : 13 with PESA ordered in 1997 : 2B + 1 C + 10M (B301, B302, C101 and M1 testbeds + M2 to M10)

-Batch 2 : 48 with PESA ordered in 1999, delivered from 2004 to 2008 : 25B + 7C + 16M (B303 to 327, C102 to 108 and M11 to 26)

-Batch 3 : 59 with PESA ordered in 2004, delivered from 2008 to 2013 : 11B + 36C +12M (B328 to 338, C109 to 144 and M27 to 38)

-Batch 4 : 60 with AESA ordered in 2009, interrupted because of export deliveries
-4T1 : 32 delivered from 2013 to around 2016 : 20B + 4C + 8M (B339 to 358, C145 to 148 and M39 to 46)
-M47 : immobilized until 2029 as testbed
-4T2 : 27 to be delivered from december 2022 to around May 2024 : 5B + 21C + 1M (B359 to 363, C149 to C169 an M48)

[Total at this stage : 180 orders and 153 deliveries. For now : 5 lost : B316 (06.12.2007), M22+M25 (24.09.2010), M18 (28.11.2010) and M24 (02.07.2012)]

-Replacement of the 12 used for Greece (with AESA, serials unknown) : 12 with AESA ordered in 2021, to be delivered in 2025 (180 - 12 + 12 = 180)

-Buy of 12 used aircraft by Croatia is a possibility (as the Rafale is one of the contender) but nothing is sure, even, if success, if that would be with PESA or AESA. If success, logically, there would be an order or 12 new Rafale for France with deliveries around 2026 (with such an order the gap 2024-2027 could be closed, depending of the months of the last delivery of these 12 new Rafale and the first delivery of the 30 new F4). (180 - 12 + 12 = 180)

-30 F4 with AESA ordered in 2019, to be delivered from 2027 to 2030 (180 + 30 = 210 orders)

-As the French Loi de programmation militaire (Military Programming Act ?) 2019-2025 foresaw for 2030 : 225 Rafale, there would be a last order of around 15-20 Rafale (even if not strictly in 2030 and if there is money...)

RAFALE : Livraisons et coûts - RAFALE : The omnirole fighter

Point de situation sur les livraisons et coûts des Rafale.

omnirole-rafale.com

https://www.defense.gouv.fr/dga/actualite/florence-parly-annonce-la-commande-de-12-avions-de-combat-rafale-pour-remplacer-ceux-de-l-armee-de-l-air-et-de-l-espace-transferes-a-la-grece

Dassault Rafale — Wikipédia

fr.wikipedia.org

L'État commande 30 nouveaux Rafale dans la foulée du standard F4

Le 14 janvier, le ministère des Armées a lancé le développement du nouveau standard F4 pour améliorer l'avion de combat Rafale. Un contrat de...-Aéro - Spatial

www.usinenouvelle.com

https://www.defense.gouv.fr/english/actualites/articles/le-president-de-la-republique-promulgue-la-loi-de-programmation-militaire-2019-2025

 

[TomcatViP]

So b/w 2021 and 2025, the French air forces would field gradually only less than 30 aesa radar splits b/w the Navy and their AIr force bottoming-down in 2025 at 22 something sets.

My guess is that those scarcely available remaining pods are gonna see a drastic increase in their flight time... in the back of cargo planes.

 

[H_K]

So b/w 2021 and 2025, the French air forces would field gradually only less than 30 aesa radar splits b/w the Navy and their AIr force bottoming-down in 2025 with 22 sets.

There will be an immediate loss of 6 used Rafales (and 6 AESAs) transferred to Greece in 2021, but no further reductions in the French fleet after that.

Deliveries of the remaining used aircraft to Greece/Croatia won’t happen until 2023, i.e. only once deliveries of new-build aircraft to the FAF resume. So basically most used aircraft will be immediately exchanged 1:1 for new Rafales.

Of course this does mean that the FAF fleet is “stuck” at 96 Rafales for a few years (till 2024)... this should be sufficient for the current 4 squadrons (~25 pilots each) + OCU.

 

[Deltafan]

According to the Croatian Minister of Defense, decision in mid-March on the fighter plane winner of the competition in Croatia.

Banožić najavio odluku o nabavi borbenih zrakoplova za ožujak, u isto vrijeme stiže i službeni plan nabave naoružanja za ovu godinu

Ministar obrane Mario Banožić izjavio je u srijedu kako će Vlada u periodu od nekoliko tjedana donijeti odluku o nabavci višenamjenskih borbenih zrakopova, najavivši za sredinu ožujka i služben...

slobodnadalmacija.hr

 

[TomcatViP]

He assessed that many tried to contaminate the aircraft procurement process through the media, but claimed that they did not succeed and that the Government now has a "completely controlled situation" in which it will make a mature decision on the dynamics and conditions of procurement.

Interesting

 

[Deltafan]

Some details of Rafale deliveries to Greece :

Rafale : les prévisions de livraison à la Grèce

On sait désormais mieux comment vont s'organiser les livraisons de Rafale à la Grèce. Les six premiers

lemamouth.blogspot.com

Translation with Google Trad (don't know if all is good)

We now know better how Rafale deliveries to Greece will be organized.
-The first six used aircraft will be delivered between July and December,
-the first six new aircraft, between January and July 2022,
-and the last six used aircraft between July 2022 and early 2023.

At this date, and except attrition, the he French Air Force will have only 92 Rafale instead of 102, but above all, much less single-seaters.

-The new planes delivered to Greece will include four single-seaters and two two-seaters,
-the second-hand planes, two two-seaters and ten single-seaters.

However, we still do not know precisely how these F3Rs will be equipped, particularly in terms of optronics (RECO-NG, Damocles, Talios) and which equipment will be delivered second-hand or new.

The package necessarily also includes all the associated easements, from the access ladder to the starter trolley, through the bomb holder, the external fuel tanks and of course, the spare parts to fly these planes

Edit : there is a mistake in the article : 102-12=90, not 92...

 

[Archibald]

Well if the AdA can get ride of single-seaters... better to have two crews on board for strike, even in the present day.
The French Navy never really got the choice: two-seaters were found a little too heavy for CdG and thus strangled in the early 90's. The AdA had better luck.

 

[helmutkohl]

is there any reasons why they want to get rid of the single-seaters officially?

 

[TomcatViP]

None.

 

[galgot]

Maybe it's just that the Greeks wants more single-seaters than two-seaters. Not that Fr AF wants especially to get rid of the single seaters.
Don't know the exact numbers, long time I didn't check, but remember reading there are roughly as many Twin as mono seaters in the AdA, with the twin been more assigned to squadron responsible for nuke strike.

 

[galgot]

Btw, Don’t know where to put this, but as it covers also Rafale could as well be here.
And sorry its not "news".
Found two PDFs about history of French Mil planes from end of WWII to 2007, edited COMAERO (Comité pour l’Histoire de l’Aéronautique) , available on academieairespace.com , here :
http://www.academie-air-espace.com/upload/doc/ressources/COMAERO 10 - Avions militaires I.pdf
And tome II :
http://www.academie-air-espace.com/upload/doc/ressources/COMAERO 10_2 - Bonnet Avions militaires II.pdf

But I attach it too .

" UN DEMI-SIÈCLE D’AÉRONAUTIQUE EN FRANCE -
LES AVIONS MILITAIRES " Tome I et II
Book coordinated by Jacques Bonnet

Tome II covers more all the Dassault machines, quite documented on the stories of each (up to 2007 of course).
Maybe of some interest.

Ok… its all in French. But with our modern ways of translation , an interested reader can go through it.
Or it’s an occasion to learn French, which can be beautiful language .

 

[Archibald]

And this is only the tip of a much larger iceberg, right here - http://www.eurosae.com/comaero/

Two dozens Pdfs. Took me a while to realize there was an entire website behind the pdfs . And then I started downloading the whole thing as frantically as a kid in the pillage of a candy shop.

"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About..." french aviation history (to spoof a famous Woody Allen comedy title about sex)

 

[galgot]

And this is only the tip of a much larger iceberg, right here - http://www.eurosae.com/comaero/

Two dozens Pdfs. Took me a while to realize there was an entire website behind the pdfs . And then I started downloading the whole thing as frantically as a kid in the pillage of a candy shop.

"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About..." french aviation history (to spoof a famous Woody Allen comedy title about sex)

Thanks ! Missed big part of the treasure