Dassault Rafale NEWS ONLY

[helmutkohl]

Nations have always wanted 'proper' fighters if they can get their hands on them. That's why so many smaller air forces have clung onto F-86s, MiGs and F-5s in the past until they were practically flying museum pieces.
Smaller subsonic fighters like the Hawk 200, AMX or FA-50 have never sold well when the Air Marshals want afterburning thunderous displays on national days and makes their air force look potent against the neighbours.

Saying that, I must admit this Rafale revival has taken me by surprise. Ignoring any political shenanigans and AdA attempts to make the fleet look younger, it has certainly stolen a march on the Typhoon which for its last sales relied on the Middle Eastern pro-buying British market and heavy export credits too.

More of the same:

Croatia Is Getting French Rafale Multirole Fighters To Replace Its Veteran MiG-21s

Although second-hand, the French-made fighters will provide a huge leap in capability for the Balkan nation.

www.thedrive.com

Interesting quote from that article.

Speaking to The War Zone on condition of anonymity, a former Croatian Air Force MiG-21 pilot explained that he saw the Rafale as “absolute unnecessary overkill” for the country, adding that, even today, only around 30 percent of the MiG’s capabilities are actually being utilized — primarily, QRA scrambles and training for these same missions.

Describing the Rafale decision as politically motivated, he said he was concerned that no serious cost/benefit calculation had been provided for the full planned service life of the new jets and he also pointed out that the existing infrastructure at Zagreb-Pleso Air Base will require significant renovation, including modern hangars.

That is something that always got me questioning the Rafale purchase by the Croatians, it is a bit of a leap to go from a MiG-21 to a Rafale. Something like a Gripen would be more suited to their requirements.

I'm not saying that they made the wrong decision, I just found it a bit....odd.

There are 2 elements to this.

ANY fighter aircraft the Croatians bought will need their associated infrastructure totally revamped so that’s an inevitability, and it would likely to be a long-term false economy to try to “get-away” with carrying over any miss-matched existing infrastructure from the MIG-21 era.

My first impression would also be that a Rafale may well be over kill for a dedicated QRA-type role and that a cheaper option may be available to do that. However it is worth querying if in this specific case some of these “cheaper” options actually are cheaper (the Gripen, for example). And given the lack of sales for the likes of the FA-50 it is notable that a lot of airforces (and their governments) don’t appear to want this class of fighter and are opting for something a bit heavier and more capable (like the Rafale in this case).

to clarify

1. the KAI Golden Eagle does not lack exports. It's already been exported to 4 countries and in comparable numbers to the Gripen A-D. It would have been 5 countries had the UK not blocked the Argentine sales

2. the Golden Eagle is supersonic, not sub-sonic. It has an F404 engine (same as Gripen, Hornet, Tejas) with a proper afterburner.

3. Even the Gripen was picked up by many small European countries that are in NATO, similar to the situation Croatia is in. such as Czech and Hungary.

but I agree on the last point about the Rafale revival. I remember in the 2000s and early 2010s, people were always harping about how successful the Typhoon was and all these articles about..Will the Rafale ever gain one export? Why is the Rafale unpopular? Is the Rafale a failure?
it seems the Rafale is on track to maybe surpass the Mirage 2000 in terms of exports.

 

[ssdunkel]

Ha! Rafale F4-1 will get a Scorpion HMD for the French Air Force!!!

The French Air Force Is Testing The New Rafale F4-1 Standard

The new F4-1 standard will upgrade the Rafale capabilities introduced with the F3-R standard, as well as adding some new important ones. The French

theaviationist.com

France DGA Tests Integration Of Scorpion Helmet Mounted Cueing System For Dassault Rafale F4 - MilitaryLeak.COM

The France Directorate General of Armaments (Direction générale de l'armement, DGA) Flight Tests center of expertise carried out compatibility tests on the

militaryleak.com

 

[ssdunkel]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1395787158103990273

 

[Archibald]

Then again there is the very unfortunate case of Austria, which went for Typhoons and proved unable to assume them - don't know if the issues were technical, financial, maintenance costs ?
But I do know it ended very badly for the Typhoons.
This is an interesting example of a country bitting more than it could chew - but I'm not sure if Typhoons were just overkill - or if it was the Austrian air force that proved unable to use them properly ?
Coming from Drakens, must have been one hell of a generational leap for the mechanics and support teams.

 

[Maro.Kyo]

Then again there is the very unfortunate case of Austria, which went for Typhoons and proved unable to assume them - don't know if the issues were technical, financial, maintenance costs ?
But I do know it ended very badly for the Typhoons.
This is an interesting example of a country bitting more than it could chew - but I'm not sure if Typhoons were just overkill - or if it was the Austrian air force that proved unable to use them properly ?
Coming from Drakens, must have been one hell of a generational leap for the mechanics and support teams.

It was simply a a very corrupt government program, which turned out to be a disaster, which in turn has not much to do with Austrian Air Force's capabilities I feel. It was already out of their control before they even received their planes, since they were getting those horrendous Tranche 1 aircrafts.

Now it seems like they are going to ditch them away sooner than later, the fate of those Tranche 1 aircrafts are pretty clear, just like the other Tranche 1s of other EF-2000 operators. Interesting to see would be which option they take as their next step and I feel Rafale is definitely up there as a candidate, provided that this time no one rigs the show with bribery.

Anyways, back to the news only.

 

[Deltafan]

Maybe another step for Rafale toward Indonesia:

Kabar baik, Kemhan dan Dassault sudah tandatangani kontrak 36 Rafale

Kemhan RI dan Dassault Aviation dikabarkan telah menandatangani kontrak awal yaitu kontrak "Come Into Force" pengadaan 36 jet tempur Rafale.

www.airspace-review.com

To be confirmed, or not, in December...

An Airspace Review source in Jakarta said the Indonesian Ministry of Defense and Dassault Aviation (the manufacturer of the Rafale ) from France had signed an initial contract for the procurement of 36 multi-role fighter jets.

According to french articles, the "initial contract" is a "letter of intent".

Well, as said, to be confirmed, or not, in December...

Moreover, I wonder where Indonesia will find all this money ...

Fincantieri | FINCANTIERI WILL PROVIDE 8 VESSELS TO INDONESIA

www.fincantieri.com

 

[Archibald]

Then again there is the very unfortunate case of Austria, which went for Typhoons and proved unable to assume them - don't know if the issues were technical, financial, maintenance costs ?
But I do know it ended very badly for the Typhoons.
This is an interesting example of a country bitting more than it could chew - but I'm not sure if Typhoons were just overkill - or if it was the Austrian air force that proved unable to use them properly ?
Coming from Drakens, must have been one hell of a generational leap for the mechanics and support teams.

It was simply a a very corrupt government program, which turned out to be a disaster, which in turn has not much to do with Austrian Air Force's capabilities I feel. It was already out of their control before they even received their planes, since they were getting those horrendous Tranche 1 aircrafts.

Now it seems like they are going to ditch them away sooner than later, the fate of those Tranche 1 aircrafts are pretty clear, just like the other Tranche 1s of other EF-2000 operators. Interesting to see would be which option they take as their next step and I feel Rafale is definitely up there as a candidate, provided that this time no one rigs the show with bribery.

Anyways, back to the news only.

Ok thank you for the info, I hadn't followed the Austrian quagmire closely.

 

[Archibald]

Maybe another step for Rafale toward Indonesia:

Kabar baik, Kemhan dan Dassault sudah tandatangani kontrak 36 Rafale

Kemhan RI dan Dassault Aviation dikabarkan telah menandatangani kontrak awal yaitu kontrak "Come Into Force" pengadaan 36 jet tempur Rafale.

www.airspace-review.com

To be confirmed, or not, in December...

Good news, the Ministry of Defense and Dassault have signed the initial 36 Rafale contracts​

June 10, 2021

Good news from the planned purchase of defense equipment by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemhan RI).
An Airspace Review source in Jakarta said the Indonesian Ministry of Defense and Dassault Aviation (the manufacturer of the Rafale ) from France had signed an initial contract for the procurement of 36 multi-role fighter jets.

According to french articles, the "initial contract" is a "letter of intent".

Well, as said, to be confirmed, or not, in December...

Moreover, I wonder where Indonesia will find all this money ...

Fincantieri | FINCANTIERI WILL PROVIDE 8 VESSELS TO INDONESIA

www.fincantieri.com

It probably doesn't help Ferrero dropping palm oil from Nutella... (no insult toward Indonesia, I just vaguely remember some years ago they were to pay some military stuff with the goddam thing).

 

[KimIrSen]

Maybe another step for Rafale toward Indonesia:

Kabar baik, Kemhan dan Dassault sudah tandatangani kontrak 36 Rafale

Kemhan RI dan Dassault Aviation dikabarkan telah menandatangani kontrak awal yaitu kontrak "Come Into Force" pengadaan 36 jet tempur Rafale.

www.airspace-review.com

To be confirmed, or not, in December...

Good news, the Ministry of Defense and Dassault have signed the initial 36 Rafale contracts​

June 10, 2021

Good news from the planned purchase of defense equipment by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemhan RI).
An Airspace Review source in Jakarta said the Indonesian Ministry of Defense and Dassault Aviation (the manufacturer of the Rafale ) from France had signed an initial contract for the procurement of 36 multi-role fighter jets.

According to french articles, the "initial contract" is a "letter of intent".

Well, as said, to be confirmed, or not, in December...

Moreover, I wonder where Indonesia will find all this money ...

Fincantieri | FINCANTIERI WILL PROVIDE 8 VESSELS TO INDONESIA

www.fincantieri.com

It probably doesn't help Ferrero dropping palm oil from Nutella... (no insult toward Indonesia, I just vaguely remember some years ago they were to pay some military stuff with the goddam thing).

Indonesia wanted to pay for part of the Su-35 order that was cancelled under US pressure with palm oil and rubber deliveries iirc.

 

[eagle]

Then again there is the very unfortunate case of Austria, which went for Typhoons and proved unable to assume them - don't know if the issues were technical, financial, maintenance costs ?
But I do know it ended very badly for the Typhoons.
This is an interesting example of a country bitting more than it could chew - but I'm not sure if Typhoons were just overkill - or if it was the Austrian air force that proved unable to use them properly ?
Coming from Drakens, must have been one hell of a generational leap for the mechanics and support teams.

It was simply a a very corrupt government program, which turned out to be a disaster, which in turn has not much to do with Austrian Air Force's capabilities I feel. It was already out of their control before they even received their planes, since they were getting those horrendous Tranche 1 aircrafts.

Now it seems like they are going to ditch them away sooner than later, the fate of those Tranche 1 aircrafts are pretty clear, just like the other Tranche 1s of other EF-2000 operators. Interesting to see would be which option they take as their next step and I feel Rafale is definitely up there as a candidate, provided that this time no one rigs the show with bribery.

Anyways, back to the news only.

This is not true.
No corruption has been proved until this day.

EF's troubles in Austria are purely political. It was and basically still is the favourite object of hate for the socialist party and the general public.

 

[Archibald]

(I had my share of political poison for today, and on top of that I know absolutely zero about Austrian politics, so I will carefully stay some light years away from this...)

 

[Maro.Kyo]

This is not true.
No corruption has been proved until this day.

EF's troubles in Austria are purely political. It was and basically still is the favourite object of hate for the socialist party and the general public.

Ah, thanks for the correction. It seems that the investigation was dropped at the end of last year all together. I wasn't updated on this.

To avoid any misunderstandings, I should stress that I cannot care less about if it was the left wing or the right wing part who was alleged of corruption and who sued em'. It also seems to be the case that no matter how misconducted or not the program was, the Austrian AF is unhappy about the jet. They would eventually get a new fighter soon enough.

 

[helmutkohl]

Then again there is the very unfortunate case of Austria, which went for Typhoons and proved unable to assume them - don't know if the issues were technical, financial, maintenance costs ?
But I do know it ended very badly for the Typhoons.
This is an interesting example of a country bitting more than it could chew - but I'm not sure if Typhoons were just overkill - or if it was the Austrian air force that proved unable to use them properly ?
Coming from Drakens, must have been one hell of a generational leap for the mechanics and support teams.

in the old ACIG site, I recalled when news of Austria getting the typhoons, Tom was pretty excited.
but then everyone was warning him that its not that great.. much more expensive to operate and maintain compared to the Gripen offer.. AND for less capability since it was a gimped version of the Typhoon.

as for Serbia, I dont really buy that argument to be honest.
sure Croatia and Serbia has had history.. but the Serbian air force is not in the greatest shape, and i doubt their old mig-29s *slightly upgraded, are a even a threat to the FA-50 with AMRAAM, let alone a Gripen or Rafale.
even if Serbia was a threat, money better be used to invest in the Army and drones.
and in the case Russia becomes involved.. it doesnt make a huge difference if they are flying golden eagles or rafales.. they need huge support. fortunately they are in NATO.

 

[stealthflanker]

Maybe another step for Rafale toward Indonesia:

Kabar baik, Kemhan dan Dassault sudah tandatangani kontrak 36 Rafale

Kemhan RI dan Dassault Aviation dikabarkan telah menandatangani kontrak awal yaitu kontrak "Come Into Force" pengadaan 36 jet tempur Rafale.

www.airspace-review.com

To be confirmed, or not, in December...

Good news, the Ministry of Defense and Dassault have signed the initial 36 Rafale contracts​

June 10, 2021

Good news from the planned purchase of defense equipment by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemhan RI).
An Airspace Review source in Jakarta said the Indonesian Ministry of Defense and Dassault Aviation (the manufacturer of the Rafale ) from France had signed an initial contract for the procurement of 36 multi-role fighter jets.

The signing of the initial contract called the “Come Into Force” contract was signed on Monday, June 7, 2021 and will take effect in December 2021.
“The 'Come Into Force' contract was signed on Monday, June 7th. The contract will take effect in December this year," said an AR source.
He added that Indonesia's journey to get the Rafale plane from France is still long.

The “Come Into Force” contract will then become the basis for the Effective Contract after all agreements between Indonesia and France are reached and Indonesia has paid an advance for the purchase of 36 Rafales.
Meanwhile, until now Indonesia and France have not reached agreement points for Trade Returns, Local Content and/or Offsets (IDKLO) in terms of the planned purchase of 36 Rafale .

As is known, Law no. 16 of 2012 concerning the Defense Industry mandates that the purchase of alpalhankam (defense and security equipment) from abroad must be accompanied by an IDKLO. (...)

Well the concern is whether our Minister of Finance are willing to provide its approval. The amount of initial deposit hasnt been disclosed but it's in hundreds of millions of Euros as far as i heard.

There is already lenders which will help financing the deal, but this again depend on our Minister of Finance to actually take the loan and approve it as funding source for the aircrafts.

 

[TomcatViP]

Rumors around a possible early announcement of a decision in Switzerland this Friday (the rest of the report isn't worth a translation regarding the information it can bring to the reader here):

La décision du gouvernement pourrait tomber ce vendredi.
----------------
The decision could be announced this Friday.

Rafale de conjectures avant le choix du prochain avion de combat - Le Temps

Quel constructeur militaire remportera les faveurs du Conseil fédéral? La décision du gouvernement pourrait tomber ce vendredi. Evaluation des chances de chaque avion

www.letemps.ch

 

[Deltafan]

Well, three articles, three potential winners (Rafale, Typhoon and F-35...)

Rafale de conjectures avant le choix du prochain avion de combat - Le Temps

Quel constructeur militaire remportera les faveurs du Conseil fédéral? La décision du gouvernement pourrait tomber ce vendredi. Evaluation des chances de chaque avion

www.letemps.ch

Neuer Kampfjet: Tage der Entscheidung

In den nächsten Tagen soll der Bundesrat bestimmen, welches Kampfflugzeug die Schweiz kauft. Die beiden europäischen Anbieter gehen favorisiert in die letzte Runde.

nzzas.nzz.ch

Avions de combat - Le F-35 de Lockheed Martin fait une belle remontée à Berne

Il y a une dizaine de jours, le Rafale de Dassault avait la cote, aujourd’hui c’est le jet furtif américain qui semble le mieux placé. La gauche est en embuscade avec une initiative.

www.lematin.ch

Answer maybe between 18 and 23 June...

 

[Deltafan]

According to a paid article in the Swiss press (digital newspaper La Liberté), for the result of the competition in Switzerland, it would now be June 23 or 30 ...

 

[helmutkohl]

with the 2nd Rafale squadron coming in
India finally plans to retire all MiG-21 within 3 years

MiG-21s to be phased out in three years, says Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria | Hyderabad News - Times of India

The phasing out of MiG-21 fighter jets, which have been involved in several accidents over the years, will happen over the next two to three years, Ai

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

 

[TomcatViP]

On its way to Hawaii, a trio (?) of Rafale, 3 A330MRT and 2 A400M landed in Tahiti (NTAA). This was the largest military air contingents there since long.

C’est la mission Heifara ✈️ et vous les avez peut-être entendus… | By Polynésie la 1ère | Facebook

C’est la mission Heifara ✈️ et vous les avez peut-être entendus…

fb.watch

Les Rafale sont arrivés à Tahiti

Les trois Rafale de l'armée de l'air sont arrivés à Tahiti, ce lundi 21 juin, accompagnés de trois avions ravitailleurs. Ils sont de passage avant de repartir pour un exercice à Hawaii, avec l'armée américaine.

la1ere.francetvinfo.fr

 

[helmutkohl]

On its way to Hawaii, a trio (?) of Rafale, 3 A330MRT and 2 A400M landed in Tahiti (NTAA). This was the largest military air contingents there since long.

C’est la mission Heifara ✈️ et vous les avez peut-être entendus… | By Polynésie la 1ère | Facebook

C’est la mission Heifara ✈️ et vous les avez peut-être entendus…

fb.watch

Les Rafale sont arrivés à Tahiti

Les trois Rafale de l'armée de l'air sont arrivés à Tahiti, ce lundi 21 juin, accompagnés de trois avions ravitailleurs. Ils sont de passage avant de repartir pour un exercice à Hawaii, avec l'armée américaine.

la1ere.francetvinfo.fr

an awesome video

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhEs6hPniH0


I believe normally the French don't station any fixed wing fighters in Tahiti or other parts of French Polynesia?
I looked up Scramble and only saw patrol aircraft.

I wonder if they eventually plan to station some, like how Hawaii does with their F-22s and F-15s

 

[Deltafan]

I believe normally the French don't station any fixed wing fighters in Tahiti or other parts of French Polynesia?
I looked up Scramble and only saw patrol aircraft.

I wonder if they eventually plan to station some, like how Hawaii does with their F-22s and F-15s

Le raid des Rafale à Tahiti: Heifara Wakea Jour 1

www.air-cosmos.com

With the increase in regional tensions in the Asia-Pacific zone, will France be able to protect its nationals who remain at the antipodes of the Metropolis or to stand alongside its allies in the event of an offensive? This is in any case the objective that the Air Force has set itself, which is already in battle order to deploy by 2023 near 20 Rafale in less than 48 hours, and on short notice, as far as French Polynesia. The Heifara Wakea exercise marks the first milestone of this exercise.

 

[Archibald]

Well, if French Polynesia vote for independance in November (and polls are getting closer and closer) then that point will be... moot.

Of the very few consolations in losing the place: the French Navy and to a lesser extend the Air force will be much less overstretched; they will be able to focuse back on other overseas territories in the caribbean plus La Réunion (my happy place completely isolated at the bottom of Indian ocean).

 

[helmutkohl]

Well, if French Polynesia vote for independance in November (and polls are getting closer and closer) then that point will be... moot.

Of the very few consolations in losing the place: the French Navy and to a lesser extend the Air force will be much less overstretched; they will be able to focuse back on other overseas territories in the caribbean plus La Réunion (my happy place completely isolated at the bottom of Indian ocean).

French Polynesia can very well stay in association with France
just like when Palau or Cook Island became independent, they opted to sign a free-association agreement with US and NZ respectively

 

[Archibald]

Well, if French Polynesia vote for independance in November (and polls are getting closer and closer) then that point will be... moot.

Of the very few consolations in losing the place: the French Navy and to a lesser extend the Air force will be much less overstretched; they will be able to focuse back on other overseas territories in the caribbean plus La Réunion (my happy place completely isolated at the bottom of Indian ocean).

French Polynesia can very well stay in association with France
just like when Palau or Cook Island became independent, they opted to sign a free-association agreement with US and NZ respectively

Not sure unfortunately French Polynesians will go this way. There is some lasting... resent from them, for good (and bad) reasons. For a start, nuking the shit out of a couple of their islands for 30 years did not helped.

More seriously: the events of 1988 were bad. Very bad.

Ouvéa cave hostage taking - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It wasn't as bad as Northern Ireland, but it was nonetheless bloody.

 

[Deltafan]

Ouvea was in New Caledonia, not in Polynesia. And, AFAIK, the (third and last, at least as foreseen) vote for independance will be in December in New Caledonia, not in Polynesia.

 

[Archibald]

D'oh, silly me ! Got my Pacific French overseas territories completely wrong.

(put tar and feathers on my face)

...then again, I'm no worse than some French people thinking La Réunion island is just like Guadeloupe and Martinique - I mean, in the Caribbean !

 

[TomcatViP]

View: https://youtu.be/HHOrR67PTr4?

 

[Deltafan]

Des doutes sur l’avion américain F-35

La promesse de coûts réduits pour l’avion de combat américain soulève des questions de fond.

www.laliberte.ch

Doubts about the American F-35 fighter jet

The promise of reduced costs for the US fighter jet raises fundamental questions.

THURSDAY 24 JUNE 2021 PHILIPPE BOEGLIN

The F-35 is particularly pointed out in the United States by official bodies and parliamentarians for its long-term costs.

ARMY

The fighter planes continue to boil the federal Bern. Since the NZZ and SRF television claimed Defense Minister Viola Amherd favored the US F-35 jet, the debate has become fierce. This presumed choice would be based on a lower price and better test performance. And it seriously amazes various actors in military and political circles. A trend is emerging: the advantageous maintenance costs of the device are called into question. This is a crucial aspect of the $ 6 billion purchase, sensitive also for the F-35, as the aircraft is pointed out in the United States by official bodies and parliamentarians for its long-term costs.

According to the NZZ, the manufacturer Lockheed Martin would propose to use a simulator extensively to reduce actual flight hours, and therefore expenses over the 30-year lifespan. The Federal Department of Defense (DDPS) is not confirming, nor is Lockheed Martin, but insiders believe the information to be "true."

The simulator argument raises eyebrows among scholars. On the one hand, because it seems strange that the F-35 brings considerable added value here: all modern jets have developed simulation systems. This is also the case for the other three competitors, the French Rafale aircraft, the European Eurofighter, and the other American F / A-18 Super Hornet.

Simulator flights in question

On the other hand, according to our information, the rivals of the F-35 were not explicitly solicited to advance an offer including a significant proportion of simulator flights. “If that had been the case, they could also have submitted a cheaper price,” sums up one connoisseur. In fact, the head of assessment, the Federal Office of Armaments (armasuisse) asked for the rate for 180 flying hours per year and per machine.

There are question marks about the armasuisse method. This one does not answer our questions. Also contacted, it is the Department of Defense which centralizes communication: "The DDPS does not comment on rumors concerning Federal Council affairs. The Federal Council is still scheduled to proceed with the type selection for the new fighter jets and the new long-range surface-to-air defense system in the second quarter of 2021. The decision will be actively communicated. " The government should decide next Wednesday, after addressing the issue this Thursday afternoon.

 

[TomcatViP]

Spoiler: you might have read it already

That's why you have full flight simulators in civil aviation and full mission simulators in the military.
The F-35's one replicates most of the systems in the airplane and is dynamically fed with outside threat database. You can then train realistically in the simulated environment, familiarizing with your mission, fly with a real teammate flying another F-35 or another type of aircraft, learn when your sensors will pickup an expected threat, from where your signals could be monitored by an adversary (a must for a stealth aircraft) and practice at low cost.

The simulator has been vaunted by real F-35 pilots and make flying the beast easy. Something usefull in the context of the Swiss approach of defense (conscrits).

I am not sure that there is a dynamic full mission simulator for the Rafale.

 

[helmutkohl]

first time hearing about a proposal for a Rafale F5 version

'Super-Rafales': Dassault Plans To Produce F5 Variant Of Rafale Jets Amid Rising Global Demand & Competition

The F5 variant of the French Rafale fighter jets is likely to have advanced features. India is among the countries that use this fighter jet.

eurasiantimes.com

 

[Bhurki]

first time hearing about a proposal for a Rafale F5 version

'Super-Rafales': Dassault Plans To Produce F5 Variant Of Rafale Jets Amid Rising Global Demand & Competition

The F5 variant of the French Rafale fighter jets is likely to have advanced features. India is among the countries that use this fighter jet.

eurasiantimes.com

Each Eur going to the upgrade will be one less for SCAF.
In all likeliness, if this upgrade ever happens, it'll almost entirely be funded by a foreign purchase.

 

[TomcatViP]

Don't worry, a Rafale "F5" might just be an overpriced F4 for India...

 

[Hood]

2040-45 is a long time away, presumably Dassault would pitch an F5 to fill that gap (maybe even an F6). They are going to want to keep the Rafale going until the SCAF enters production.

 

[TomcatViP]

Shouldn't they focus first in delivering the improvements that pumped-up the F3 price for India?
If we remember correctly, every F3R out of Dassault-Aviation, France, were to be upgraded in India. How many have gone through so far?

That we know, Zero.

 

[TomcatViP]

Mission Logo for the US/French training exercice in Hawaii:

 

[Deltafan]

first time hearing about a proposal for a Rafale F5 version

'Super-Rafales': Dassault Plans To Produce F5 Variant Of Rafale Jets Amid Rising Global Demand & Competition

The F5 variant of the French Rafale fighter jets is likely to have advanced features. India is among the countries that use this fighter jet.

eurasiantimes.com

Each Eur going to the upgrade will be one less for SCAF.
In all likeliness, if this upgrade ever happens, it'll almost entirely be funded by a foreign purchase.

According to the chief of the French Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace (AAE), the F5 standard is foreseen for the French Armée de l'Air from the "beginning" of the 2030 years.

Selon le général Parisot, le Rafale F5 sera "doté d'un nombre impressionnant de capacités" - Zone Militaire

Le mois dernier, la Direction générale de l'armement a fait savoir que le Rafale porté au standard F4-1 venait d'effectuer sa première campagne de "revue

www.opex360.com

"(F4) is a very complete standard that I would qualify as major for the Rafale", summarized General Frédéric Parisot, the major general of the Air & Space [AAE] army, (...). However, and even if the Future Air Combat System [SCAF] is supposed to take over in 2040, there is no question of stopping there.

“From its conception, the Rafale has been designed with an incremental approach. It will extend beyond the entry into service of the NGF [New Generation Fighter] by 2040 ", explained the MGAAE, referring to the fighter aircraft on which the SCAF will be based.

“At the start of the 2030s, the F5 standard will allow us to further improve the Rafale's first entry capacity, with new sensors and armaments, but also capacities to communicate, collaborate and be interoperable”, then indicated General Parisot.

 

[Jason Dykstra (Wyvern)]

So does that mean that they are going for a mixed fleet of stealth and conventional aircraft?

 

[Geo]

So does that mean that they are going for a mixed fleet of stealth and conventional aircraft?

No. Older and newer. Normal thing.
Btw so called "stealth" aircraft is conventional aircraft too.

 

[Deltafan]

So does that mean that they are going for a mixed fleet of stealth and conventional aircraft?

Probably between 2040 and 2060, yes (older and newer as said by Geo)

 

[Deltafan]

Winner for Swiss probably today on 2 P.M. (Greenwich Meridian Time)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1410205303170347015

View: https://twitter.com/christophevogt/status/1410205303170347015