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A good case could be make that the Mirage iconic "mice air intakes" had reached their limits, somewhat. It was time to change the air intake(s) - something not done since the SMB-4 in 1958.
They were perfect to fly fast and non stealthy; fine for the 4000, not for the Rafale.
Also I heard that, canard-wise, those intakes prevented an optimal, efficient setup. As seen on the Kfir and 4000 and some other Mirage upgrades.

The Rafale canard smoothly blends into the forward fuselage and cockpit sides - because the intakes are no longer in the way.
Better for stealth (also the lack of spike there helps a lot) but the main advantage (from memory) is related to the wing and maneuverability - some kind of interaction between the canard and the wing that wasn't possible with the Mirages and grants better agility overall.

"Et le canard était toujours vivant !"

<blockquote data-quote="Archibald" data-source="post: 453124" data-attributes="member: 138">A good case could be make that the Mirage iconic &quot;mice air intakes&quot; had reached their limits, somewhat. It was time to change the air intake(s) - something not done since the SMB-4 in 1958.They were perfect to fly fast and non stealthy; fine for the 4000, not for the Rafale.Also I heard that, canard-wise, those intakes prevented an optimal, efficient setup. As seen on the Kfir and 4000 and some other Mirage upgrades.The Rafale canard smoothly blends into the forward fuselage and cockpit sides -&nbsp; because the intakes are no longer in the way.Better for stealth (also the lack of spike there helps a lot) but the main advantage (from memory) is related to the wing and maneuverability - some kind of interaction between the canard and the wing that wasn't possible with the Mirages and grants better agility overall.&quot;Et le canard était toujours vivant !&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Archibald, post: 453124, member: 138"] A good case could be make that the Mirage iconic "mice air intakes" had reached their limits, somewhat. It was time to change the air intake(s) - something not done since the SMB-4 in 1958. They were perfect to fly fast and non stealthy; fine for the 4000, not for the Rafale. Also I heard that, canard-wise, those intakes prevented an optimal, efficient setup. As seen on the Kfir and 4000 and some other Mirage upgrades. The Rafale canard smoothly blends into the forward fuselage and cockpit sides - because the intakes are no longer in the way. Better for stealth (also the lack of spike there helps a lot) but the main advantage (from memory) is related to the wing and maneuverability - some kind of interaction between the canard and the wing that wasn't possible with the Mirages and grants better agility overall. "Et le canard était toujours vivant !" [/QUOTE]

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