Yeah something like that...Typhoon seems a decent Interceptor...a good fighter....and seemingly about F-16 in AtG (right now), not a bad idea, the EF is the F-22 for those who have F-16's &/or F-35's.

The Typhoon needs the best radar and the best off platform EW support she can get in the A2A battle. The reason why is simple. She is not as low EM observable, as say, the Sparky, but she is a better potential missile platform and a better dog-fighter. What she has going for her, is that she is designed to use ASRAAM, IRIS T and METEOR as well as SIDEWINDER and AMRAAM.

I genuinely believe that with CAESAR she will be the second best air superiority fighter flying. Even with CAPTOR Typhoon is formidable as even in this day and age, mechanical scan track radars of the best technical quality are capable of multiple target tracks and engagements. The CAPTOR has just enough detection threshhold reach to make METEOR effective throughout its full flyout.

 

Now METEOR, and other ramjet missiles like her, is the big Typhoon question. Typhoon  has to have positive telemetry control  of that missile to update the drop basket to the missi;e GCU successfully to the point that the METEOR can find the target by itself in its NEZ.and give chase with its own onboard seeker. If Typhoon/METEOR can do this at MERs of 80-100 kilometers consistently then the Typhoon has an enormouas edge over any other non-F-22 aircraft currently flying. First shot first kill.  

 

I don't know if Typhoon can climb high enough to take full advantage of what I just wrote,.but even if she is just shy of 21,000 meters, it is better than most aircraft she will fight. At that altitude, most aircraft have trouble just stayong pointed. Typhoon, if she can detect, acquire, track, engage: and  point and shoot, will have a potent edge.

Then add to the mix that she is a potent diogfighter able to out turn and outclimb most other aircraft when configured A2A including her underpowered chief rival.

 

The chief difference between the Typhoon and many other aircraft to which she is compared is that is that she uses her missiles to do the work, while her rivals continue to rely heavily on the PLANE to do the work. I mean that strictly in the PHYSICS sense. In that respect she is not totally unlike the Raptor which also uses physics to do the work but which uses low observability to get into her lethal range before using her own rockets. Typhoon has to use distance oif separation to play the exact same game. 

 

Therefore if I was looking at how Typhoon fits into my hypothetical lineup, I wouldn't gripe too much about its current multi-role capability limitations. I'd look to see what I could dio to improive its long range SEAD/DEAD capabilities, improve its AWACs datalinks to maximize standoff distance and tweak her in her air superiority role, and leave the ground striking to my legacy force aircraft until I obtained BEAGLES or Sparkies or acquired another bomb truck [Rafale or Super Hornet].,

 

Anyway that is my take.

 

Herald

 

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"The Rafale, well, where does it fit in a big war scenario, of a US-EU coalition against a competent foe? "

 

In a hypothetical "big" war against a competent opponent the Rafale would have a very similar mission set to an F-16 or SH. 

 

Early in the fight it would likely work to bring down the enemy air defense network with stand-off weapons.(A role it should perform well in.)  Once the enemy's defenses have been degraded it would transition to a more conventional mixed bag of strike roles... precision bombing, close air support, and staying on call to hit targets of opportunity.  A Rafale would certainly be capable of providing CAP or other air-to-air missions as there isn't really a plausible opponent that the Rafale wouldn't outclass, but if you have F-22s or even EFers and F-15s available those would be your first choice for that mission.

 

A more likely scenario would be of France carrying out some kind of a one-time punitive strike unilaterally.  In that case of course Rafales would perform several missions.

This on again, off again dance with the SA-20 sale is a case in point. If Displaced Jim were here, I'm sure he would tell us that the Iranians know what they want and why.  They want the S-300PMU-1 or 2 version with its Stone radar, computers and three layer ranged SAM system, ALL of it mounted on TELs or TERs.That is a scary system. Give the Iranians ten of those as firing batteries with a few (20?) SA-15 batteries thrown in for perimeter guard and you have a respectable SAM defense that would harden up 3-4 area targets rather well. Add some decent Sukhois (50?) dedicated as air derfense interceptors and whatever Mainstay knockoffs.(3-5?) you could get and you have the makings of an Iranian IAD-a GOOD one. I keep telling people that Russian air defenses are no joke.

 

The French would find that one a tough one to crack. Israel would find it a tough one to crack. WE would find it a tough one to crack as a single raid. You'd have to peel it apart piece by piece or run them out of rockets. The Rafale could do it, but it would cost the French some planes and too many pilots. 

 

Herald.

  

""The Rafale, well, where does it fit in a big war scenario, of a US-EU coalition against a competent foe?""

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