usajoe1 Nobody in Europe wants it, they are either flying the Typhoon or the Gripen, and are waiting for a real 5th gen fighter, the F-35.
The F/A-18 for example? Because just in case you didn't realise it yet, the famous "Generation" thing is muchmore of a commercial argument than anythnig else, Boeing advertises their F/A-18s are 5th generation.
usajoe1 While good old France is going to be the lone operator of the Rafale.
If you nkew about the technologies involved in these aircraft you would understand that for our forces it doesn't matter the slightest, even a Mirage 2000 Mk2/9 have more advanced systems than the Typhoon T3, only the Gripen NG can compare with the Rafale F2/F3s.
There are two things at play here; technical aspects and politics.
It doesn't matter the slightests if France is the sole operator of Rafale as long as the aircraft is more advanced than the competition and it is, best example; 5th generation core system architecture.
Interferometric ECMs.
usajoe1 In Asia it already lost to BW's (barndoor) F-15 twice. S. Korea and Singapore.
While being the techgnologic winner, so at the end of the day the problem remians the same.
usajoe1 There is only Libya that might buy a dozen or so.
Switzerland, Brazil, the EAU, India and a few more...
usajoe1 Than again if the Rafale had a more powerful radar, HMS, a targeting pod, more powerful engines, better a2a missiles on time, and did not cost an arm and a leg it would not be in this situation.
For your information:
Rafale is the only European fighter to have an AESA radar developed AND ordered for production.
It is the only one with full 360*X360* AESA coverage.
The Damocles pod will be in service at year end and the NG version has alredy been tested vith PGMs.
HMD is available for any customers wanting it, the fact that the French forces doesn't invest in it doesn't mean it doesn't have one.
usajoe1 The problem is, France built this bird with France on its mind. France did not think it needed a more powerful radar becuse it has modern AWACS,
There you are spot-on, Rafale responds to French requierements only and it is becoming a problem in regard to the export market.
usajoe1 it did not produce a targeting pod and a HMS and a more powerful engine because it did not think it was that important or did not want to spend the money,
You are a little mis-informed here; AdA and MN already have a suffiscient number of modern target designation pod and a good PBM capability, Damocles was to equip the Marine Nationale SEMs in priority.
In view of the repeated failures to export it, it became more and more obvious that customers requierements were differents than that of France forces.
The event of METEOR for example have pushed the officials to think further about a longer ranged radare, dont go writing France didn't work in this sense because Rafale will be the first to be equiped with an AESA in SERIE for both the export and domestic market.
The contract for preproduction is signed, the Swiss have already tested it and so did the Indians... link /> link
Same for the engines.
To keep up with the US France had to develop new materials and aerodynamics for the High pressure part, in particular the H-P turbines, starting with the European record of 1850 k for M88.
There isn't a single European manufacturer who equals this, ECO brought the TET to 2050 k and this allows for a 90 kN version of M88.
There were no less then THREE differenbt technology developement programes associated to M88...
Eurojet and Volvo are lagging well behind in terms of developement, we know exactly what the state of developement of Euroject technologies are because they use our high-pressure/high-temperatures facilities at ONERA, France, they are unique in Europe.
usajoe1 but what it forgot was that the Export coustomers who were going to give up an arm and a leg for the fighter wanted all of this. That is why they went for the Typhoon, SH, and even (barndoors) as BW likes to say, the F-15 and the SU-30.
You are plain wrong here: Rafale developement cost for the whole programe is way lower than that of the Eurofighter (Gripen is not in the same category) and more to it it is also much cheaper to acquier.
To finish, Rafale have demonstrated A2A and A2G capabilties not one single other aircraft in Europe have even in the West, like the 180* A2A kill in 2007.
Some fantasist keep posting articles and videos of other test-firing on High Off Boresight modes, forgeting that the target was always in the FRONT emysphere at the time of firing.
Rafale killed a target which was following it and neither Typhoon nor Gripen are capable of this yet.
About great minds who qualifies a LOT more than most of us to give an opinion on Rafale.
Thank you very much Obama!
= Yeah, the hearth is FLAT too and you prove your ignorance AGAIN it's g not GEEE, BOY, which is employed in our language but g...
Since you're too ineducated to understand French or aerospacial terms in plain English, and don't bother reading articles or watching videos, (NOT even the one you post yourself) we only can conclude that the comments made by Captain Cedric Ruet didn't hit a nerve with you.
For those who wants to see for themself... link
HE SAYS 1.0. 10.5 looking at 11.0 g and Rafale is capable of g over-ride up to 11, as is the Mirage 2000.
A delta-winged, state-of-the-art multirole fighter that is the pride of the French Air Force will makes its Air Tattoo flying display debut at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on July 18-19. Piloting the highly agile fighter will be Capitaine Francois Forget and Capitaine Cedric Ruet, from St Dizier Air Base, where the French Air Force's first Rafale squadron is based. Rob Windsor, Head of Aircraft Operations at the Air Tattoo, said the display by the French Air Force Rafale would undoubtedly be one of the highlights of this summer's airshow. He said: "It's a great honour to be chosen to stage one of the Rafale's first military displays in the UK. I think people will be impressed by the Rafale's awesome power and agility." The versatile Rafale, is France's answer to the RAF Typhoon but with an added nuclear strike capability.
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