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Subject: Rafale Thread
Softwar    3/9/2009 9:47:25 AM
Started with hope that BW will limit his comments here instead of in every other Fighter thread. I'll start off with: 1 - no export sales 2 - no laser designator 3 - no AESA 4 - overpriced 4th gen fighter
 
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warpig       3/22/2009 2:14:27 AM
BW, I'd love to hear how a MICA IR (or any IR air-to-air missile) can be used as an IRST.  I'll grant the "IR" part of IRST, that's obvious.  And once the missile seeker is locked on, *it* can then perform the "T" part for itself.  Feel free to offer up anything regarding how an IR missile can provide any amount of "S" and "T" for the aircraft, much less perform as an IRST the way the IRST part of the OSF of some of the F2 versions that actually do have an IRST does.  Don't forget things like how the seeker is controlled and cooled during all this S and T time.
 
 
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earlm       3/22/2009 2:41:32 AM

BW, I'd love to hear how a MICA IR (or any IR air-to-air missile) can be used as an IRST.  I'll grant the "IR" part of IRST, that's obvious.  And once the missile seeker is locked on, *it* can then perform the "T" part for itself.  Feel free to offer up anything regarding how an IR missile can provide any amount of "S" and "T" for the aircraft, much less perform as an IRST the way the IRST part of the OSF of some of the F2 versions that actually do have an IRST does.  Don't forget things like how the seeker is controlled and cooled during all this S and T time.

 


It's another one of the pieces of bull manure he throws out casually in a post thinking no one will catch it.  He's only done this a few hundred times over the course of several years.  He gets caught every time and then he does it again in the next post.  He just took a shot at the F-22 a few posts above.  He can't make an intelligent case showing where the Rafale is superior in a few areas to an F-teen so he takes shots at the Typhoon, Raptor and F-35 as a rhetorical tactic.  He gets the hell beaten out of him and comes back for more in the next post.  And he never learns the tactics, physics or engineering which after a few years anyone who reads the board should improve in.  Herald knows physics and engineering and Leroy knows a lot about tactics but BW never learns a thing from anyone.
 
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locutus       3/22/2009 3:09:36 AM

Look at that lovely aircraft , the F-15 Eagle :

h*tp://img4.imageshack.us/img4/3326/2754954023e55e057248b.jpg


 

(nice pic isn 't it)




 
This is better.
 
 htp://traxxmaxmaster.deviantart.com/art/F-15-Vapor-109550734

 

 






 
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locutus    FYI   3/22/2009 3:14:35 AM











 

This is better.


 

 htp://traxxmaxmaster.deviantart.com/art/F-15-Vapor-109550734



 A couple of things I should mention:
 
1)Click on the photo and view it full size.
2)If you choose to explore the site, many photos at deviant art are NSFW.  So be careful.
 



 

















 
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leroy       3/22/2009 4:22:59 AM
"Back to the Rafale .  I said that the IR MICA can be used as an IRST and it is . Leroy is wrong again . The AdA in late 80s was already using the Magic 2 onboard M200s as an IRST , the Magic 2 had a 28km range aquisition . The IR MICA seeker 's unofficial range studies give it a 40km range . Of course , this is nothing comparable to OSF (100km range) but it is better than nothing and IT IS used as an IRST ."
 
Uh huh... there are so many things wrong with this I hardly know where to start.
 
First off, in order for a Mica seeker to pick up a target at 40km, it would have to be looking at it from the rear.  Its range in a forward hemisphere scenario is going to be far less than 40km.
 
The whole idea is just beyond stupid.  If cued where to look first, a MICA may be able to detect a target beyond visual range with its seeker, but that is a completely different problem from having the missile perform a search for targets autonomously, and then feed that data back to the aircraft.  The seeker simply isn't designed, nor capable, of performing that mission.  While I am at it... even if we pretended the Mica could somewhat reliably detect targets at 40km in a real world scenario, and it can't, that would still be useless in any kind of modern air combat scenario.  Your opponent would have killed you long before you got an opportunity to fire yourself.  The Rafale is not a stealth aircraft and isn't going to be sneaking within 40km unless your opponent is asleep in his seat.
 
"Regarding the 1st European F-35 , I hope to see it participating at the TigerMeet in 2013 if the program has luck on its side , but we could well not see it before 2015."
 
Ah yes, because as usual you seem to think these things are about "proving" something...
 
"In 6 years time , the Rafale will be F3+ , the Typhoon will have 5 years of operational service and the gripen will most probably be the Gripen NG . By that time , more and more Vipers , Eagles and Hornets will be at rest , rusting away on gigantic airplane parks . "
 
So?  Yes, the Rafale will probably be closer to finished by then, and yes some additional aircraft of various types will have been retired.  While we are at it... new capabilities will have been added to most fighters in the world.
 
 
"Tell me something poseur4 , who 's looking to buy a pure interceptor nowadays ??? No -one .
Today , the goal is to have multi role platforms and we have the tech to do some good jack of all trade Fighters ."
 
Well, the US for one... but even nations that want multi-role aircraft still have differing relative priorities in mind.  If the main mission a aircraft will be tasked with is air-to-air, the EF or various other aircraft would be better choices than the Rafale. 
 
"Anyway , where did you get that the Typhoon could beat the Rafale BVR ??? The jets met twice already and the outcome is not clear ."
 
lol, ah yes, at one of your aerial championships no doubt.

"On the other hand , during the South-Korean evaluation , the Typhoon had the upper hand on Rafale with a suppositly 4-2 score . We know of a 3rd encounter but the outcome has not been published or even talked of . Again , I repeat that France has never used the active capabilities of SPECTRA yet ."
 
Yeah, once again this is just stupid beyond words.  You think the Koreans were flying EFs against Rafales to see which was better?  That doesnt' even make sense.  The Koreans are not worried about fighting EFs, or Rafales... they are worried about regional threats. North Korean, Japanese, and Chinese aircraft. 
 
As for "Spectra" who gives a crap?  The EF has its own self protection jammer, as do most modern fighters these days.  Nobody uses anything more than the most basic capabilities in exercises for a whole list of good reasons.  (One of the biggest being that exercises are NOT contests and there is no medal ceremony at the end...)
 
"While the European Forces know a bit about the ECM onboard our M2000s , no one has ever experienced active jamming from SPECTRA besides French Pilots over French soil and in restricted airspace . JP Bergerac (if he wants to) can back me up on this ."
 
So?  Again, who gives a crap?  You act like it is unusual that a country wouldn't show off their best ECM in exercises.  
&nb
 
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leroy       3/22/2009 4:26:28 AM
"It's another one of the pieces of bull manure he throws out casually in a post thinking no one will catch it.  He's only done this a few hundred times over the course of several years.  He gets caught every time and then he does it again in the next post.  He just took a shot at the F-22 a few posts above.  He can't make an intelligent case showing where the Rafale is superior in a few areas to an F-teen so he takes shots at the Typhoon, Raptor and F-35 as a rhetorical tactic.  He gets the hell beaten out of him and comes back for more in the next post.  And he never learns the tactics, physics or engineering which after a few years anyone who reads the board should improve in. "
 
It is really about time he was banned.  I am not generally in favor of banning people, but he is either brain damaged or trolling most of the time. 
 
It is obvious he really doesn't have a clue what he is talking about, but it is also obvious that he goes out of his way to be an idiot most of the time. 
 
It would be better for everyone involved if he were gone.
 

 
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gf0012-aust       3/22/2009 5:04:05 AM

A little reminder about panel fit and RCS issues....
 
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k90/in_a_coma_dial_999/rafale_fin0.jpg" width="750" height="362" alt="" />

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k90/in_a_coma_dial_999/rafale_rearview_0.jpg" width="506" height="700" alt="" />
 
-" target="_blank">http://cdn->" width="640" height="439" alt="" />

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r279/sampaix/furtifrafalesmall9eh1.jpg" alt="" /> 

note the difference in saw tooth panel fit and construction on US aircraft and then on Rafale. (pictured)
 
 
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HERALD1357    Temember that little question earlier   3/22/2009 8:58:57 AM
about how an aircraft shockwave generates heat and that heat can sometimes be seen? What does an IR missile (or any object) do even while it hangs on the rail of a wunderwaffe like the Rafale moving at 250 m/s+ ? All physics is local............
 
Herald
 
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Beazz       3/22/2009 11:21:54 AM




A little reminder about panel fit and RCS issues....

 

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k90/in_a_coma_dial_999/rafale_fin0.jpg" width="750" height="362" />




http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k90/in_a_coma_dial_999/rafale_rearview_0.jpg" width="506" height="700" />


 

-" target="_blank">http://cdn->" width="640" height="439" />





http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r279/sampaix/furtifrafalesmall9eh1.jpg" /> 




note the difference in saw tooth panel fit and construction on US aircraft and then on Rafale. (pictured)

 

WOW!! Even for someone like myself with zero technical knowledge on all this, these photos are quiet revealing. Looks to me like something glued together by a bunch of drunks!! I've saw models put together by 12 year olds that look more professional! Thank God we Americans have all those *inferior* teen series and Raptors ;-)) No wonder anyone who does actually have a clue about this is NOT buying that thing. Maybe they want something that was put together a lil more professionally.
 
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Phaid    more BW BS   3/22/2009 11:48:33 AM
"Rafale's radar is circular with an array diameter of 550mm.  The F-16's nose is elliptical with max dimensions of 740 x 480 mm.  That works out to an area of of 0.238 m2 for the Rafale versus 0.279 m2 for the F-16."
 
Wrong . To star with Phaid , since I know that you 're not a wannabe and since I respect you and your knowledge , let me bring to you a nice pdf never posted on SP before , it is in french  :
h*tp://www.unilim.fr/theses/2008/sciences/2008limo4027/estagerie_fx.pdf
 
What does a dated paper that still talks about AMSAR have to do with anything?
 
I hope that you will enjoy the paper . 
Then , some pictures to show my case :
h*tp://img25.imageshack.us/img25/4678/demonstratorrbe2radar2t.jpg
h*tp://img8.imageshack.us/img8/4124/testingphaserafale2.jpg
 
Yes?  One is a picture of a demonstrator, the other is a picture of the radar being fitted into a Rafale.  Notice that in the second picture, the radar has not been fitted into the airplane yet.  Notice the size of the pointy end that the guy on the ground is maneuvering around.  It is not large.
 
The elliptical nose of the Viper can 't have a radar the size of the RBE2 , it is as simple as that .
 
You are completely right, for once: it is impossible to fit a 550mm diameter circle inside a 740x480mm ellipse.  However, the 740x480mm ellipse has a larger surface area.
 
Other bits and pieces:
 
The UAE are using Vipers Blk 60 (and not the USA , only Blk 52s) but they still want to buy the Rafale to be their main Interceptor , how do you explain that ? The fact is that during evaluations , our Rafales smacked the Blk 60s and the UAE learned the difference .
 
Wrong. There were no competitive evaluations between the Block 60 and the Rafale.  The UAE wants the Rafale for one reason: the ability to carry Meteors.  It doesn't offer anything else they do not already have, which is why they have specified that the only way they will buy it is with Meteor capability (and the AESA required to support it fully, and the uprated engines required to support AESA).
 
 You that the Rafale can 't exploit the range , huh ??? Furthermore , Rafale RCS and ECMs give the Fighter a much better PK than any of the Teen Fighters (avoid the mistake to go against the facts) .
 ...
Over the Med sea with nowhere to hide , you should say that the best and purest Interceptor would win but it was not the case , it seems that the Rafale/Typhoon encounter was a draw . On the other hand , during the South-Korean evaluation , the Typhoon had the upper hand on Rafale with a suppositly 4-2 score . We know of a 3rd encounter but the outcome has not been published or even talked of . Again , I repeat that France has never used the active capabilities of SPECTRA yet .
 
Here, some light reading:
 



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