Rafale: French shield over the Aegean – When will the fighters come, their capabilities? HELLAS

The arrival of France’s first Rafale fighter jets is now a matter of time.

After the signing of the Agreement yesterday in Athens, between Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos and his French counterpart, Florence Parley, time is running out for the reception of the first of the 18 combat aircraft in total.

When will the first Rafale arrive?

According to the schedule, the first six used aircraft will be delivered to the Air Force six months after the signing of the corresponding contract and specifically within june, and your arrival rate is expected to be per month. Six new aircraft will be delivered twenty months after the contract is signed at a rate also one per month. The last six used Rafale aircraft will be received within 26 months of signing the historic contract – as described by the Prime Minister.

The purchase cost of the 18 Rafale stands at 2,320 million, an estimated figure of 1,920 million euros, without deductions, for airplanes and an additional 400 million euros, without deductions, for the weapons they carry. The cost of the plane is more specifically 1.92 billion euros for the 18 planes and 400 million euros for their weapons. Aircraft weapons include Meteor guided missiles, as well as necessary upgrades to existing missiles (Mica, Scalp, and Exocet) for use on new aircraft.

What are Rafale fighter jets?

The Dassault Rafale is a fourth generation French fighter jet. Designed and built by Dassault Aviation. The aircraft is operational with the French Air Force and the French Navy, in air superiority and impact roles. The Rafale is a multi-role aircraft, capable of performing a variety of missions simultaneously. It is the most modern and combative of the European defense industry. The Rafale (“Greek translation”) can carry the special weapons that already exist in the Greek arsenal, without the need for new investments in infrastructure and technical capabilities.

According to wikipedia, the Rafale’s origins date back to the mid-1970s, when the French Air Force and Navy deemed it necessary to replace the F-8 Crusader and SEPECAT Jaguar aircraft, as it was now evident that it was outdated technology. Many Western European airlines (including British, German, Italian and Spanish) were looking for a modern replacement for their main fighter jets, most of which were 1950s solutions, clearly lagging behind planes like the MiG.23 and the future Su-27. (in development at the time).

On July 4, 1986, the Rafale A prototype made its maiden flight, just two years after the study began. The French government bought the first Rafale in 1988. By 1993, the Rafale had already made several test flights, including landings on the French Navy’s “Foch” aircraft carrier. However, despite the success of the tests, the program was frozen until 1999, as financial problems plagued the French military for much of the decade. Once development continued, it took another two years for the first Rafale production to join the French Navy, and the aircraft practically began its career in 2004, flying in the skies over Afghanistan in protective roles.

The Rafale design

Rafale is a multipurpose twin-engine fighter. This means that it can simultaneously perform missions of different types, such as air superiority, impact, reconnaissance, etc. It has a combination of a delta wing and canards, which gives it exceptional flexibility while maintaining stability during flight. It can take off from small runways on the order of 400 meters, as well as from aircraft carriers. This is possible by replacing approximately 20% of the aircraft’s parts with others of greater resistance, Rafale M.

The basic features of the Rafale follow in the footsteps of modern combat aircraft. Guided by a control system using fly-by-wire technology with three digital channels and one analogue, the aircraft is allowed to be aerodynamically unstable to achieve the maximum possible flexibility. The acceleration limits of the aircraft are + 9g / -3.2g.

Rafale has been designed in terms of shape and materials to have as low a radar trace as possible. Part of this design is Thales’ SPECTRA self-defense and electronic warfare system. The categorization of the technology used as top secret and Thales’ refusal to allow its use on other aircraft has led to rumors that the system uses active cancellation technology to neutralize incoming radar signals.

In addition to its electronic equipment, the aircraft carries Thales’ RBE2 radar, which is capable of tracking multiple targets in the air at the same time. At the same time, you can create 3D land maps for real-time navigation or orientation. Additionally, if the mission requires it, the Rafale has the ability to track a target and launch an air-to-air missile without having to reveal its location, thanks to Thales’ OSF system. This system is fully integrated into the aircraft and works with infrared technology.

To manage its systems, the Rafale uses a complete “cockpit”, with three multifunction displays (MFDs), a holographic HUD and a HOTAS side control. As in Eurofighter, there is the possibility of voice commands (Direct Voice Input).
For its propulsion, Rafale uses two SCECMA M88-2 turbocharged propellers with afterburning, with a total thrust of 150 kN.

The three basic versions of the Rafale Fighter

• Rafale C: single-seater version for the French Air Force.
• Rafale B: two-seater version for the French Air Force.
• Rafale M: ​​single-seater version for the French Navy. With the future incorporation of the DAMOCLES guidance system and its upgrade to the F3 standard, the Rafale will be, until 2015, the only fixed-wing aircraft to be used by the French Navy.

The characteristics of the Rafale fighters

• Crew: 1 or 2
• Manufacturer: Dassault Aviation
• Dimensions: Length 15.27 meters
• Extension: 10.8 meters
• Height: 5.34 meters
• Wing area: 45.7 m²
• Weight: Empty: 9,500 kg / Full: 19,000 kg / Maximum take-off: 24,500 kg
• Power source: 2 SNECMA M88 motors
• Power: 33,000 lbf 146 kN
• Performance: Mach 1.8 top speed, 2150 km / h
• Range: 1100+ mi, 1800+ km
• Maximum altitude: 16,800 meters, 55,000 feet
• Rate of climb: 1,000 ft / sec, 305 m / sec