FOXTHREE DASSAULT AVIATION - SAFRAN - THALES // N° 20 FOXTHREE_20_20P_PaP_BAT.indd 2 08/10/2018 14:52 Editorial FOREWORD In the 20th issue of Fox Three, Rafale International is proud to report on the status of the French Navy carrier air wing, a lethal and powerful strike force now composed of three squadrons of Rafale M naval omnirole fighters. Since entering operational service, the Rafale M has established itself as the World’s leading carrier-borne fighter. The stringent French Navy requirements called for a versatile fighter capable of conducting the whole range of nuclear and conventional air-to-air and air-to- surface missions against the latest threats in a wide range of tactical environments. To package this kind of capabilities into such a compact aircraft required smart engineering: a host of new systems and technological innovations were introduced to ensure maximum combat efficiency and operational flexibility for the warfighter. As demonstrated during countless operations, the exquisite Rafale M has become a key French Navy power projection tool. The battle-hardened fighter has successively taken part in combat operations around the world, thus proving to be a reliable and versatile combat asset. The ‘FOX THREE’ Team Summary p.3/5 p.6/9 p.12/15 p.16/19 THREE SQUADRONS TRAINED TO VERY HIGH FULLY INTEROPERABLE OPTIMISED FOR COMBAT OF RAFALE M NAVAL STANDARDS RAFALE M AVAILABILITY AT SEA OMNIROLE FIGHTERS NOW OPERATIONAL © Dassault Aviation - Droits Réservés - HP. Grolleau - Print: IMPRIMATUR 2017. This document is not contractual and cannot engage the responsability of the industrial partners in any matter. Dassault Aviation and the industrial partners reserve the right to modify any herein indicated characteristics without prior notice. FOXTHREE_20_20P_PaP_BAT.indd 3 08/10/2018 14:52 THREE SQUADRONS OF RAFALE M NAVAL OMNIROLE FIGHTERS NOW OPERATIONAL The French Navy now has at its disposal a powerful, agile and flexible carrier strike wing composed of three Rafale M squadrons. The Rafale M is undoubtedly the most advanced naval strike fghter in service anywhere. Designed from the outset for carrier operations, it has successfully been engaged in combat operations from the Charles de Gaulle nuclear aircraft-carrier in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq and Syria. The versatile Rafale M excels in the full spectrum of missions, including air superiority/offensive counter air, feet air defence/defensive counter air, pre-strategic and tactical reconnaissance, nuclear deterrence, des- truction of enemy air defences, deep strikes, battlefeld air interdiction, close air support, anti-ship strikes, buddy-buddy refuelling… rance to strike targets far away. the Rafale’s radar cross section, Optimised design Even better, the Rafale M was further lowering vulnerability. fitted with thirteen hardpoints to In an effort to minimise Compared to US super carriers, carry a 9,500-kg weapon load, procurement / operating costs the Charles de Gaulle is smaller, the largest combat load of any and decrease production and with a shorter deck that imposed naval fighter. In flight, its perfor- maintenance complexity, the the development of an advanced mance is startling. It’s got tons of naval Rafale M and its Rafale C aircraft that would guarantee thrust and loads of lift for maxi- and B air force counterparts all particularly slow approach / mum agility, as demonstrated at share an extremely high level of landing speeds. To match this countless airshow venues since commonality. Their airframes, stringent requirement, Dassault service entry. As a result, Ra- weapon systems, engines Aviation came up with an aero- fale M air combat performance and subsystems are identical, dynamically advanced delta clearly exceeds expectations: it differences being mainly design fitted with canard fore- can accelerate and turn hard, restricted to the landing gear, planes. The selected configura- and change altitude very rapidly to the arresting hook and to the tion offered the best compromise to become unpredictable for the introduction of a built-in foldable between minimum and maximum enemy. Specific features and low access ladder. speeds, combat agility during a observable coatings have been dogfight, and range and endu- introduced to significantly reduce FOXTHREE 3 FOXTHREE_20_20P_PaP_BAT.indd 4 08/10/2018 14:52 THREE SQUADRONS OF RAFALE M NAVAL OMNIROLE FIGHTERS NOW OPERATIONAL stealth cruise missile into warzones by the French Navy as a global Global strike capability guarded by sophisticated enemy combat asset, operating deep air-defence systems. into Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq and Striking deep into contested To increase the reach of carrier- Syria, demonstrating in action its airspace requires a platform able launched strikes, the Rafale M can operational effectiveness. Using to operate effectively in medium to be refuelled by a land-based tanker a constantly expanding range very high-level threat environments. or by another Rafale configured as of precision weapons, French The Rafale was designed with a buddy-buddy tanker, thus giving naval aviators have destroyed an such a mission in mind as part all-out operational flexibility to the extremely large array of hostile of the French nuclear deterrence carrier air wing. For buddy-buddy positions, armoured vehicles, concept. When flying from the refuelling missions, a Rafale can buried structures, guns and mortar carrier, the Rafale M can strike a be fitted with four Mica air-to- emplacements, hardened aircraft huge range of targets far inside air missiles, an in-flight refuelling shelters, cave entrances, including hostile territories, either alone or pod and up to four drop tanks to heavily defended targets in Libya. as part of a multinational coalition. maximise give away capabilities. It can ‘fling’ long-range weapons The Rafale M is a combat- such as the combat-proven Scalp proven tool. It has been used Expanding number of the conversion from the Super terface, all French Navy pilots are Etendard which was withdrawn trained to conduct all air-to-air and squadrons from use in 2016. It has now been air-to-surface missions. Readiness is declared fully operational on the maintained at a very high level: at All three French Navy fighter Rafale. any given time, 24 Rafales stand squadrons – Flottilles 11F, 12F and The three units take turns providing ready to deploy on board Charles 17F shore-based at Landivisiau, in two duty squadrons to the French de Gaulle or to fly to a shore base Brittany – are now equipped with carrier air group, the third squa- for contingency operations. an ever expanding fleet of Rafale dron assuming the training role for M fighters. Flottille 12F was the first new pilots in the meantime. Thanks to convert to the Rafale, followed by to the Rafale’s legendary ease of 11F. Flottille 17F has just completed use and intuitive man-machine in- offensive and defensive capabilities will offer extended operational Capabilities expansion to the French Navy. Work on ranges and reduced power and integrating these new capabilities cooling requirements. A whole The French Ministry of Defence is has now been completed, with range of new, lethal weapons constantly investing to guarantee service entry slated in the next few will be adopted, including the the fighting relevance of all its Air months. new Franco-British, multipurpose, Force and Navy Rafales and their Looking further ahead, Rafale stealth, stand-off Future Cruise and ability to operate in contested M fighters will receive numerous Anti-ship Weapon (FCASW) which battlespaces: software upgrades new enhancements as part of will replace both the Scalp and the are introduced every two years on the new Standard F4 which is current AM39 Exocet. average, a required process for being developed to meet the From the start of its design process, capabilities expansion. From early projected threats over the next the Rafale family was developed to 2019, Air Force Rafale C and B two decades. Enhancements will easily incorporate new weapons, fighters and their Navy Rafale M include a helmet-mounted display, new sensors and new systems counterparts will be brought to the new cockpit displays, a new as part of spiral enhancements. F3R standard that will permit the directional datalink to improve Future variants will be even more use of the Meteor ramjet-propelled their connectivity, and multipurpose survivable and networked for air-to-air missile and of the Thales active electronic scanning planar total interoperability with other Talios next generation targeting arrays able to carry out numerous French and foreign assets. Flown pod. The AESA radar, the Spectra functions simultaneously: detection, by competent and confident electronic warfare suite, the IFF, jamming, electronic attack and Aéronautique Navale pilots, Rafale the datalink and other systems will communication. These planar arrays M omnirole fighters will constitute also be upgraded as part of the will rely on the latest Gallium a powerful strike force for the F3R standard, thus offering robust Nitride (GaN) technology which foreseeable future. 4 FOXTHREE FOXTHREE_20_20P_PaP_BAT.indd 5 08/10/2018 14:52 New Generation Mica missile for the Rafale From 2026, all three Air Force and Navy Rafale variants will be equipped with the state-of-the-art Mica NG (New Generation) air-to-air missile for air-dominance missions. Two new versions of the fire-and-forget MBDA Mica NG, infrared and radar-guided, will be developed to supplant the current Mica IR and EM used for beyond visual range interceptions, dogfights and self-defence. They will be fitted with innovative seekers and rocket motors and will be resilient to US-imposed International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to enhance their export potential. The two variants of the Mica NG will supplement the Meteor: while the ramjet propelled missile will be used for engagements at extreme ranges, the multipurpose Mica NG will prove its worth in a whole range of situations, from long-range interceptions to within visual range combat. Deliveries to the French Armed Forces will span from 2026 to 2031.