Idea #518 – Looking at a demo flight of French Rafale
At the end of 1970s, the French army express a need for a new versatile fight aircraft, intended to be developped with West Germany, and other European countries ; the differences of needs, in particular the capacity to operate since an aircraft carrier, bring France to dissociate itself from its partners. The first prototype flies in 1985, before being mass-produced and endowing in 2001 the French Navy and the Air Force, under the name of “Rafale”.
The plane is in delta wing and plans duck, with electric flight commands, and uses elements of passive and active stealth; the aircraft is equipped with an electronic and scanning radar, and with two Snecma M88 motorengines. For the air superiority, it uses air-to-air missiles and guns ; in tactical bombardment, it uses smart laser bombs, cruise missiles, antiships missiles, and in strategic bombardment, a nuclear missile.
Rafale realized missions of bombardment during the Afghanistan War (2001-2014), during the Serval operation in Mali and during the Chammal operation against Daesh in Iraq, as well as missions of bombardment during the military intervention in Libya in 2011.
Where is it?
Paris Air Show, Le Bourget’s Airport, France