the Rafale

benaakatz

Active member
How capable a fighter is the Rafale (compared to other 4.5 gen fighter)?

Is it up there with the big names (f-15E, eurofighter, latest sukhoi etc)?

Do you think it was smart for France to develop and produce it instead of going the American or Eurofighter route?

Ultimately, do you think it will be seen as a success?
 
France is trying to maintain defence industry independence, if it helps maintain that status it is a sucsess.
 
France has been developing and building fighterjets for years and years so i guess they are quit good at it to, seen the succes there former models had.

The rafale however seems like a good jet, i'm not sure how it compares to other planes. But from wat i've heard it is in the league of the F/A18 super hornet etc.

And i think its good that they have independence on that part, they can decide what to put in the planes, and they dont have to rely on anybody else for getting parts, maintance, training and all that.
 
The plane itself is apparently very good... it was a contender for the South Korean Air Force but lost out to the F-15K, mostly for political reasons. The pilots gave the Rafale higher marks almost unanimously so it probably is a very good plane.
But the marketing aspect of the plane has so far been a Ra-Fail.
 
Me and my friend pronounce the Rafale the Rafail.

But of course, it is a good fighter jet out there. It should be able to handle anything that isnt 4.5/5 generation with ease. Though I think the Eurofighter is a few steps ahead, but regardless the Eurofighter sets a very high standard so its not bad.

Correct me if im wrong, but is the Rafale able to launch from the French Navy "Charles de Gaulle" aircraft carrier? It would be pretty cool if it could.
 
Re: The Rafale

It appears the French have a first rate fighter. Similar 'bomb truck' capabilities as the SH but, it is much in ACM than the SH. It is the only non-American fighter that is carrier capable. Which was a major requirement for the French Navy. One reason (of many) France broke off and decided to design their own fighter was because the countries designing the Typhoon refused to make changes to make the Typhoon carrier capable.
The Dassault designers said many many years ago that they purposely toned down some of the fighter capabilities in order to make a better all around or "Omni-Role" fighter.
The Rafale can operate from French or American carriers plus when the Royal Navy finally gets a carrier.
 
Couple of things.

With the exception of the F-22A, the Rafale is on par or superior to anything out there.

The Typhoon II (Eurofighter) and Rafale both came from the same scentific study back in the 1980s. The reason the French pulled out of the study was because required the ability to land on carriers, whereas at the time no other European country operated a CV, the French had 3 CVs (Foch, Clemenceau, and Charles De Gaulle).

Other than that the Typhoon and Rafale are similar, although the Rafale is slightly more oriented toward AtG and the Typhoon AtA.

The French and UK are joint building the "Queen Elisabeth" Class Carriers which can operate both F-35A, Rafales, and the never build Typhoon-IIM (carrier version). There names are "HMS Queen Elisabeth" and "HMS Queen Mary" for the RN, the third ship will go to the FN and will be probably called the "Richelieu".

As pointed out by Redneck, the French have had problems selling the Rafale because of its slightly higher cost compared to the F-16/F-18/Gripen. However both Libya and Brazil are in negiociations to buy the Rafale.
 
Re: Rafale

The reason the French pulled out of the study was because required the ability to land on carriers
The Consortium 'refused' to consider altering the design of the Typhoon in order to make a carrier variant.
Also, the French wanted a huge portion of the production (40% plus) of which which none of the partners would have anything to do with that.

the French have had problems selling the Rafale because of its slightly higher cost compared to the F-16/F-18/Gripen. However both Libya and Brazil are in negiociations to buy the Rafale.
The problem with the Rafale sales is the French Government is not willing to do some of the things the USA or the Consortium is willing to do. The lack of sales have nothing to do with the performance or capabilities of the aircraft.
The Dassault designers have stated that they made the Rafale a little less capable in the air to air role in order to make it a better all around or "Omni Role" fighter.

However both Libya and Brazil are in negiociations to buy the Rafale.
It will be interesting if Libya negotiates a deal to buy the Rafale. Considering the conflicts they have had with the US Navy. The Rafale is definitely a far better air to air fighter than the Hornet or Super Hornet.
 
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