Know Your 'Rafale'

[Fonck83]

sorry bad insertion.

 

[Bhartiya Sainik]

You firstly have to define what info you have to exchange. And this question would directly give you why Picard is absolutly true when he said that Rafale has a 4pi str coverage. This question would also give you an indication of how Kalman filter are designed.

I also said that the 2 DDM sensors fixed back to back on sides of rudder provide hemispherical coverage but the wing & fuselage acts as a blindspot for bottom sector. How many times will i repeat?

From the HUD video, did the DDM sensor help in maintaining continious lock over F-22 & display its direction on HUD??? NO , Rafale relied only on radar. But i also said that it can be done in future S/w update, means more money is required, cost of the jet will increase.

 

[Flying Dagger]

Isn't the word "Hindu" Persian?

No it's not...

The word Indoi from which India comes though was used in Greek literatures.

The word Stan or Sthan ( turkmeni 'stan' , tajiki 'stan' Afghani 'stan' etc ) comes from Sanskrit and means land or place.

The word Hindu is in use for more than 2000 years for now.

May be it came from Sindhu or Himalaya and Indu but definitely a Sanskrit word or derivative

Bharat is the ancient name of India ( or Bharat Varsha for entire Indian subcontinent)

This include region from AFGHANISTAN TO Indonesia etc.

 

[Fonck83]

From the HUD video, did the DDM sensor help in maintaining continious lock over F-22 & display its direction on HUD??? NO , Rafale relied only on radar. But i also said that it can be done in future S/w update, means more money is required, cost of the jet will increase.

Behind the rafale there are no problem. In front there's OSF. The only part where there is a blind spot is just underneath.

 

[THESIS THORON]

French President Macron wins re-election. Good news for India, ensures stability in Indo-France relations.

 

[Bhartiya Sainik]

Behind the rafale there are no problem. In front there's OSF. The only part where there is a blind spot is just underneath.

correct, i also said that blinspot is only underneath but extra H/w & lines of S/w code require more salary to be paid to engineers, cost of jet will increase.
Just like "Indian" Rafales got 3 extra SPECTRA sensors but i'm not sure if they are mini-radar or jammer, similarly 5 mini-radar (rear+L+R+up+down) + 1 DDM on chin + extra S/w code will complete spherical EO & RF coverage & can bring Rafale to level of F-22/35.

 

[BON PLAN]

In Engineering world nothing is ever over. Mentally surrendering & complaining w/o suggesting kind of people are unfit for engineering. If they can modify F-15, F-16, F-18, they can definitely modify any jet if required. The Netherlands F-35 for example has a parachute hump above engine.
In TVC nozzle the actuators just need to move in multiple axis rather than just radially in/out in a regular nozzle. It depends on intelligence of mechanical engineers of different makers/countries how they address the challenge of space & weight. Please revisit nozzles of F-16 MATV, MiG-29 OVT, Su-57.

I'm a mechanical engineer....
To modify a jet for air tests is one thing, to have a fine tuned TVC jet as F22 is another one.
A F15 with TVC need to reinforce the back of the frame, and that's over weight versus a plane designed from the beginning to do that.

 

[BON PLAN]

AIM-7 Sparrow had an estimated kill probability before the war of 70%. Demonstrated kill probability was 8%.
AIM-9 had demonstrated kill probability of 65% in tests. In war, it demonstrated kill probability of 15%.

During the Falklands War, AIM-9 kill probability was 73% - but what you do not hear is that Argentine aircraft were usually carrying bombs, ambushed from behind, and had no MAWS to warn them they were being attacked, and often had no flares either. When more modern AIM-9 variant was used against enemies with flares, kill probability fell to 23%.

I agree.
And this is the kind of historical event that makes me feel stealth is over rated.
In peace time it's nice on powerpoint, but in real war it's not the same.

 

[BON PLAN]

These Rafales are very capable jets specially with METEOR missiles but oaf also putting J 10 with these PL 15 even on JF 17 these PL 15 missiles has more range than even meteor missiles estimated range night be 280+ range J 10 has very capable radar to track and lock on Rafales too

ALL the chinese weapons, radars and weapon systems aren't war proven...

PJ15 more range ? what kind of range ? In a semi ballistical trajectory, with nearly no energy left at the end to manoeuver?
The real interesting data is the No Escape Zone.
NEZ of early AMRAAM is in the 15-20km
NEZ of AMRAAM C7 is in the 20-25km, as MICA more or less.
NEZ of AMRAAM D is better, but never the twice....
NEZ of Meteor is > 60km.

Give us source of chinese missile NEZ please.

 

[Bhartiya Sainik]

I'm a mechanical engineer....
To modify a jet for air tests is one thing, to have a fine tuned TVC jet as F22 is another one.
A F15 with TVC need to reinforce the back of the frame, and that's over weight versus a plane designed from the beginning to do that.

Yes but people create panic when it comes to addition of TVC. For the actuator assembly system there are lighter & stronger alloys & composite materials with thermal resistance. Pure metal is not used.
When a team has decided to implement TVC then they will obviously calculate the overhead & then design a stronger engine. F-22's nozzle is a complex exceptional nozzle among fighter jets while Russinas & Chinese have used usual circular nozzle.
F-15 started with F100-PW220 giving 65KN, then the improved F-15E's improved F100-PW-229 gives 79KN dry thrust.
Sukhoi's Saturn AL-31 gives 77KN & AL-41 gives 87KN.
F-22's F119-PW100 gives 116KN.
So i hope u r getting the point that weight is already considered during design phase & MLU. Engines are also improved. And the flying examples are proof of concept.
Those people who wanna do something will find solutions & those who don't wanna do it will find excuses.

 

[Bhartiya Sainik]

The "Indian" Rafales have added 3 more SPCTRA equipment, 1 under exhaust looking backward which is most probably a low band jammer apart from the usual high band jammer.

The other 2 are fixed on cheek but it is not revealed yet what exactly it is, again low band jammer to supplement high band jammer, or side looing mini-radar.

But bcoz these jets will stay for next 30-40years hence to come up to level of 5th gen sensor coverage & capability, some more additions are required.
- rear looking mini-radar under exhaust
- side looking mini-radar on cheek
- up looking mini-radar on spine
- down looking mini-radar on chin
- down looking DDM on chin
- wing embedded atennas

The present locations of sensors may have to be adjusted. The TACAN & radar-altimeter can be relocated behind front langing gear & below intake nacelles. Or a multi-function antenna can provide radar & altimeter functions both.

A better engine also required to provide electricity & compensate for additional weight.

 

[Fonck83]

Rafale Marine : la France étudie la vente d'appareils d'occasion au profit de l'Inde

La France réfléchit à la vente de quatre Rafale Marine d'occasion en Inde. Le Premier ministre indien Narendra Modi est attendu en France très prochainement.

www.latribune.fr

For several months now, France has been studying the sale of used Rafale Marines to encourage the signing of a new contract with India. Dassault Aviation is currently participating in two tenders in India, one for the air force (114 aircraft), the other for the navy (up to 57 aircraft in several batches). In particular, the Indian Navy is to equip its first "Made in India" aircraft carrier, the 262-meter INS Vikrant, which is scheduled to enter service in 2023. As part of this tender, the Rafale Marine carried out very successful tests in January in Goa on a land platform. The French Navy was able to demonstrate all its expertise in naval aviation (landing) and convinced the Indians of the Rafale Marine's performance. This aircraft would also give the Indians a uniform fleet between the Rafale Air and the Rafale Marine.
According to corroborating sources, the sale of four used Rafale-Marines with the F3R standard is likely to give France a competitive advantage over the Americans. These four recently upgraded aircraft could be quickly put into service on the Indian aircraft carrier. The Rafale Marine is well-suited to the Indian carrier's configuration in terms of size: it can easily use the elevators of the INS Vikrant. This is not quite the case for its American rival, the Boeing F-18, which fits snugly into the elevators of the Indian aircraft carrier (across). As for the F-18, it has not completely finished its tests, which began last December. After some logistical setbacks, it should resume testing in May. India could make its decision by the end of the year for 26 aircraft, including two two-seater Air Force aircraft dedicated to training.
Capability gaps
The sale of used Rafales poses a number of problems for the armed forces, which remain insufficiently equipped in terms of capabilities. This is particularly the case with the Rafale in the air force, which is struggling to fulfil all missions in a geopolitical conflict context. International tensions have highlighted the capability shortcomings of a country like France, which aspires to play a role as an arbiter but also to participate in coercive missions on the international scene. Before the conflict in Ukraine and before France's willingness to sell four used Rafale Marines to India, the navy was already studying a plan to renew its Rafale fleet, the first of which entered service in 2002, while the air force's entered service in 2006.
"We are currently working with the Air Force to see what the consequences of exporting the Rafale to Croatia are, in order to rebuild a five/seven year plan to determine what the Navy needs. Post-LPM, in 25/30, the question will arise, but the format will not change," explained Admiral Pierre Vandier, Chief of Staff of the French Navy, in an interview with La Tribune in July 2021.
Since the delivery of its entire fleet, the Navy has not had any new aircraft. The entire fleet has been upgraded by retrofitting. "I see that there will be a scissor effect around 2030-2035: the combination of retrofits and the disappearance of the oldest aircraft may lead to a problem of size, which is 42 aircraft (currently 41)," said the French Navy's chief of staff. Especially since the average age of the air force fleet is diverging from that of the navy, which has also lost four Rafales in operations since its commissioning. "We're going to have a lot more old aircraft compared to the air force. To keep up with the standards, we need to retrofit more aircraft," said Admiral Vandier.
The possible sale of used Rafale to India (10% of the French Navy's fleet), combined with a contract for 26 aircraft, could finally set in motion the Navy's fleet renewal schedule. This would not completely displease the Navy. Provided that a French order is placed concomitantly with a possible contract with India. Clearly, this sale would allow the regeneration of the French Navy's fleet.
Parliamentary concerns
Finally, parliamentarians have expressed concern about the withdrawal of Rafales from the fleets of the armed forces. While deputies Patricia Mirallès (LREM) and Jean-Louis Thiériot (LR) welcomed the export success of the Rafale in a report on high-intensity readiness, "they wish to express their concerns about the consequences for our armed forces of these exports. This equipment is in fact partly taken from the capabilities of our armed forces. Thus, 24 Rafales (12 for Greece and 12 for Croatia) have been taken from the 102 Rafale aircraft in the French air force. By the end of 2024, 27 Rafales will be delivered, followed by 12 more in 2025 to make up for the Greek order. By the end of 2025, the air force will have 117 Rafales instead of the 129 planned in the military programming law (LPM). Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly has pledged to place an order for 12 Rafales to compensate for the sale of used aircraft to Croatia. "But when?" the two deputies question.
"Consequently, the rapporteurs consider it essential to proceed with orders allowing our armed forces to fully restore the capabilities they should have had in the absence of these exports. In the longer term, a fundamental reflection should be carried out by all actors, in order to avoid that exports systematically result in a drawdown of stocks intended for our armed forces", according to the two rapporteurs.
Finally, they believe that the withdrawal of capabilities from armed forces stocks "cannot become a permanent solution, unless it structurally weakens our armed forces. "All avenues must therefore be explored, including those consisting of integrating a predictable quota for exports into public orders for our armed forces, as the Italians do," they emphasize. The new or incoming Minister of the Armed Forces (Gérald Darmanin, or even Sébastien Lecornu or Jean-Michel Blanquer?) will have this priority file on his desk to deal with. This includes both the Rafale file within the armed forces and the Rafale export file, starting with India. This is fortunate, since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be arriving in France very soon. He will be one of the very first foreign leaders to make a state visit to France, if not the first, after Emmanuel Macron's re-election.

 

[BON PLAN]

The "Indian" Rafales have added 3 more SPCTRA equipment, 1 under exhaust looking backward which is most probably a low band jammer apart from the usual high band jammer.
View attachment 153078

The other 2 are fixed on cheek but it is not revealed yet what exactly it is, again low band jammer to supplement high band jammer, or side looing mini-radar.
View attachment 153079

But bcoz these jets will stay for next 30-40years hence to come up to level of 5th gen sensor coverage & capability, some more additions are required.
- rear looking mini-radar under exhaust
- side looking mini-radar on cheek
- up looking mini-radar on spine
- down looking mini-radar on chin
- down looking DDM on chin
- wing embedded atennas

The present locations of sensors may have to be adjusted. The TACAN & radar-altimeter can be relocated behind front langing gear & below intake nacelles. Or a multi-function antenna can provide radar & altimeter functions both.
View attachment 153086

A better engine also required to provide electricity & compensate for additional weight.

The real use of the small "windows" on each side is unclear.
I think too small for a side looking radar.
Maybe a conformal antenna for SPECTRA....
No source in France about that.

 

[BON PLAN]

A better engine also required to provide electricity & compensate for additional weight.

The actual M88 can easily be uprated, but at a lower life span expense. The air intake can accomodate a 8.3 tons engine.
It's not the french air force decision (they prefer a reducing owner cost than more thrust).

 

[Immanuel]

I don't think M88 should be uprated, the Rafale has long legs and can supercruise with a good AAM load which is good enough. Uprating will make it less reliable and more expensive.

 

[Bhartiya Sainik]

The real use of the small "windows" on each side is unclear.
I think too small for a side looking radar.
Maybe a conformal antenna for SPECTRA....
No source in France about that.

The F5/6 MLU has already mentioned better & perhaps more sensors. U don't need a big aperture long range radar like the main front radar. But a short/medium range for spherical situational awareness & LOAL capability.
When u say SPECTRA antenna, it should be clear what type.
Also, if CFT on Rafale can be considered then i'm sure that some extra sensors won't be any problem.

The actual M88 can easily be uprated, but at a lower life span expense. The air intake can accomodate a 8.3 tons engine.
It's not the french air force decision (they prefer a reducing owner cost than more thrust).

M88-3 with higher thrust was proposed for Gripen. And we are going to have a joint venture for better engine. So things are possible. It will benefit our TEDBF, MWF, AMCA & perhaps Rafale too.

 

[Marliii]

Rafale Marine : la France étudie la vente d'appareils d'occasion au profit de l'Inde

La France réfléchit à la vente de quatre Rafale Marine d'occasion en Inde. Le Premier ministre indien Narendra Modi est attendu en France très prochainement.

www.latribune.fr

For several months now, France has been studying the sale of used Rafale Marines to encourage the signing of a new contract with India. Dassault Aviation is currently participating in two tenders in India, one for the air force (114 aircraft), the other for the navy (up to 57 aircraft in several batches). In particular, the Indian Navy is to equip its first "Made in India" aircraft carrier, the 262-meter INS Vikrant, which is scheduled to enter service in 2023. As part of this tender, the Rafale Marine carried out very successful tests in January in Goa on a land platform. The French Navy was able to demonstrate all its expertise in naval aviation (landing) and convinced the Indians of the Rafale Marine's performance. This aircraft would also give the Indians a uniform fleet between the Rafale Air and the Rafale Marine.
According to corroborating sources, the sale of four used Rafale-Marines with the F3R standard is likely to give France a competitive advantage over the Americans. These four recently upgraded aircraft could be quickly put into service on the Indian aircraft carrier. The Rafale Marine is well-suited to the Indian carrier's configuration in terms of size: it can easily use the elevators of the INS Vikrant. This is not quite the case for its American rival, the Boeing F-18, which fits snugly into the elevators of the Indian aircraft carrier (across). As for the F-18, it has not completely finished its tests, which began last December. After some logistical setbacks, it should resume testing in May. India could make its decision by the end of the year for 26 aircraft, including two two-seater Air Force aircraft dedicated to training.
Capability gaps
The sale of used Rafales poses a number of problems for the armed forces, which remain insufficiently equipped in terms of capabilities. This is particularly the case with the Rafale in the air force, which is struggling to fulfil all missions in a geopolitical conflict context. International tensions have highlighted the capability shortcomings of a country like France, which aspires to play a role as an arbiter but also to participate in coercive missions on the international scene. Before the conflict in Ukraine and before France's willingness to sell four used Rafale Marines to India, the navy was already studying a plan to renew its Rafale fleet, the first of which entered service in 2002, while the air force's entered service in 2006.
"We are currently working with the Air Force to see what the consequences of exporting the Rafale to Croatia are, in order to rebuild a five/seven year plan to determine what the Navy needs. Post-LPM, in 25/30, the question will arise, but the format will not change," explained Admiral Pierre Vandier, Chief of Staff of the French Navy, in an interview with La Tribune in July 2021.
Since the delivery of its entire fleet, the Navy has not had any new aircraft. The entire fleet has been upgraded by retrofitting. "I see that there will be a scissor effect around 2030-2035: the combination of retrofits and the disappearance of the oldest aircraft may lead to a problem of size, which is 42 aircraft (currently 41)," said the French Navy's chief of staff. Especially since the average age of the air force fleet is diverging from that of the navy, which has also lost four Rafales in operations since its commissioning. "We're going to have a lot more old aircraft compared to the air force. To keep up with the standards, we need to retrofit more aircraft," said Admiral Vandier.
The possible sale of used Rafale to India (10% of the French Navy's fleet), combined with a contract for 26 aircraft, could finally set in motion the Navy's fleet renewal schedule. This would not completely displease the Navy. Provided that a French order is placed concomitantly with a possible contract with India. Clearly, this sale would allow the regeneration of the French Navy's fleet.
Parliamentary concerns
Finally, parliamentarians have expressed concern about the withdrawal of Rafales from the fleets of the armed forces. While deputies Patricia Mirallès (LREM) and Jean-Louis Thiériot (LR) welcomed the export success of the Rafale in a report on high-intensity readiness, "they wish to express their concerns about the consequences for our armed forces of these exports. This equipment is in fact partly taken from the capabilities of our armed forces. Thus, 24 Rafales (12 for Greece and 12 for Croatia) have been taken from the 102 Rafale aircraft in the French air force. By the end of 2024, 27 Rafales will be delivered, followed by 12 more in 2025 to make up for the Greek order. By the end of 2025, the air force will have 117 Rafales instead of the 129 planned in the military programming law (LPM). Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly has pledged to place an order for 12 Rafales to compensate for the sale of used aircraft to Croatia. "But when?" the two deputies question.
"Consequently, the rapporteurs consider it essential to proceed with orders allowing our armed forces to fully restore the capabilities they should have had in the absence of these exports. In the longer term, a fundamental reflection should be carried out by all actors, in order to avoid that exports systematically result in a drawdown of stocks intended for our armed forces", according to the two rapporteurs.
Finally, they believe that the withdrawal of capabilities from armed forces stocks "cannot become a permanent solution, unless it structurally weakens our armed forces. "All avenues must therefore be explored, including those consisting of integrating a predictable quota for exports into public orders for our armed forces, as the Italians do," they emphasize. The new or incoming Minister of the Armed Forces (Gérald Darmanin, or even Sébastien Lecornu or Jean-Michel Blanquer?) will have this priority file on his desk to deal with. This includes both the Rafale file within the armed forces and the Rafale export file, starting with India. This is fortunate, since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be arriving in France very soon. He will be one of the very first foreign leaders to make a state visit to France, if not the first, after Emmanuel Macron's re-election.

The french says rafale can fit into the elevators and says f18 cant. Boeing says rafales cant fit and f18 has foldable wings .who can fit really in this case ?

 

[Johny_Baba]

The french says rafale can fit into the elevators and says f18 cant. Boeing says rafales cant fit and f18 has foldable wings .who can fit really in this case ?

both claims are...

here is F/A-18E (red line indicates width after wings folded)

and here is Rafale-M

...so if this image is correct, then F/A-18E can fit width-wise easily but length wise it could be a problematic,
while Rafale-M barely fits in it without some ;safe space; in between

so yeah both are barely fitting on that lift...
source - Hukum

 

[Johny_Baba]

both claims are...

here is F/A-18E (red line indicates width after wings folded)
View attachment 153183
and here is Rafale-M
View attachment 153184

...so if this image is correct, then F/A-18E can fit width-wise easily but length wise it could be a problematic,
while Rafale-M barely fits in it without some ;safe space; in between

so yeah both are barely fitting on that lift...
source - Hukum

counter post,
a firend was citing that these dimenensions are wrong. The elevator has a functional width of 32ft 10in which is approx 10m. F/A-18E wings folded comes in at 30ft 6in which will fit provided the parking crew do triple checks. Rafale has a tip to tip width of 35ft 9in. Lenght of the aircraft is not a issue as the tail can be pushed back overboard easily. Lenght becomes more of an issue inside the hanger itself as it limits the maneuverability of the plane. Even F35B won't fit on the lift..its 35ft tip to tip

 

[blackleaf]

Rafale Marine : la France étudie la vente d'appareils d'occasion au profit de l'Inde

La France réfléchit à la vente de quatre Rafale Marine d'occasion en Inde. Le Premier ministre indien Narendra Modi est attendu en France très prochainement.

www.latribune.fr

For several months now, France has been studying the sale of used Rafale Marines to encourage the signing of a new contract with India. Dassault Aviation is currently participating in two tenders in India, one for the air force (114 aircraft), the other for the navy (up to 57 aircraft in several batches). In particular, the Indian Navy is to equip its first "Made in India" aircraft carrier, the 262-meter INS Vikrant, which is scheduled to enter service in 2023. As part of this tender, the Rafale Marine carried out very successful tests in January in Goa on a land platform. The French Navy was able to demonstrate all its expertise in naval aviation (landing) and convinced the Indians of the Rafale Marine's performance. This aircraft would also give the Indians a uniform fleet between the Rafale Air and the Rafale Marine.
According to corroborating sources, the sale of four used Rafale-Marines with the F3R standard is likely to give France a competitive advantage over the Americans. These four recently upgraded aircraft could be quickly put into service on the Indian aircraft carrier. The Rafale Marine is well-suited to the Indian carrier's configuration in terms of size: it can easily use the elevators of the INS Vikrant. This is not quite the case for its American rival, the Boeing F-18, which fits snugly into the elevators of the Indian aircraft carrier (across). As for the F-18, it has not completely finished its tests, which began last December. After some logistical setbacks, it should resume testing in May. India could make its decision by the end of the year for 26 aircraft, including two two-seater Air Force aircraft dedicated to training.
Capability gaps
The sale of used Rafales poses a number of problems for the armed forces, which remain insufficiently equipped in terms of capabilities. This is particularly the case with the Rafale in the air force, which is struggling to fulfil all missions in a geopolitical conflict context. International tensions have highlighted the capability shortcomings of a country like France, which aspires to play a role as an arbiter but also to participate in coercive missions on the international scene. Before the conflict in Ukraine and before France's willingness to sell four used Rafale Marines to India, the navy was already studying a plan to renew its Rafale fleet, the first of which entered service in 2002, while the air force's entered service in 2006.
"We are currently working with the Air Force to see what the consequences of exporting the Rafale to Croatia are, in order to rebuild a five/seven year plan to determine what the Navy needs. Post-LPM, in 25/30, the question will arise, but the format will not change," explained Admiral Pierre Vandier, Chief of Staff of the French Navy, in an interview with La Tribune in July 2021.
Since the delivery of its entire fleet, the Navy has not had any new aircraft. The entire fleet has been upgraded by retrofitting. "I see that there will be a scissor effect around 2030-2035: the combination of retrofits and the disappearance of the oldest aircraft may lead to a problem of size, which is 42 aircraft (currently 41)," said the French Navy's chief of staff. Especially since the average age of the air force fleet is diverging from that of the navy, which has also lost four Rafales in operations since its commissioning. "We're going to have a lot more old aircraft compared to the air force. To keep up with the standards, we need to retrofit more aircraft," said Admiral Vandier.
The possible sale of used Rafale to India (10% of the French Navy's fleet), combined with a contract for 26 aircraft, could finally set in motion the Navy's fleet renewal schedule. This would not completely displease the Navy. Provided that a French order is placed concomitantly with a possible contract with India. Clearly, this sale would allow the regeneration of the French Navy's fleet.
Parliamentary concerns
Finally, parliamentarians have expressed concern about the withdrawal of Rafales from the fleets of the armed forces. While deputies Patricia Mirallès (LREM) and Jean-Louis Thiériot (LR) welcomed the export success of the Rafale in a report on high-intensity readiness, "they wish to express their concerns about the consequences for our armed forces of these exports. This equipment is in fact partly taken from the capabilities of our armed forces. Thus, 24 Rafales (12 for Greece and 12 for Croatia) have been taken from the 102 Rafale aircraft in the French air force. By the end of 2024, 27 Rafales will be delivered, followed by 12 more in 2025 to make up for the Greek order. By the end of 2025, the air force will have 117 Rafales instead of the 129 planned in the military programming law (LPM). Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly has pledged to place an order for 12 Rafales to compensate for the sale of used aircraft to Croatia. "But when?" the two deputies question.
"Consequently, the rapporteurs consider it essential to proceed with orders allowing our armed forces to fully restore the capabilities they should have had in the absence of these exports. In the longer term, a fundamental reflection should be carried out by all actors, in order to avoid that exports systematically result in a drawdown of stocks intended for our armed forces", according to the two rapporteurs.
Finally, they believe that the withdrawal of capabilities from armed forces stocks "cannot become a permanent solution, unless it structurally weakens our armed forces. "All avenues must therefore be explored, including those consisting of integrating a predictable quota for exports into public orders for our armed forces, as the Italians do," they emphasize. The new or incoming Minister of the Armed Forces (Gérald Darmanin, or even Sébastien Lecornu or Jean-Michel Blanquer?) will have this priority file on his desk to deal with. This includes both the Rafale file within the armed forces and the Rafale export file, starting with India. This is fortunate, since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be arriving in France very soon. He will be one of the very first foreign leaders to make a state visit to France, if not the first, after Emmanuel Macron's re-election.

How fast would France be able to deliver 26 Rafale if an order was placed today?
Seems like it would take a while with how fully booked the line is.