Even when a newer gen multirole is focused on strike role, it can equal or beat previous gen air to air fighters.
Sir, any 4.5 gen fighter today can make use of 100% of the weapons & technologies F35 employs for offensive BVR combat. Stealth is a defensive tech, and there are many ways to achieve stealth.
Just because a plane can use BVRAAMs does not make it an equal or superior to A2A-focused fighter planes.
If raflale has spectra then f 35 has It's own suit which is equally good or better than spectra.
The main difference between them is the stelth advantage, without which raflale can't get into wvr of j20 most of the times. Even if spectra/ or rafale's radardetects the position of j 20 for a second when the weapon bay opens, raflale will be on the run on that time, j 20 will be invisible again once the weapon bay is closed. Sure rwr/spectra can locate the radar and know the position of j20 when it uses its it's radar but modern lpi radars ( assuming j20 has lpi) are hard to detect, and jam, in any case radar gives syperior data compared to rwr. so a single j20 can stay at standoff range while others can remain em silent get closer ( not wvr close ) and fire. So basically stelth figher can dictate the terms of engagement, it enjoys a great deal of superiority when compared to non stelth fighers.
All EW suites do not employ the same capabilities or the same methods.
If you read the documents I attached in my replies to Sajeevjino, you will understand that a target that can be detected at ~200km with radar, when combined with SPECTRA, can be seen at 278km.
Rafale already employs a method of active cancellation (although the full capability will be incorporated in future); wherein incoming radar waves are analysed and a pulse that is one-half wavelength of the original incoming wave is sent back to the enemy radar. Making Rafale seem like a smaller RCS target than what it is.
Just consider, most EW suites of the world incorporate only an RWR feature - it tells you when you are being probed by an enemy radar. LPI is used to lessen, not eliminate, the chances that such RWR systems can detect your energy.
But SPECTRA on the other hand has enough processing power to not just detect an incoming signal, but analyse it and send out a suitable fake signal in a very small amount of time. This capability, although not perfected yet, shows how SPECTRA is designed to be used. Not all EW suites incorporate the same technology.
Just consider this processing power for future reference.
Rafale need not rely solely on the spike in RCS when J-20 releases a missile - there are many other ways. The OSF is one of the most advanced,
if not the most advanced, IRST around with QWIP-based technology and dual-wavelength operating modes. It can pick up J-20's infrared signatures at farther ranges than F35's EOTS. Plus there will be the rocket plume which is a huge IR spike when launched. And then there is the aspect of EM detection. As you said, I'm not sure just how much difficult it is to intercept J20 radar's signal. Includes a lot of factors like pulse power, background noise figure (bNF), and other aspects. But SPECTRA won't rely on any one of these aspects to detect a plane. It combines them all and it does this very well.
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Let's say Rafale is scanning normally with it's RBE-2AA while J-20 is operating whatever radar it has. Let's say J-20 has seen Rafale on it's radar and that it has enough LPI features to evade a complete detection by SPECTRA RWR (with the levels of processing power involved we cannot say. When interferometry is involved and SPECTRA picks up even a slight evidence of being scanned, it will use the interferometers to determine the origin of the signal with a max directional accuracy of +/- 1 degree). And let's say J20's IR signature is well-hidden (in reality it's not; the nozzles are not optimized for IR-suppression and with current engines there is no supercruise ability for J20. Rafale atleast has dual-channel cooling for engines and doesn't need to use afterburner so often thanks to S/C).
In order to take a successful BVR first-shot kill, you need to be able to track your target with your own radar for a nice, long time. Enough opportunity for a system like SPECTRA to detect your presence therefore mitigating your stealth advantage. Plus your radar isn't the only thing giving away your location.
After you fire your missile your data-link with the BVRAAM is pointed almost in the same direction as the enemy and this signal is nowhere as LPI as your radar. Even this can reveal your position+missile launch much before the missile has even acquired it's target. Later on it's much easier to jam or fool the missile's own seeker.
It only take one or two of these factors to set off a suspicion alarm on SPECTRA, which then uses interferometry to determine general direction (with a maximum of 1-degree accuracy). It is then not a problem for you to adjust your azimuth/elevation and increase scan rates in that particular sector to detect the J20 either before (harder) or after J20 has fired a missile (easier).
One-shot kill over BVR ranges against a well-equipped target is a fantasy achievement. It assumes that while you manage to detect, track & lock your target and fire off a missile (which also manages to lock on the target), the enemy will be totally oblivious to your presence AND is completely unable to spoof your radar or your missile's seeker.
As I said multiple times already, it might work against poorly-equipped forces flying aircraft & tech that are like ~2 generations behind what you're flying. But Rafale as an aircraft is only 0.5 gen behind J20 while tech is on a par, even more advanced in certain aspects.
The chances of a BVR one-shot kill against current/near future technologies are way too remote. You need a revolution in AAM seeker technologies for that to happen. Russia is making BVR missiles with GaN AESA seekers. Now that's interesting!
That's one of the aspects behind why PAK-FA is designed in such a way - where aerodynamics have taken precedence over stealth-shaping as far as airframe is concerned. Instead choosing to rely on unconventional methods to achieve VLO aspects.
Sorry i was talking about typhoon with an aesa radar, otherwise Typhoon will be inferior to rafale. Rafle might be getting Gan trm's but it can't change its small radome, while typhoon can opt for Gan trm if they wanted to, the growth potential is there. If i am not wring typhoon enjoys more agility, higher altitude, speed, etc.
As I said, CAESAR is only marginally bigger than RBE-2. Sure it can incorporate GaN as well, but it will be years after Rafale has got it. By then Rafale would have something newer. Aerodynamic advantages, as I also mentioned, are thanks to slightly more powerful engines (EJ200 vs M88-2). But once Rafale receives newer M88 versions with enhanced thrust-levels, aerodynamic performance will similarly advance.
Rafale's other electronics (including SPECTRA) are superior to Typhoon.
