Know Your 'Rafale'

[smestarz]

One very sane and balanced reply,

we dont be getting F-22 because reviving that project will be very expensive. Further Americans have now put most of their marbles in F-35 basket. Now which are the other countries going for 5th Gen plane?
Chinese have two, one is J-20 which is a long range interceptor/ strike plane, It is not designed as a dogfighter.
There is J-31 which is the Chinese take on F-22 (twin engine)
The Japanese have theiir 5th Gen design, The koreans are thinking about it, and then for the rest, it seems to be the Russian PAKFA. Indian AMCA is still long way off.
For the Russians Su-35 is a stop gap measure to ensure supremacy at least on their side of the border.
Rafale is a whim of the IAF for a plane of their choice.

Well no Doubt china is more experienced in designing their own 5th Generation aircrafts shows why in 2017 they bought Su-35 from Russia now it might be to copy the russian Engine tech for the new Chinese 5th Generation aircraft .

What are our option s we wont get the F-22 from the American s and the F-35 is still years away from export . PAK FA even the russian s are not sure when it will get inducted in their own airforce ..

Rafale looks more like a stop gap option for our Airforce before we start getting our own AMCA

 

[smestarz]

Su-35 is a stop gap measure to allow for delay of 2-3 years of delay in the 5th Gen project. That is why such small nos. F-22 is the only true 5th Gen plane operational. How much do you know China? You still believe the Chinese to be carrying swords everywhere? Chinese have one of the fastest growing economies. Tier 1 cities like Shanghai and Beijing are highly developed, even tier 2 cities like Qingdao of Suzhou will give any city in Europe or USA a run for its money. Just to give you a hint, for a product called Graphene, the chinese have more patents than UK and USA and France combined. The Chinese are getting there. France is in Aerospace industry since 1912 ? So that is almost 100 years of work and experience, The Chinese are more recent 60s phenomenon,

F-18 and Rafale are in a way dead horses which their respective countries are flogging, because else everyone will notice that they are dead horses.

The only operational 5 th generation jet i know about is the F-22. We will talk about other 5 th generation planes when they are ready for combat. F-35 is far from being ready for combat. J-20 ? if the Chinese where anywhere near mastering advanced technologies such as those developped for F-22 they would not waste precious money introducing the potent Su-35 in their inventory, don't you think ?

As for Rafale, it is not a frozen platform. Just like Boeing with their Advanced Super Hornet, Dassault will introduce solutions for improved stealth when the time is good ... mid 2020s.

 

[MrPresident]

M88 Engine for Rafale

 

[Superdefender]

From AERO INDIA 2017.

 

[WolfPack86]

India's Rafale Fighter Jets will come equipped with the World's best Targetting Pods

Dassault Rafales are going to join IAF bundled with these three pods which are best in class available in the market. Thales agreed to supply all three pods as a part of the deal signed last year between India and France.

Dassault Rafales are going to join IAF bundled with these three pods which are best in class available in the market.

1. Damocles Targetting Pod ::
3rd generation Targetting Pod already deployed upon French Rafales and Mirage 2000s and has also been exported to all the Rafale buying nations. Although India has never used Thales Targetting Pod and has mostly relied upon the Israeli LITENING pod on almost every jet that IAF operates, it appears that the preliminary batch will have Damocles Pod deployed.


2. TALIOS (Targetting Long-range Identification Optronic System) Navigation and Targetting Pod ::
4th generation POD with inbuilt architecture to reconnaissance and target threats. It's like a plug and play pod and can be incorporated in Sukhoi 30MKI that IAF operates.

Designed entirely around operational feedback from users, TALIOS is the latest addition to the Thales family. TALIOS is the first optronic pod to cover the entire critical decision chain from intelligence gathering to weapon delivery.

Capabilities range from deep strike with long-range missiles and bombs to air-to-air target identification and close air support, and include the rapidly emerging requirement of Non-Traditional Information, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (NTISR).


Key features ::

>Latest generation of high-resolution sensors and high-precision line-of-sight stabilization

>Wide-angle vision providing critical contextual information and making the pod a key component of the pilot’s visual environment throughout the mission.

>Open architecture and a high level of functional integration.


All functions will be standard for both French and international customers. With its open architecture, the TALIOS pod is conceived as a ‘plug & fight’ system for integration on all existing and future fighters


3. AREOS Reconnaissance POD ::
AREOS (Airborne REcce Observation System) is the much bigger podded system carried on the centerline of French Rafales and Mirage 2000s. It is qualified for flight up to 600 knots, and can withstand the shock of carrier operations. For greater flexibility and coverage, the optics move fore-and-aft within the head of the rotating pod.

“We cover a large swath of the ground at very high resolution in a single pass. We use real-time computer processing onboard to devise flight paths and determine whether to move the head or the optics,” said Bruno Depardon, the Thales product manager for airborne optronics.

The pod provides dual-band imagery from low, fast flights or from high-altitude stand-off ranges–which Depardon declined to specify. However, he noted that AREOS can cover 10,000-sq-km-per-hour from 20,000 feet, and can therefore “do the work of many UAVs.”

It is the only system on the market that also provides video in both the infrared and visible spectrum, according to the Thales manager. “The video is the same resolution and range as the still images, although the field-of-view is narrower. AREOS can switch rapidly between the two modes,” he added. Thales also provides the ground station to which AREOS imagery is downlinked for processing, exploitation and dissemination.
http://defencenews.in/article.aspx?id=250704

 

[WolfPack86]

Reliance Defense Eyes Offset From Dassault Deal

NEW DELHI: With a new joint venture announced with French aerospace giant Dassault Aviation, Anil Ambani's Reliance Group is set to get a big slice of the Rafale fighter jet deal and will target business worth Rs 20,000 crore as part of the offsets for the contract.
Last year, French major Dassault and Reliance Aerospace had announced the formation of Dassault Reliance Aerospace. Their plan is to set up a facility spread over 100 acres in Nagpur, with the JV looking at creating a complete supply chain for the Rafale fighter jet in India.
The company said this in an analyst meet on Monday. Here are some major take aways from the Mondays analyst meet.
The management wants to look at defense as the next new growth area, the company will be eyeing on opportunities under Army and Air Force under the 15 subsidiaries and 3 joint ventures with foreign OEMs and explore the Navy orders under the newly acquired Defense Research and Engineering Ltd (previously Pipavav Defense).
Overall the medium to long term domestic defense opportunity is pegged at Rs 15.4 tn. Having spent the previous two years in building capabilities and technology tie-up, the management believes the tender to ordering cycle will commence in FY18 onward.
Current order book is at Rs 57 bn to be executed by FY21.
Company has roped in veterans from industries under Army, Air Force, and Navy divisions, they are having wide experience having worked in defense PSUs previously.
The incumbent government's policy stance favouring private sector participation along with the focus towards import substitution are enabling factors for growth.
The recently acquired Pipavav Shipyard having the largest dry dock with state of the art heavy engineering infra will be a key differentiating factor versus other private and domestic sector peers. Hence the company is confident to bag the aircraft carrier order and is well placed for the 12 nos submarine (project 75I) orders.
They are also considering to build another shipyard in the east coast at "Rambilli" in Andhra Pradesh.
Near Nagpur, at Mihan, the company has built up a huge aerospace complex having own airport and airspace for fighter aircraft testing.
Overall, the defense opportunity and the plans of the company is huge, the major thing is the execution, margins and the order booking which is fraught with delays.
http://www.indiandefensenews.in/2017/02/reliance-defense-eyes-rs-300-billion.html

 

[AmoghaVarsha]

At 36 they wont make much of a difference.needed atleast 72.

 

[WolfPack86]

Rafale fighter aircraft

 

[WolfPack86]

Rafale fighter aircraft

 

[WolfPack86]

@newsiadn #Rafale and Conformal Fuel Tanks #CFT

 

[WolfPack86]

More #Rafale s for India? A new order of 36 #Dassault #FighterJet for 2019. #Aircraft @Dassault_OnAir

 

[WolfPack86]

Rafale fighter aircraft

 

[WolfPack86]

Rafale fighter aircraft

 

[WolfPack86]

Rafale fighter aircraft

 

[WolfPack86]

#India First➶‏@varundatta2u 4 Oct 2016
What #India has in its arsenal to combat #Pakistan? | #Rafale will come equipped with ‘Scalp’ #missile, 300+ Range http://www.indialivetoday.com/what-india-has-in-its-arsenal-to-combat-pakistan/41278.html… pic.twitter.com/dKZVjffhlI

 

[WolfPack86]

Rafale fighter aircraft

 

[WolfPack86]

Rafale fighter aircraft

 

[WolfPack86]

Rafale fighter aircraft

 

[WolfPack86]

IDN Take: Preparing For Rafale Induction

India's Cabinet Committee on Security — the highest body in the government for the purchase of weapons and equipment, chaired by the prime minister — had cleared the intergovernmental agreement on Sept. 22. France and India signed on Sept. 23 the contract for the acquisition of 36 Rafale.
Sources tracking the final negotiations had confirmed to that the IAF's Rafales will come equipped with the Meteor designed to knock out enemy aircraft and cruise missiles significantly more than 100 km away.
The acquisition of this weapon is likely to be game changer in South Asia. Neither Pakistan nor China, India's traditional military adversaries, possess a weapon of the same class. The first Rafale warplanes are slated to be delivered roughly within 18 months of the signing of the final contract.
The new arms sale arrangement highlights a breakthrough in the Indo-French defense relationships. Rafale fighter jets will be modified to meet specific Indian demands. As part of the deal, Dassault will provide an extensive weapons package (hence the high cost of the acquisition) and reinvest 50% of the value of the contract in India, with the participation of indigenous enterprises.
Preparations

High level teams from the Indian Air Force and MoD have reportedly visited France for continued discussions on the Dassault Rafale program, formalizing modalities for payment of the second tranche as also working out logistics in preparation for the establishment of facilities at two air bases selected for this new generation fighter.

According to reports, the two squadrons with Rafales (first of which will be No. 17 'Golden Arrows', presently number plated and formerly flying MiG-21Ms) will be based at Sarsawa, near Saharanpur in Western Uttar Pradesh and at Hasimara in the Dooars of West Bengal.

According to the contract, first deliveries of Rafale to the IAF would commence after 36 months but those are likely to be brought forward by some months.
http://www.indiandefensenews.in/2017/03/idn-take-preparing-for-rafale-induction.html

 

[vikasdangi]

I) NWA PHASE I 2008 ANALYSIS WITH REAL FLIGHT TRIALS:

II)NWA PHASE II 2009 ANALYSIS WITH REAL FLIGHT TRIALS: