Know Your 'Rafale'

[Frontrunner]

Hammer is nearly a missile : thanks to its booster it can be, for exemple, fired over the shoulder : the plane firing it a very low altitude, the bomb (or missile ?) thanks to the booster climb, can be fired on the side, and descend to the target with high energy and following diversified trajectory.

Fired at long range, the booster increase the range, and/or increase the energy at the end so as to hurt the target or hit it under a trajectory not possible to a glide bomb.

It has far more way of using versus a glide bomb.

But Hammer costs probably more : French newspaper La Tribune reported in 2017 that Safran intended to reduce the cost of a single AAASM from 120,000 Euros to around 80,000 Euros a piece. In comparison, the US-built GBU-12 230kg bomb costs around 50,000 Euros a piece.

However even with booster nd missile like capabilities, it's range is still less (20-70km)
Spice 1000 has a range of 100km..

About firing from a low altitude, it's range is very low i.e 15-20 kms. I believe low altitude strikes of hammer is targeted against SAMs... to avoid detection.

However against long range nd medium range sams.. 15 km is too less to be any beneficial.. long range sams can easily detect rafale flying at low level at 15-20 km radius.. as S-400 and equivalent sams are now have greater over the horizon capabilities.. thus if rafale has to fire hammer at low altitude at range of 15-20 km it will be vulnerable to counter fire by sams or even manpads.

Hammer at low altitude can be used against area defence sams with low ranges..
Which are hidden at valley of mountainous terrain... But no sam operator will hide behind mountains. Most probably radars units of sams will be positioned at higher altitude location to greatly increase range nd avoid any gaps or deficiencies in radar coverage..

 

[Frontrunner]

Hundreds of hits in Libya, Iraq, Syria ... it is a very well proven system.

Well hundreds of hits in Libya, Iraq nd Syria can't be equivalent to threat environment we face.. these countries which bore the brunt of hammer hv limited integrated air defence capabilities... Can't be equivalent to Chinese integrated air defence nd superior instruments.

Hammer can work well against Pakistan which has a deplorable air defence network.. but against Chinese it's less range would be major setback..

Against Chinese we need something in likes of spice 1000 nd crystal maze missiles.. (which we already have in conjunction with m-2k, Rafale will have it after ise are online somewhere in 2021-22) both having a greater range of 100km against hammer..

Longer the range of pgms.. safer would be for launch platform to avoid any counter fire.. more than 100km should be the ideal range for pgms in our threat environment.

 

[Chandragupt Maurya]

Rafales should be selected In MMRCA with technology transfer only

 

[WolfPack86]

Here’s Why The IAF Has Chosen The Hammer For Its Rafale

With just days to go before India’s first Rafale jets arrive in country, the Indian Air Force has exercised emergency procurement powers to contract the French Hammer AASM precision strike weapon system for the aircraft. In a decision fully in keeping with an emerging conflict scenario with China in eastern Ladakh — and with disengagement efforts hitting multiple roadblocks — choosing the Hammer isn’t surprising. But you’re a Livefist reader, and obviously you expect context. So let’s begin.


To begin with, the Hammer, developed by French conglomerate Safran (which also builds the Rafale’s M88 turbofan engines) has always officially been an option to the IAF in the Rafale package. In 2017, months after India had contracted 36 Rafale jets, Livefist reported details of what India had chosen, noting that the IAF had optioned the Hammer system for a possible decision once Rafale deliveries begin, but that it would hit the ground running with Israeli Spice guidance kits to begin with. Read that full report here.


In October last year, on the day the first Rafales were handed over to the Indian Air Force, Livefist reported the list of add-on weapons and systems that the IAF could opt for now that the jets were flying in Indian colours.


The IAF’s 2016 decision to choose the Israeli Spice precision bomb kits over the Hammer was based on cost — the French system is significantly more costly, but brings to bear additional capabilities, including effective deployability in low-level flight. It wasn’t the first time the Hammer had lost out to the Israeli Spice weapons family.

In 2012, the Hammer and Spice went head to head in an Indian Air Force quest for new 1,000 kg precision strike weaponry for its Mirage 2000 jets that were being separately upgraded. There too, the Israeli won out on cost (the Hammer didn’t have a 1,000 kg version for test, and therefore had to be tested on a 250 kg unit). Spice 2000 bombs would go on to see action in India’s air strikes on a Pakistani terror camp in Balakot in February 2019. The Indian Air Force, incidentally, has also used Ladakh-triggered emergency procurement powers to order more Spice 2000 weapons for its Mirage 2000s.

But if the IAF had chosen the Spice on its Rafales in 2016, why the need to order the Hammer system now? To understand the decision, it must be known that acquiring weapons have three broad cost components — the cost of the weapon itself, the cost of integration (software and hardware), and finally the cost of testing & certifying the system. A senior IAF officer tells Livefist that while work on integrating Spice weapons on the IAF Rafales has been underway in France in terms of software code, the bulk of the integration and crucial testing will necessarily take place in India. But how long would that take from the time the aircraft arrive? To provide perspective, it took 18 months to fully integrate, test and clear the Spice on IAF Mirages. The IAF’s rationale, therefore, in acquiring the Hammer system now, is that savings made on integration and testing the weapon — the Hammer is already fully certified on the Rafale — will justify the higher cost of the system itself. Once contracted, Hammer systems will likely begin deliveries quickly, possibly from production inventory intended for the French forces.


In France, Indian Air Force pilots have had extensive exposure to the the Hammer system already. In 2017, Livefist conducted a series of interviews with French Navy Rafale pilots who had deployed Hammer bombs on targets in Iraq. Read that full story here.

While the Hammer procurement has clearly been green-lit keeping in view the current India-China tensions in Ladakh, and the fact that inbound Rafales would be bereft of a tactical stand-off strike weapon for some time, there are likely to be more weapons contracts for the Rafale fleet going forward. The IAF Rafale’s more capable weapons — the Meteor BVRAAM and SCALP cruise missile — have been contracted in fairly modest numbers, part of an effort to keep overall costs down. It is expected, therefore, that the IAF will look to add numbers of both these systems in the near term as Rafale deliveries add up.


The IAF’s decision to push through an emergency purchase of the Hammer was scooped by India Today executive editor Sandeep Unnithan,who made a mention of it on Livefist Editor Shiv Aroor’s news show 5ive Live on Wednesday, a day before the story was reported on other media. Watch that full broadcast here:

Here's Why The IAF Has Chosen The Hammer For Its Rafale

With just days to go before India's first Rafale jets arrive in country, the Indian Air Force has exercised emergency procurement powers to contract the French Hammer AASM precision strike weapon system for the aircraft. In a decision fully in keeping with an emerging conflict scenario with...

www.livefistdefence.com

 

[BON PLAN]

However even with booster nd missile like capabilities, it's range is still less (20-70km)
Spice 1000 has a range of 100km..

About firing from a low altitude, it's range is very low i.e 15-20 kms. I believe low altitude strikes of hammer is targeted against SAMs... to avoid detection.

100km range of Spice is when fired from high speed and high altitude. The energy at the end is low, and only a fixed target can be targeted.
70km for AASM is non really marketed. E real fire in Lybia, against a plane on an airfield was made at 67km.

Don't forget SPECTRA, a usefull tool to avoid to be tracked by SAM...

 

[WolfPack86]

For quick deployment of Rafale, IAF opts for HAMMER weapon system, not Israeli Spice 2000
New Delhi: In a bid to deploy the new Rafale aircraft quickly amid tensions with China, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has opted for the French HAMMER air-to-ground precision-guided weapon system. The IAF had rejected this system eight years ago, in favour of the Israeli Spice 2000 used in the Balakot strikes.


HAMMER, which stands for Highly Agile and Manoeuvrable Munition Extended Range, consists of a guidance kit and a range extension kit fitted on standard bombs of different makes. It was kept out of the 2016 contract for 36 Rafale fighter jets and the weapons package due to its cost, which would have inflated the price of the contract.


However, sources in the defence and security establishment told ThePrint that the main reason for the choice of the HAMMER, which costs about Rs 70 lakh each, is the ongoing crisis with China. The system is being procured under the new powers extended to the IAF for emergency procurement up to Rs 300 crore under capital budget.


“The IAF wants to operationalise the Rafale fighters faster due to the crisis with China. The Rafale lacks a proper air-to-surface precision missile for a shorter range of about 70 km to take out hardened surfaces, bunkers. And hence, the HAMMER is being bought,” a source said.


It is not immediately known how many systems are being bought.


Sagem, a Safran high-tech company that makes the HAMMER, had in April 2016 signed an agreement with the now scam-tainted OIS-AT, owned by Sanjay Bhandari, for manufacturing the HAMMER system in India. However, the emergency purchase is unlikely to have a ‘Make in India’ component, sources said.

Spice 2000 vs HAMMER

As mentioned above, the original plan was to equip the Rafale with Spice 2000 kits, which have already been integrated into the other French aircraft in the IAF inventory — the Mirage 2000.


“The Spice 2000 needs to be integrated into the Rafale aircraft. The cost of Spice, cost of integration and cost of testing has to be calculated. Plus, the whole process will take time. The Rafale is already capable of firing the HAMMER, and hence, it will allow faster operational deployment,” a second source explained.


The Spice 2000 system had edged out the HAMMER in an IAF competition to arm the Mirage in 2012 — only because the French system was almost double the price of the Israeli system, sources said. They added that the HAMMER, as its full name suggests, is highly agile, and fit for operations in mountainous terrain like Ladakh.


The HAMMER originally comes with a Talios pod for firing, but as reported by ThePrint earlier, the IAF has opted for the Israeli Litening Pod, for sensor commonality across platforms in the Indian inventory and also for keeping the cost low, since Talios was almost double the cost of the Israeli system.


“The Litening Pod or the Talios Pod is essential for dropping laser guided bombs, but not mandatory for any other weapon like the Meteor or SCALP missiles on board the Rafale,” a source said.

For quick deployment of Rafale, IAF opts for HAMMER weapon system, not Israeli Spice 2000

French HAMMER system was kept out of India’s 2016 contract for 36 Rafales due to its cost, but amid tensions with China, it can be equipped faster.

theprint.in

 

[BON PLAN]

For quick deployment of Rafale, IAF opts for HAMMER weapon system, not Israeli Spice 2000
New Delhi: In a bid to deploy the new Rafale aircraft quickly amid tensions with China, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has opted for the French HAMMER air-to-ground precision-guided weapon system. The IAF had rejected this system eight years ago, in favour of the Israeli Spice 2000 used in the Balakot strikes.


HAMMER, which stands for Highly Agile and Manoeuvrable Munition Extended Range, consists of a guidance kit and a range extension kit fitted on standard bombs of different makes. It was kept out of the 2016 contract for 36 Rafale fighter jets and the weapons package due to its cost, which would have inflated the price of the contract.


However, sources in the defence and security establishment told ThePrint that the main reason for the choice of the HAMMER, which costs about Rs 70 lakh each, is the ongoing crisis with China. The system is being procured under the new powers extended to the IAF for emergency procurement up to Rs 300 crore under capital budget.


“The IAF wants to operationalise the Rafale fighters faster due to the crisis with China. The Rafale lacks a proper air-to-surface precision missile for a shorter range of about 70 km to take out hardened surfaces, bunkers. And hence, the HAMMER is being bought,” a source said.


It is not immediately known how many systems are being bought.


Sagem, a Safran high-tech company that makes the HAMMER, had in April 2016 signed an agreement with the now scam-tainted OIS-AT, owned by Sanjay Bhandari, for manufacturing the HAMMER system in India. However, the emergency purchase is unlikely to have a ‘Make in India’ component, sources said.

Spice 2000 vs HAMMER

As mentioned above, the original plan was to equip the Rafale with Spice 2000 kits, which have already been integrated into the other French aircraft in the IAF inventory — the Mirage 2000.


“The Spice 2000 needs to be integrated into the Rafale aircraft. The cost of Spice, cost of integration and cost of testing has to be calculated. Plus, the whole process will take time. The Rafale is already capable of firing the HAMMER, and hence, it will allow faster operational deployment,” a second source explained.


The Spice 2000 system had edged out the HAMMER in an IAF competition to arm the Mirage in 2012 — only because the French system was almost double the price of the Israeli system, sources said. They added that the HAMMER, as its full name suggests, is highly agile, and fit for operations in mountainous terrain like Ladakh.


The HAMMER originally comes with a Talios pod for firing, but as reported by ThePrint earlier, the IAF has opted for the Israeli Litening Pod, for sensor commonality across platforms in the Indian inventory and also for keeping the cost low, since Talios was almost double the cost of the Israeli system.


“The Litening Pod or the Talios Pod is essential for dropping laser guided bombs, but not mandatory for any other weapon like the Meteor or SCALP missiles on board the Rafale,” a source said.

For quick deployment of Rafale, IAF opts for HAMMER weapon system, not Israeli Spice 2000

French HAMMER system was kept out of India’s 2016 contract for 36 Rafales due to its cost, but amid tensions with China, it can be equipped faster.

theprint.in

It may be seen as a stop gap solution....
But the agility of the missile offers great improvements against all glide bomb.
I'm sure IAF will love it !

 

[Chandragupt Maurya]

I have a friend in IAF I don’t know which aircraft he flies but he is my schoolmate we studied together till class 12th arrival Rafales has increased my excitement today I will chat with him regarding Rafales and Tejas

 

[ARVION]

I have a friend in IAF I don’t know which aircraft he flies but he is my schoolmate we studied together till class 12th arrival Rafales has increased my excitement today I will chat with him regarding Rafales and Tejas

So do I knew someone who works in the Air Force Office .

 

[ARVION]

.

 

[Assassin 2.0]

Which type of nuclear bomb mirage 2000 carries?
And which type of nuclear bombs rafale can carry?
I was watching RSTV so ex airforce chief said that rafale also brings Unconventional capabilities.

 

[ARVION]

Which type of nuclear bomb mirage 2000 carries?
And which type of nuclear bombs rafale can carry?
I was watching RSTV so ex airforce chief said that rafale also brings Unconventional capabilities.

ASMP - A Missile rafales .
AN 32's dummy bomb's 2000's .

 

[Assassin 2.0]

ASMP - A Missile rafales .
AN 32's dummy bomb's 2000's .

ASMP- A Missile is of French origin don't we have a indigenous nuke bombs on these aircrafts? Is it legally possible to even sell nuclear bombs to india?

And what is AN-32s dummy bombs? How Much KT they have?

 

[Abhay Rajput 02]

ASMP - A Missile rafales .
AN 32's dummy bomb's 2000's .

Did we get ASMP from France.

 

[ARVION]

Did we get ASMP from France.

Well never meionated but who knows a secret deal .

 

[Abhay Rajput 02]

Well never meionated but who knows a secret deal .

what about nuclear warheads did french give us that too.? I am pretty sure our warheads will be different in size and weight .? How do we integrate our warheads ?

 

[BON PLAN]

ASMP - A Missile rafales .
AN 32's dummy bomb's 2000's .

AN32 is no more on duty.
The last Mirage 2000 N (N = Nuke) is out of service.
All the air deterrence is now made by Rafale in France, with the ASMPA (ASMP Advanced) high supersonic stato cruise missile.

 

[BON PLAN]

Did we get ASMP from France.

Sure not.
But it is highly possible that an access to our simulator tools is given to India....

 

[BON PLAN]

what about nuclear warheads did french give us that too.? I am pretty sure our warheads will be different in size and weight .? How do we integrate our warheads ?

Your Nirhbay missile will be nuc equipped. Quite easy to integrate that missile on Rafale.

 

[ARVION]

ASMP- A Missile is of French origin don't we have a indigenous nuke bombs on these aircrafts? Is it legally possible to even sell nuclear bombs to india?

And what is AN-32s dummy bombs? How Much KT they have?

AN 32 TN 52 300 KN's .
ASMP - A TN 81 300 KN's .