Know Your 'Rafale'

[Assassin 2.0]

Looks parts for rafale will keep rolling regardless of chini pressure

 

[BangaliBabu]

Somehow I have a feeling those Rafales will take off from France. Only take-off.....

 

[ARVION]

Somehow I have a feeling those Rafales will take off from France. Only take-off.....

Why's

 

[Kumata]

Why's

They will refuel mid air and keep going till they have bombarded Beijing... it's a suicide mission

 

[ARVION]

They will refuel mid air and keep going till they have bombarded Beijing... it's a suicide mission

Better to use other aircraft's .

 

[Narasimh]

For those who want to checkout the AoA of Rafale

 

[Floydian]

Are you sure?. Validating Astra mk2 will take time. It has not yet been fired in the surface to air mode to validate the propulsion system. They tested Astra mk1 first from ground launchers. I feel Astra mk2 may take a couple of years to fructify. Of course wish them all success. We urgently need the mk2 to outrange the Aim120c with Pakistan and match latest Chinese BVR missiles.

A question. We know that Chinese BVR missiles are based on Russian equivalents. Many of Chinese missiles use the r77 data links. But are the new Chinese BVR and Wvr missiles better than their Russian parents. Have the Chinese made Russian missiles better by modifications.

Glad to hear that we have 130 - 140 km range Russian Bvr missiles. In a dogfight will the Russian missiles outperform Chinese missiles. Hope so. Astra mk1 is an very important addition to our arsenal. Its ours and we can produce any number and modify it if necessary. Our Asraam is supposed to be the best Wvr missile in the world. Electronic Warfare is a force multiplier. Is India better than China in EW?.

I want to see the so called reputation of Chinese weapons bite the dust. During the Balakot air strikes we could easily jam Chinese radars.

Which 130-140 km Russian missiles have we acquired?
Werent the Meteors on Rafales meant to be the longest range A2A in our arsenal with "around 120km range"?

 

[Tanmay]

Rafale fighters to take off from France tomorrow, can be operational within a week
New Delhi: At least five Rafale fighter aircraft will take off from Merignac in France Monday to arrive in India Wednesday and, if required, these aircraft can also be operationally deployed within a week amid the India-China standoff in Ladakh, ThePrint has learnt.


According to sources in the defence and security establishment, a total of 12 Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots have been fully trained on the fighter aircraft, which is considered a game-changer in the region with its unmatched fire power.


Several other pilots are completing their training in France — the contract stipulates that a total of 36 pilots will be trained by French authorities, including those who will undergo training in India.


While, in an official statement, the IAF had said that five aircraft will land Wednesday, as reported by ThePrint on 29 June, the figure could be six.


“The exact number of aircraft that will take off will be known only on Monday. The IAF has said that five would land on July 29 in India but this number could even be six,” a source said.


According to the contract signed in September 2016, 12 aircraft are supposed to be delivered every year.


French defence major Dassault Aviation, which is manufacturing the Rafale jets, had since October last year handed over a total of nine aircraft to the IAF. The 10th is undergoing acceptance trials by IAF pilots in France.

The source also added that the aircraft can be operationally deployed, if needed, “within a week”.


Under normal circumstances, it takes at least six months for full operational deployment.


However, according to a source, these are “extraordinary times”.


“The pilots have been on training mode till now. They now need to be in combat mode which takes time because they have to get used to the aircraft with multiple combat training flying. However, extraordinary times require extraordinary measures. If need be, the aircraft can be operationally deployed within a week of arriving or actually the same day itself. But that is if need be,” he said.

The flying plan: From France to India

According to the plan, the Rafale fighters will take off from Merignac, where the production facility of Dassault Aviation is located.


They will fly straight to the French airbase in Al Dhafra near Abu Dhabi in the UAE for a night halt.


This would be a 10-hour-long journey and these fighters would be accompanied by two mid-air refuelers of the French Air Force.


Sources noted that there would be two rounds of refueling mid-air, to complete the journey.


They added that the pilots have undergone specialised training for mid-air refueling through the Airbus 330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft that the French use.


This was not originally part of the training module since the IAF uses the Russian aircraft IL-78 for mid-air refueling.


While the distance to the UAE can be covered by the Rafale in much shorter time, they will have to keep pace with the tankers.


After the night halt, the jets will take off for Ambala in Haryana, where the IAF’s 17 Squadron ‘Golden Arrows’ — home of the first Squadron of Rafale fighters — is based.


Initially, the aircraft were scheduled to arrive after layovers in multiple countries. However, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, this meant that the pilots would have to be quarantined at every base.


Furthermore, the increasing border tensions with China meant that the IAF could not wait for the fighters to be delayed.

Missiles aboard Rafale aircraft

India had approached France to expedite the delivery of the Rafale fighters, in light of the border tensions. The jets were initially scheduled to arrive only in October this year.


The French government then diverted an initial lot of cutting edge missiles meant for its own air force to India.


The missiles, which have already arrived at the Ambala base, include the Meteor air to air missile, manufactured by European firm MBDA.


The Meteor costs about Rs 20 crore each, and is a very long-range rocket and ram-jet powered air-to-air missile. With a range of about 150 km, the missile can attack an enemy aircraft without even crossing the Indian air space.


Neither China nor Pakistan has a missile to counter this capability of the IAF.


Another key missile on board is the 1,300 kg and the 5.1 metre-long Scalp, which can be carried in either one missile or two missiles configuration on the Rafale.


The air-to-ground missile costs about Rs 40 crore each and is also manufactured by the MBDA. It has a 600-km range and is known for its precision.


The Rafale will not have to cross the Indian airspace to hit a target that is about 600 km in enemy territory and can be used in penetration, impact or airburst modes.


It is meant to strike deep even in areas with limited access and in an area denial scenario — which is meant to prevent the adversary from entering one’s territory.

Considering the situation in Ladakh with China, the IAF has also directed emergency procurement of the HAMMER air-to-ground missile with a range of about 60 Kms.


The original plan was to integrate the Israeli Spice 2000 with the Rafale aircraft but with the focus on early operational deployment of Rafale in mind, a decision was taken to buy the HAMMER, which the Rafale is already configured to fire.


The other missile that the Rafale would be carrying is the air-to-air MICA that have also been deployed on the Mirage 2000.

Rafale fighters to take off from France tomorrow, can be operational within a week

While operational deployment usually takes six months, due to these 'extraordinary circumstances' the fighters will be ready to be deployed within a week.

theprint.in

The Meteor costs about Rs 20 crore each

Scalp air-to-ground missile costs about Rs 40 crore each.

A Sukhoi or Tejas is worth 5 Scalp Missiles!! (Approx 200 -300 crore)!!! Damn, those are freakin expensive

 

[Tactical Frog]

Somehow I have a feeling thfose Rafales will take off from France. Only take-off.....

Well. I am sure IAF has been planning for even the craziest mischiefs. Like a large PAF formation trying to intercept the Rafale and start WW3.

 

[Kumata]

Somehow I have a feeling those Rafales will take off from France. Only take-off.....

what was going through ur mind when you wrote quoted words.. i am just curious....

 

[Hindu Nationalist]

 

[BangaliBabu]

what was going through ur mind when you wrote quoted words.. i am just curious....

I mean the IAF pilots will never find the runway to land the planes due to adrenaline rush. After all, Rafale is a bigger celebrity than SRK nowadays!!

Ghar ghar mein Rafale.

 

[Kumata]

LOL.. Bengali Nibba mind at work.. Do we know the call sign of them for ferry flights.. I tried searching via Reg no but luck...

 

[BangaliBabu]

LOL.. Bengali Nibba mind at work.. Do we know the call sign of them for ferry flights.. I tried searching via Reg no but luck...

FR24?? I'm not a registered or paying member either. Most probably the Rafales will come with it's transponders switched off anyways. Too much of discernment every where.

 

[BON PLAN]

Why Wikipedia saying Rafael is aerodynamically unstable

Sorry for bothering members

First, it is not Rafael, it is Rafale.

Rafael is this guy :

And once we agree it is Rafale, yes this bird is instable. That means that without Fly By Wire flight controls system, it can't be piloted by a human. An instable plane is more agile, and in the Rafale case, can take off and land on slow runaway. But without the computer help flights controls, no human can driven it.

 

[BangaliBabu]

First, it is not Rafael, it is Rafale.

Rafael is this guy : View attachment 54361

And once we agree it is Rafale, yes this bird is instable. That means that without Fly By Wire flight controls system, it can't be piloted by a human. An instable plane is more agile, and in the Rafale case, can take off and land on slow runaway. But without the computer help flights controls, no human can driven it.

Just smile and wave, boys!! Just smile and wave......

 

[Kumata]

FR24?? I'm not a registered or paying member either. Most probably the Rafales will come with it's transponders switched off anyways. Too much of discernment every where.

Yeah... I searched all over.. they have their transponder off.. more over the traffic over europe is choc a block... I know ADS-B can track fighter jets if transponder are On but the interface is too cluttered and have no search functionality ... FR 24 do have but it's not finding RB-001 /002

 

[BON PLAN]

Because it's a delta wing design and post 1960s most of the aircraft were designed unstable because that provides better maneuvering and higher alpha capabilities most of the aircrafts which we see today are unstable only 3rd generation aircrafts like mig-21 and JF-17 are of stable design.
Fly by wire technology is used to milk more performance from unstable aircraft.

Nothing to do with Delta.
F22 is instable too.

All modern fighters are instable to increase agility and handling caracteristics. But to do so the need FBW system.

But in contrary, all FBW plane are not instable. Last exemple : F15X.

 

[BON PLAN]

Which 130-140 km Russian missiles have we acquired?
Werent the Meteors on Rafales meant to be the longest range A2A in our arsenal with "around 120km range"?

Meteor No Escape Zone is nearly 60km. Three times the NEZ of AMRAAM....
Max range is > 150km (some said 300km.... but with a end trajectory like a rocket, without no agility). Against a slow moving target (a tanker for exemple), the max range may be >> 150km....

 

[Kumata]

Yeah... I searched all over.. they have their transponder off.. more over the traffic over europe is choc a block... I know ADS-B can track fighter jets if transponder are On but the interface is too cluttered and have no search functionality ... FR 24 do have but it's not finding RB-001 /002

Just wondering they will be accompanied by a A330 mid air refueller...for sure it will be on civilian frequency..