Egypt, the deal is about 24 Rafale

According to the french newspaper Les echos, the Egyptian delegation which left France last Friday reached an agreement for an order of 24 Rafale and 1 FREMM Frigate.

Egypt will have to pay 15% of the total cost to validate the purchase. 50% of the remaining cost will be covered by a loan garanteed by the French state.

Egypt would like the frigate and a first batch of jets to be delivered before august in order to display them during the inauguration of the new Suez Canal.

But besides the Canal parade, Egypt needs to renew its ageing fleet of non-american fighters : Indeed Egypt mainly operates modern american F-16 bk40 but the use of these aircrafts is closely monitored by Washighton. The rest of the Egyptian Air Force is composed of oudated Mirage 5, Mig-21, Chinese J-7 as well as a squadron of first generation Mirage 2000. In addition to the Rafale deal, there are rumors of a potential Mig-35 order from Russia and used mirage 2000-9 from the UAE.

Egypt is currently facing several potential threats from armed Jihadist groups from Libya and in the Sinai desert, not to mention the violent insurgencies in Syria and Irak.

Sources :
Les Echos
Aviationweek
defenseindustrydaily.com

Video, Captain Ruet interview at Lima 2013

Interview by army recognition team



Captain Ruet was part of the third wave of Rafale which flew the first mission over Libya.

Video, Vishnu Som flies the Rafale

This is the complete video of the Indian TV show "Higher, bigger, faster" dedicated to the Rafale. The Indian journalist Vishnu Som, had the opportunity to fly the Rafale at the Istres Air base. During the flight which last more than 1 hour, he was demonstrated the omnirole capability of the aircraft, performing laser guided and gps simulated A2G strikes, A2A interception as well as very low altitude maneuvering in fully automated  terrain following mode.

Flying the Dassault Rafale

Stay tune for the next episode (Rafale over Libya)

In the Press, Air&Cosmos special Rafale

Air&Cosmos has just released a special issue entirely dedicated to the Rafale. 100+ pages about the aircraft : Libya campain, French squadrons, Export oportunities, future developments....

Concerning the last topic, Air&cosmos is publishing an exclusive cgi picture of a Rafale carrying stealth weapon cocoons. (thx to Vuia for the pict.:) )

©Air&cosmos

Spring readings

The dictionnary of Deterrence by Philippe Vodka-Gallien, Marines Editions (in French)
An outstanding piece of work with more than 300 entries dealing with every aspects of the nuclear weapon : Historical, technical, political and cultural analysis, nothing is forgotten. This 384 pages book is of course covering the nuclear role of the Rafale and the ASMPA missile within the French Air Force and Navy. A must read for who wants to have a global and detailed view on this vast subject.

Air Fan issue N°400 : A special issue with tons of Rafale infos (French Air Force and Navy in Libya, and CEAM)

Raids Aviation,issue N°1 : A new French magazine about military aviation with a Nice article on the Charles de Gaulle's aircrafts

Another 3 weeks

Well, we're still very busy after all...

But...

• by the end of March, we learnt that "A senior Brazilian government source said Rousseff will decide on which fighter jet to choose after her trip to India, her visit to Washington in April, and the French presidential election in May." Source : AFP
• The newspaper La Folha de Sao Paulo stated that Brasil may link its order to the Indian's so as to get commercial advantages... but this information has been denied by the Indian MoD. This interesting since later, other sources also claimed that Indian offered to share some information with Brazil... Wait and see.
  
• A&C has published an article with picture from GoogleEarth showing the accuracy of Scalp EG employed to destroy the Al Jufra airbase in Libya. Thanks to Olybrius on MP.net, you can see the pictures there.
• In the previous message, we had reported (thanks to Shiv Aroor), that an MP had asked for an inquiry in the Rafale selection process in India. The Minister of Defence AK Antony has agreed, hence the negotiations are temporarily blocked.
• The website Mer & Marine has published an article about the beginning of the Rafale M F1 retrofit : the operation has costed € 300M, will take 18 months per Rafale, and the aircraft should reintegration operational service between 2014 and 2017 under the F3 standard.
• Alain Bernard, the gold-winning Olympic swimmer, who's also a gendarme, has been offered a flight onboard the Rafale... How lucky him ! :-D

More to come...

3 weeks in one post

We've been quite busy those days, but news about the Rafale kept on flowing. So, here we go :

• Air International have published a nice article about operation Harmattan, and more specifically about the 12F's Rafale over Libya :

"During Harmattan, Flotille 12F demonstrated, in action , that Rafale is an agile, powerful, easy to fly fighter that offers excellent endurance and good-bring back capability" says Flotille 11F's commanding officer Captain Bertrand Lepoutre[...]"

• Interviewed by Bloomberg, Charles Edelstenne, Dassault Aviation CEO, has shown very confident in the Indian deal :

“For 15 years, we’ve been saying the Rafale costs less than the Eurofighter,” Edelstenne said. “Now it’s the Indians who are saying it.”
Edelstenne said Dassault can easily boost production to two or three Rafales a month or more if needed

• Air & Cosmos has published several articles entitled "How is Dassault preparing ?" We can learn that the integration of the GBU-49 is underway, requested by the Marine Nationale.

• We have learnt that some Rafale over Libya were already equiped with the brand new DDM-NG.

• Thales has manufactured the 10,000th module for the RBE-2 AA radar.

• The UAE deal negotiation is accelerating, and Thales production plant is preparing for an evolution of Spectra. Qatar and Kuwait have renewed their interest in Rafale.
  

• Libya may be the customer of the ex-UAE Mirage 2000-9, according to DefenceWeb. The information is "confirmed" by Jane's Defense Weekly.
  

• Eric Trappier, interviewed by Les Echos, said that India wanted to sign the contract in 6 months. He also denies allegations charging France with illegal dumping, . More here.

• EADS, Thales and Safran finance an Aerospace Training Center in Sao Jose dos Campos (21,000 sqm, €42millions, 5,800 students per year). This is a ToT agreement.

• Saudi Arabia would have shown interest in the AASM for its Tornados. Meanwhile, France is still interested in the Brimstone. Aviation Week go as far as stating that the Brimestone could be integrated on Rafale before Typhoon.

• Gerard Longuet, MoD, went to Saint Dizier to celebrate the first anniversary of the Harmattan Operation over Libya.

• Dilma Roussef went to India so as to talk about trade and... Rafale.

• Shiv Aroor, on his great blog Livefist, reveals the content of two letters : the one by the Member of Parliament M.V. Mysura Reddy who question the selection of Rafale, and the answer from the government ("I have asked the Ministry to examine all the points raised by you").
• Finally, Dassault Aviation has launched a beautiful video : Rafale Before Flying

MMRCA, Rafale better than Eurofighter.

Disclamer: This post is purposely provocative ;)

For sure, Rafale is a better Navy fighter than the Typhoon

After the elimination of the Eurofighter from the MMRCA contest (leaving the Rafale as the only contender for the mega deal) UK has sent a delegation to India in a last and desperate attempt to force India to buy the Eurofighter instead of the Rafale based on the most naive argument of them all: The Eurofighter is a better plane than the Rafale as stated by British Prime Minister David Cameron.




Well, is it ?

Aquisition price and maintenance costs : Apparently the Rafale is better as the Indian Ministry of defence has just concluded that the French jet is 15% 22% less expensive to buy and operate than the Typhoon.

Air to Air efficiency : Despite all the urban legends spread by the British lobbies, the Rafale does prevail in the Air to air role. Notably, the Rafale was rated clearly higher (in both defensive and offensive A2A missions) than the Eurofighter by Switzerland after 2 very serious evaluations by the Swiss Air Force whose primary requirerment was for an Air Defense fighter.

 Air to Ground efficiency : No contest here, the Rafale's statistics in Libya speaks for themselves. The British Eurofighter, with their limited Air to ground capabilities,  barely did half of the sorties and 1/5 of the tasks accomplished by the Rafale during the conflict (see below).

Compliance with Indian long term strategic framework: Again the Typhoon is lagging severely in this area.

• The Rafale is carrier capable, the Eurofighter is not
• The Rafale platform is optimized for nuclear strikes, not the Eurofighter
• The Rafale will share many weapons with the upgraded IAF Mirage 2000, that's not the case of the Eurofighter
• The Rafale has no string with US missiles used by Pakistani F-16, the Eurofighter currently uses the same american BVR missile as the PAF...

Conclusion:

• Rafale is more effecient
• Rafale is more versatile
• Rafale is more mature
• Rafale is more independant
• Rafale is cheaper

 So, Mister Cameron, let's be honnest: The Rafale is a better plane than the Eurofighter. And India knows it.

sources :
www.defencetalk.com
rpdefense.over-blog.com
media.aerosociety.com

Rafale pictures of the day 2, over Libya

MMRCA, Rafale International official Web Site

Rafale International has released its official Web Site for the Indian contest.
Reading quickly throuh the numerous pages, one will notice that Dassault emphasizes on the Navy version of the Plane for the Indian Navy.

[...]The aim of the RAFALE candidacy for the MMRCA program is to provide the Indian Air Force (and later Indian Navy when a similar combat aircraft program is launched) with a combat aircraft at par with the political and military rank of India in the coming decades, able to ensure and to maintain the local air superiority of India.

[...]French aircraft have always taken part to the Indian history serving the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy over the years and the wars. 

[...]Operational in the French Navy since 2004 and in the French Air Force since 2006, the RAFALE of the French forces have been engaged in various campaigns over Afghanistan and recently in Libya, in the most severe environmental conditions :

• from the Charles de Gaulle carrier in the warm seas of the Indian Ocean or  of the Mediterranean
• from the high altitude rough airfields of the Himalaya or the desert of Libya,

[...]With full commonality with the Air Force version, the RAFALE is also available in a Navy version to be operated from an aircraft carrier. [...]

 The message is clear: If you like the ground base versions, you will love the Navy one.

RAF General visits Rafale Base

Royal Air Force General Simon Bryant visited the Saint Dizier Air Base on January 9. The Rafale system, as used in Libya, was presented to him by the technicians and officers of the Rafale squadrons. He Also flew a mission in a Rafale simulator. The Saint Dizier Air Base hosts some 40 Rafale.
Source: defense.gouv.fr

Rafale program updates

©Dassault aviation - A. Hernoult

Here is a quick list of the main points discussed in the last Fox3 issues


RBE-2 AESA

• Performance evaluation passed
• A2A detection/range exeed expectations
• A2G and terrain following modes also tested
• First production Rafale C delivered with an AESA in 2012
• First production Rafale M delivered with an AESA in 2013
• Qualification expected early 2013
• First French Airforce squadron operational with the AESA in early 2014 

Meteor

• First flight envelope expension done in early 2011 (including carrier trials)
• First batch of 200 Missiles ordered
• Operational service expected in 2016

 AM-39 Exocet block 2 mod 2

• Integration on Rafale completed
• Final operational evaluation in early 2012
• Operational on French Navy Rafale in mid-2012
• French Navy Pilot training with the missile has already started
• Link 16 targeting from AEW aircrafts (E-2, ATL-2) is developed

DDM-NG (New Generation Missile Detector)

• increase range and field of view / decrease false alerts
• In flight testing in progress (2nd data gathering campaign completed in early 2011)

AASM

• Extensively used in Libya by French Air Force and Navy Rafale (225 units fired)
• success rate very close to 100%
• GPS/INS/IIR variant operational since mid-2011
• 800 units of the 250kg type delivered (3400 ordered)
• Range >50km for the 250kg type (57km demonstrated in Libya)
• GPS/INS/Laser version 
• Qualification phase in 2012
• Operational service entry in 2013
• 15km range with 90° of boresight release demonstrated against a 80km/h target with an acuracy of 1 meter
• First firing trials of the 125 kg variant completed (80km range demonstrated)
• 1000kg version development expected rapidly
• New guidance kit for antiship attack considered with datalink capability

Rover

• Rover system fully operational on Rafale
• Rover terminal fitted to the Rafale airframe (not the LDP) and thus also allows radar or FSO images to be transmitted to the FAC

Libya campaign

• All missions were operated without any dedicated SEAD and EW support thanks to Spectra
• Spectra Allowed accurate detection, location and attack of Libyan Air defenses 
• Spectra jammer allowed soft kills of the Libyan radar systems
• GBU-12 used for dynamic targeting
• AASM used against high value well-defended targets and SAM system  (SA-3/SA-6)
• Damocles pod used for laser targetting (GBU-12), identification and target GPS coordinates extraction (AASM)
• Half of the Rafale M missions performed at night
• Rafale considered as a key tool for ISTAR missions (Intelligence, Surveillance, Taget acquisition, Reconnaissance)

UAE, can Juppe overcome the price issue ?

French Foreign Minister, Alain Juppe will be in the UAE during the end of this week. He will most probably try to overcome the price issue raised by the UAE authorities during the Dubai Airshow. Back in October, Juppe was personnaly tasked by President Sarkozy to manage the negociations with the UAE about the Rafale. According to the French Paper "Le Point" he would also be in charge of negociating the sale of the 60 Emirate Mirage 2000-9 to ... Libya.

Libya, French Defense Minister congratulate the men and women engaged in Harmattan

November 5, Mont de marsan Air Base, the French Defense Minister, Gerard Longuet, has met the men and women of the 3 armed forces who participated in the operations over Libya.
He notably underlined the first elint missions as early as February 23, as well as the first strikes conducted by Rafale and Mirage 2000 crews on March 19, while the Gaddafi Air defense network was still fully operational. Despite the risk, the French airmen managed to stop and neutralize the dictator's tanks a few hours from the Benghazi city.
source : defense.gouv.fr

Libya, The Last 4 Rafale have returned

General Palomeros with a Rafale pilot

November 4th, 02;00 pm, The last 4 Rafale that were stationed at the Sigonella Air base, Sicily, have returned to their home base of Saint Dizier yesterday, as reported by the French Ministry of defense. The pilots were welcome by their family and the "Provence" and Gascogne" squadrons staff.

Source defense.gouv.fr
Rafale Libyan operation photo album
Previous messages concerning Libya  on RafaleNews

Libya, the end of Gaddafi

(edited  October 21st)  Following the liberation of Sirte today, October 20th, an US Predator drone and 2 French Mirage (apparently a 2000D and a F1CR) would have stop a fleeing convoy with Hellfire missiles and GBU-12 bombs.

Colonel Gaddafi, would have took part in this convoy and would have been captured alive by  Libyan NTC fighters but would have been killed (executed ?) later during a gun fight.   .

"When the car was moving it was caught in crossfire between the revolutionaries and Gaddafi forces in which he was hit by a bullet in the head," said Mr Jibril, quoting from the official NTC report.

The death of the Libyan dictator will probably mark the end of the war for NATO forces. According to the French Ministry of defense, no weapon were fired by the French Rafale and Mirage jets during the last 32 Air to Ground missions because of a lack of targets.... until this afternoon.

Sources :
bbc.co.uk
Associated Press
SecretDefense
defense.gouv.fr

MMRCA, French general interview about the Indian contest

Nuclear capability, a key feature for India ?

The Times of India has published an interview of the French Air Force chief, General Palomeros. When asked about the Rafale Vs Eurofighter contest, the General provides some interesting points :

How does the Rafale match up with the Eurofighter Typhoon, the two finalists of the Indian MMRCA race?

"Rafale demonstrated its full capability during the Libya operations. We had 90 to 95% serviceability as well as reduced maintenance costs of both Rafales and Mirages. During the first three days, French air force was the only air force flying over Libya. We were able to enforce the no-fly zone as well as strike Gaddafi's forces with precision and minimum collateral damage. Rafale's digital reconnaissance pods provided a lot of intelligence in real-time for the strikes.

I do not want to compare fighters but Rafale was designed as a multi-role platform from the very beginning. It has been a real success, as shown in Afghanistan, Libya and elsewhere. I must also stress Rafale is nuclear-capable. It has real growth potential. France will be more than happy to develop it with India. It is, of course, up to India to now select the best platform it needs."

First, the General claims that the French Air Force was the only Air Force over Libya during the 3 first days of operations. That's very surprising. Officially the First French fighters were deployed on March 19th and other allied aircrafts were involved the next day. Therefore, if it's not a typo, that would mean that the French fighters were flying over Libya since March 17th for intelligence purpose.

It is worth noting that the General see the fact that the Rafale is a nuclear capable platform as a valuable argument for the MMRCA contest. Besides the ability to carry heavy nuclear missile and fuel tank, the nuclear mission also relies on the rafale capability to avoid Air defense systems and penetrates deep inside the Ennemy territory... a skill that could make the difference when India will make her final choice.

Also read : French Air Force General at Aero India

Libya, Rafale stats

Air&Cosmos published the Rafale stats after s 6 months of the Libyan campaign.
The French Air force Rafale were the very first fighter jets of the coalition to enter the Libyan air space on March 19th 2011 forcing the Gadhaffi forces attacking Benghazi to retreat.
8 Rafale B/C and 4 Mirage 2000 D/-5 took part in this first day operation destroying several tanks after a more than 2000 km flight from their home bases in France.
3 Days later, the Rafale M deployed onboard the CdG aircraft carrier were conducing their first recce mission over Libya.

All in all the Rafale M have remained 4 months in the theater logging 2000 flight hours in 1000 sorties (more than 7 sorties/day, 2 hours/sortie).

The Rafale B/C are still operating from the Sigonella Air Base, Scicilia, after 6 months of operation. They have logged 4000 flight hours in 900 sorties (more than 5 sorties/day, 4.4 hours/sortie)

it is worth noting than the Rafale M were able to performed 10% more sorties in a shorter amount of time (about 20% less days on site)  than the Rafale C due to the fact that they were operating closer to the war zone. Even more striking is the fact that the Rafale M logged twice less flight hours for about the same number of sorties for the same reason (Aircraft carrier very close to the Libyan coast).

The 1900 Rafale sorties represent more than 40% of the French Forces sorties and were splitted as followed :

• offensive sorties (A2A and A2G) : 855 (45%)
• Recce sorties : 855 (45%)
• Budy-budy refueling (Rafale M only) : 190 (10%)

Also read :
Rafale goes to Libya... for war
Details on Rafale mission over Libya
First pictures of the Rafale engaged in Libya
First Rafale M mission over Libya
Video of the carrier operations onboard the CdG

Rafale picture of the day, AASM-IR and Reco-NG pod

Another picture of the AASM-IR used in Libya seen on the French Mindef website

According to Air&Cosmos, several AASM-IR have been fired during the last weeks

A Rafale pilot prepares its reco-NG pod before flight

Lybia, pictures onboard the CdG

Rafale M onboard the CdG ©Thomas Goisque

Beautifull set of pictures taken by French photographer Thomas Goisque, onboard the CdG when the aircraft carrier was enforcing the no fly zone in Libya.

Also don't miss the reportage onboard the Tonnerre helicopter carrier

Rafale M onboard the CdG ©Thomas Goisque