Some nice shots in this video. My favorite below :
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| Mica IR being loaded on the wing tip |
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| Radar maintenance |
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| Damocles visu |
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| Weapon management MFD page |
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| Various MFD pages (nav, fuel, HSI, spectra ?) |
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| Cockpit in flight |
Friday, June 21, 2013
Video, Rafale in the French Air Force
Some nice shots in this video. My favorite below :
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Rafale developement, TRAGEDAC and LEA
2 major projects have been recently revealed by the french DGA.
The first one, called TRAGEDAC intends to extend passive localisation capabilities of the Rafale using cooperative technics. The idea is to correlate and synchronise OSF and Spectra data from different aircrafts through link 16 to compute passive tracks more accurately (especially the target range as it is currently the most difficult data to assess using passive sensors only)
The second one, LEA, has just been announced at the Paris Air show. It is an active electromagnetic decoy especially designed to jam/seduce a2a missile radars. Unlike a towed decoy which remains attached to the aircraft, the LEA is ejected like a chaff. 4 LEA could be stored in the same place as the present spiral chaff ejector on the Rafale.
source : A&C
The first one, called TRAGEDAC intends to extend passive localisation capabilities of the Rafale using cooperative technics. The idea is to correlate and synchronise OSF and Spectra data from different aircrafts through link 16 to compute passive tracks more accurately (especially the target range as it is currently the most difficult data to assess using passive sensors only)
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| LEA electromagnetic decoy |
source : A&C
Video, Rafale dogfighting F-22
This is the long awaited video showing a Rafale taking on an F-22 during one of the doghfights between the 2 machines during ATLC 2009
The interresting thing in that engagement is that there are only 2 high G turns at the begining (400-500 kts / 9G+). Then, everything is about being able to manoeuver at very low speed... down to 80 knots in the Rafale case which is the very edge of its flight envelope.
Also note how the TV camera of the OSF (on the left side of the nose) is moving up and down to track the F-22.
The F-22 is big but still very hard to outmanoeuver thanks to its TVC as shown in that impressive video.
As stated at the begining of the video, this footage is not a demonstration of any superiority of the Rafale over the F-22 in close air combat but merely a confirmation that both fighters match each other closely in that particular area. In fact, most engagements reported at the time were draws with 1 gun kill credited to the Raptor. Now we know that the Rafale pilots also managed to get at least 1 fair and square victory, which is pretty cool :) . Also, videos showing the raptor during actual simulated air combats are still very rare, especialy that long. For that reason I think it is certainly a worthy document whatever the outcome is.
higher resolution here
The interresting thing in that engagement is that there are only 2 high G turns at the begining (400-500 kts / 9G+). Then, everything is about being able to manoeuver at very low speed... down to 80 knots in the Rafale case which is the very edge of its flight envelope.
Also note how the TV camera of the OSF (on the left side of the nose) is moving up and down to track the F-22.
The F-22 is big but still very hard to outmanoeuver thanks to its TVC as shown in that impressive video.
As stated at the begining of the video, this footage is not a demonstration of any superiority of the Rafale over the F-22 in close air combat but merely a confirmation that both fighters match each other closely in that particular area. In fact, most engagements reported at the time were draws with 1 gun kill credited to the Raptor. Now we know that the Rafale pilots also managed to get at least 1 fair and square victory, which is pretty cool :) . Also, videos showing the raptor during actual simulated air combats are still very rare, especialy that long. For that reason I think it is certainly a worthy document whatever the outcome is.
higher resolution here