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Rafale M French Navy Fighter/bomber
Introduction - Dassault Rafale M Fighter/Bomber
The Rafale M is the French Navy version of France's most modern multi-role aircraft. It is a twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. It can be equipped with a wide range of weapons, to perform air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike and nuclear deterrence missions for the French Navy.
In the mid-1970s, both the French Air Force and Navy had requirements for a new generation fighter to replace those already in, or about to enter. service. Because requirements for the two services were similar, and to reduce cost, a common request for proposal was issued. In 1979, Dassault joined the MBB/BAe "European Collaborative Fighter" (ECA) project which was renamed the "European Combat Aircraft". The French company contributed the aerodynamic layout of a prospective twin-engine, single-seat fighter; however, the project collapsed in 1981 due to differing operational requirements of each country and France dropped out. In 1983, the "Future European Fighter Aircraft" (FEFA) program brought together Italy, Spain, West Germany, and the United Kingdom to jointly develop what would become the new Euro Fighter Typhoon.
France reiterated its requirement in 1984 for a new fighter. The proposed aircraft was to be for a both an Air Force and a carrier-capable version that would be a multi-role aircraft that would be lighter than the Euro Fighter EFA design, and would be France's own programm. The multi-role aspect envisioned an aircraft capable of air-to-air and air-to-ground, all-day and adverse weather operations. Unlike the Eurofighter prgram, France was the sole developer of the new aircraft...which came to be known as the Rafale. The Rafale was being designed to perform roles previously filled by an assortment of specialized platforms, including the Jaguar, F-8P Crusader, Mirage F1C/CR/CT, Mirage 2000C/-5/N, Étendard IVP/M and Super Étendard.
The resultant produced a Rafale technology demonstrator that was rolled out in December 1985 in Saint-Cloud, and completed its maiden flight on July 4, 1986 from Istres-Le Tubé Air Base in southern France. Throughout the flight test program, the Rafale performed numerous day and night take-offs and landings aboard the carriers Clemenceau and Foch to investigate the pilot's field of view during carrier operations. It reached a speed of Mach 2 (2,450 km/h; 1,522 mph; 1,322.9 kn) and a height of 13,000 meters (42,000 ft). On April 21, 1988, the French government awarded Dassault a contract for four Rafale prototypes: one Rafale C, two Rafale Ms and one Rafale B two seat aircraft..
The Rafale M would feature a greatly reinforced undercarriage to cope with the additional stresses of naval landings, an arrestor hook, and "jump strut" nose wheel, which only extends during short takeoffs, including catapult launches. It would also feature a built-in ladder, carrier-based microwave landing system, and the new fin-tip Telemir system for syncing the inertial navigation system to external equipment. Altogether, the naval modifications of the Rafale M increase its weight by 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) compared to other versions. Just the same, the Rafale M retains about 95 percent commonality with Air Force variants. Though unusual for a carrier-borne aircraft in being unable to fold its multi-spar wings to reduce storage space, the wing-span is sufficiently small for this not to be a major consideration, particularly with the nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, France's first nuclear-powered carrier, which is considerably larger than previous carriers, Foch and Clemenceau.
The first "M" prototype, M01, first flew on December 12, 1991, followed by a second on 8 November 8, 1993. Since France had no land-based catapult test facility, catapult trials were initially carried out between during July–August 1992 at the US Navy Lakehurst, NJ, land-based facility. The aircraft then carried out trials aboard the carrier Foch in April 1993.
Deliveries of the Rafale M were a high priority for France in order to produce it's very aged F-8 Crusaders. The first production model for the French Navy was rolled out in 1999 and completed its first flight on July 7, 1999. Their first deployment aboard the Charles de Gaulle was in March 2002, and the aircraft carrier was stationed in the Gulf of Oman, where its Rafales underwent training operations.
The Rafale M has proven to be an excellent multi-role aircraft for the French Navy and is considered along with the US Navy Super Hornet, amongst the best carrier borne naval aircraft in the world, though the F-35C stealth fighter, which will be the only 5th generation naval aircraft will challenge that role. In fact, the Rafale M is the only non-US fighter cleared to operate from the decks of US nuclear powered carriers, using catapults and their arresting gear. Qualification testing for this occurred in 2008 when six Rafales from Flottille 12F integrated into the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Air Wing for interoperability exercises.
Most recently the Rafale M has been used heavily in the Mid-East, operating off of the Charles de Gaulle, striking ISIS strongholds and military targets in response to the ISIS terror attack in PAris in 2015.
To date, a total of 44 Rafle M aircraft have been delivered to the French Navy.
Characteristics/Specifications:
Crew: 1
Length: 15.27 m (50.1 ft)
Wingspan: 10.80 m (35.4 ft)
Height: 5.34 m (17.5 ft)
Wing area: 45.7 m² (492 ft²)
Empty weight:
10,300 kilograms (22,700 lb)
Loaded weight: 15,000 kilograms (33,000 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 24,500 kilograms (54,000 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Snecma M88-2 turbofans Dry thrust: 50.04 kN (11,250 lbf) each
Thrust with afterburner: 75.62 kN (17,000 lbf) each
Fuel capacity: 4,700 kg (10,360 lb) internal
Maximum speed:
- High altitude: Mach 1.8 (1,912 km/h, 1,032 knots)
- Low altitude: Mach 1.1 (1,390 km/h, 750 knots)
Range: 3,700+ km (2,000+ nmi) with 3 drop tanks
Combat radius: 1,852+ km (1,000+ nmi) on penetration mission
Service ceiling: 15,235 m (50,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 304.8+ m/s (60,000+ ft/min)
Wing loading: 328 kg/m² (67.1 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: 0.988 (100% fuel, 2 EM A2A missile, 2 IR A2A missile)
Armament:
- Guns: 1× 30 mm (1.18 in) GIAT 30/M791 autocannon with 125 rounds
- Hardpoints: 13 with a capacity of 9,500 kg (20,900 lb):
-- Missiles:
--- Air-to-air: Magic II, MBDA MICA IR or EM. MBDA Meteor
--- Air-to-ground: MBDA Apache, MBDA Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG, AASM-Hammer (SBU-38/54/64), GBU-12 Paveway II, GBU-22 Paveway III, GBU-24 Paveway III, GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway II, AS-30L
--- Air-to-surface: MBDA AM 39-Exocet anti-ship missile, MBDA CVS401-Perseus
---Nuclear Deterrence: ASMP-A nuclear missile
but the program is enticing !
