As far as I am concerned and I understand it, the only originality of DASS is to be sensor fused, with towed decoy and ECM pods been the only area where the aircraft may seek to have a technological edge.
If you look at the picture I found on the official website : http://www.eurofighter.com/capabilities, the ECM pods are located where IR missiles would normally be at their optimum for dogfighting, thus not only reducing the total number of missiles been carried but also their effectivness.
While on a rafale, the seeker of the MICA IR is fused with Spectra in order to help detect incoming IR threats as well as engaging other aircrafts.
Then (unless it’s very well classify) I’ve never heard about DASS been able to perform SEAD mission by listenning and recording enemy transmissions and creating a databank for later usage as demonstrated during a exercice in Greece (I think) by the rafale.
I’ve never heard about active array antennas, possible active cancellation technology, protecting the eurofighter for nuclear deep-strike penetration etc…
The rafale is now part of the french nuclear deterrence which means its self-defence suite will remain a top priority (strategic level) development and upgrade for french government long into the future.
(http://www.thalesgroup.com/Portfolio/Defence/Aerospace_Product_SPECTRA/?pid=1568)

Now the main advantage I know of the RBE2, is to make it possible for the rafale to overlapse modes, and perform low level flying (mapping) while still looking for AtA threats, or release an AASM while firing a MICA a few second later (omnirole)… They would probably have used a updated RDY radar if they wanted pure AtA performance.
The fact however is that a Typhoon trying to look down and lock on a ground target will probably not see it coming from the air…

By Moore’s law the processing power behind radar systems is rising over time. This will erode the ability of “physical stealth” to hide vehicles.
Beside there’s nothing invisible in the radar frequency range below 2 GH.
Which means as long as the europeans keep their edge in sensors and electronic warfare, they are more than a match for any “physically” advanced aircraft in the sky.

@ wrightwing: http://www.thalesgroup.com/Portfolio/Defence/Aerospace_Product_SPECTRA/?pid=1568

And it’s also mostly depending on the power of the plane’s computer, which need to analyse each signals and decide what is a false signal and what is not. We always try to oppose fighters against fighters as if we were still in WW1, but what is relevent specially with country like India, China and even Pakistan is that a fighter is part of a network more or less efficient.
What is jamming ? My simplify answer is a very strong signal sent that will confuse, blind and sometimes even fry your sensors… How is it made ? with the same technology radars are made from. That’s why in most cases you will want to visually ID your target before you shoot, which is why optronic sensors are becoming so popular.
An LPI radar is like a secure wifi connection : the signal sent is coded, and only the sending aircraft has the key to decode it. That’s why during “friendly” exercises nobody wants to activate their radars because if you can decode the key, even the F22 wont be that LPI as they want us to beleive.

Now think of the signal as a musical tone. Each radar usualy “sing” on a more or less specific “tone” where its computers are the most efficient to analyse the “echos” and ID targets.
The magic of ESA radars are not only they will “sing” on “tones” that only “dogs” are most likely to “hear”, but they are also capable to rapidly (speed of electricity) modify their “tone” in the same “sentence”, so that someone trying to listenning will think “hey that’s not music, let’s change the channel!!” which in warfare might mean you are dead because you didn’t had the musical ear !!:D . Well more seriously it is LPI because it’s not consistent, and that you will probably think it’s a false alarm.

This is why a ESA radar can be use only for EW in order to send signals that even the sending aircraft cannot analyse just to confuse the enemy, or jam a incoming missile, or be use as an anti radiation seeker to guide a mica up a big captor’s nose :rolleyes: …
Of course just having a ESA capable radar is nothing, you need the appropriate computer power, and software analysis in order to get the maximum out of it. You need to be able to code your signals on the highest level, and of course be able to decode them afterward, and make sure nobody has your code.
You can help protect your signals by sending them only in a very narrow area in what is called “directed energy”… who knows, maybe you can even use it as crowd control or to make the other pilot jump from his aircraft lol 😎

@ Twinblade and @ TR1: I was obviously been ironic.

@ EELightning: Low subsonic aircrafts do a better job at CAS than supersonic jet, it is a fact.
And from what you say yourself what was proposed to the IAF by the other contenders was mostly not yet operational promesses, while the rafale is offering an already developped and tested platform that only needs some upgrades, and not brand new functions to make it multi-role, or carrier capable, or whatever…
By the time the Typhoon is fully AtG capable in 2018, the rafale might be AtS capable (air to space, there is a project to use rafale to launch satellites in low orbite…).
And it makes sens to select 2 planes in order to make sure the price will be lowered to the maximum for competitivity.

@ at those who speak about RCS, should a french pilot tell any of you the RCS of his plane he would be in prison… and apart from what we can guess, we may all be right so make peace please :p

Manned military aircraft cannot yet be phased out but Yeah 😎 this is a great start.

Don’t forget BAE’s all British Tarannis.:D

Is it the one they are supposed to develop with dassault from now on or a other one ?

@ #487 Depends which Cessna he’s talking about…:D;)

http://www.citationfamilybrochure.com/

Now if i could just find somewhere to hang the storm shadow from…

Look at page 26/27 : “A very special delivery” !!!:D

Impressive but I still think that manned aircrafts will remain a threat for a very long time.
Unmanned aircrafts rely on satellites for over the horizon operations, and satellites can be jammed or destroyed. The price to operate a drone via satellite is very expensive, and so the Phantom Ray will remain for a long time as a reccon, spy and EW platform.