the Rafale is so full load that probably has the EJ200 engine
😀

Notice that the engines look a bit small ! 😀

I could also show you a pic with a Rafale loaded with a JDAM (dropping it), and Rockeyes (or something), being shot at by a F-35 with its gun… 😀
http://www.jeux-france.com/images2_4_25756.html

😀

You are positive Tmor, if the number of Raffy will be reduced the prices will grow up ad the future development will be more difficult.

France intends to pay €9.2Bn of R&D (7.2 + 2). This should happen, whatever the number of Rafale ordered.
Then, the production quote (~19Bn€) is where economies of scale really impacts.
If production is reduced by 15%, then, the production quote could decrease by 15percent too (this is extremely approximative of course).

We keep the same (or nearly the same) flyaway price (it should actually increase a bit, due to low production rate, and lower economies of scale, and so on), the overal program cost is reduced (and France pays less) because the production quote decreases.
And of course, France will have paid more than originally planned for each fighter (because the R&D is divided by a lower number of planes), but it’s quite an irrelevant figure, because in no way it’s a price. It’s only a figure, a cost for France.

Then, you could be true, depending on our export policy…

L’armée de l’air fait les comptes
Après le discours du Président Sarkozy à Cherbourg, et en filigrane dans le prochain Livre blanc, on devrait découvrir des objectifs plus modestes, voire plus adaptés budgétairement en matière de commandes totales de Rafale. Soit 250 avions en tout contre les 294 prévus initialement…

http://www.ttu.fr/francais/TTUonline.html
Finally, we should get only 250 Rafale, instead of 294. 🙁 Nothing official yet. But chances are that it will really happen.

While, in France, we wonder about the fact that af.mil do not report a single Rafale gun strafe, show of force, or GBU firing, in Afghanistan, the Snecma has been awarded a contract :

http://www.snecma.com/article.php3?id_article=719&lang=en

DGA awards M88 TCO contract to Snecma

The French defense agency DGA (Délégation Générale pour l’Armement) announced on January 2008 that it was awarding to Snecma the “TCO Pack” (Total Cost of Ownership) contract for the M88-2 engine which power Rafale multirole fig (designated “Pack CGP” in French). The TCO Pack contract will support the development and production of upgrades to M88-2 engine parts, an order for 16 engines and spare parts with long lead times, and the associated repair services.

Upgrades are planned to the high-pressure compressor and high-pressure turbine, and are derived from various technologies tested during the ECO exploratory development program.

Qualification of these modifications and delivery of the first production engine to the TCO Pack standard are scheduled for 2011.

http://www.snecma.com/IMG/pdf/Fact_sheet_Snecma_M88_pack_CGP_VA_OK.pdf

2/ M88 ECO technology program
The ECO technology program, designed to demonstrate new technologies that could reduce operating costs and increase dispatch reliability, was completed at the end of 2007. It also aimed to study the feasibility of increasing the engine’s thrust without changing its weight or fuel consumption.
In the fall of 2004, Snecma kicked off tests of a technology demonstrator designed to reduce the M88’s total cost of ownership and lay groundwork for future enhancements.
The M88 ECO demonstrator focuses on several areas of improvement: low-pressure compressor with a “blisk” – integrally-bladed disk – offering higher flowrates and compression ratio; a new afterburner system with a ceramic matrix composite (CMC) nozzle to reduce weight; and a new high-pressure turbine architecture with cooled blades to increase mean time between inspections. All in all, the ECO program concerns about 60% of the parts on the M88.
Two M88 engines were dedicated to this program, one for performance testing and the other for endurance testing.
The M88 ECO program satisfied all of its initial objectives, spanning increased engine part life, lower cost of ownership (including reduced operating costs) and higher performance (4,000 total accumulated cycles/TAC). The test engines logged more than 150 hours of flight tests, and the equivalent of 1,800 hours of flight under Rafale mission conditions. This program also checked out the feasibility of increasing M88 engine thrust to about 20,000 lb.
ECO will guarantee the competitiveness of all evolved versions of the Rafale fighter, including both maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) for higher payload capacity and performance throughout the flight envelope.

No reason why not. The SPICE series can store 100 preprogrammed targets with the user selecting the final target before weapon launch.

When is the standard Inertial & GPS AASM to enter service? Is the rocket booster standard?

All AASM will have a rocket booster. This is what makes it a relatively cheap stand-off weapon.

The INS/GPS variant should enter service soon, maybe this summer, i think.