I agree with your assesment Scorpion.

Nic

I was thinking the same, it’s probably either because they want the CFTs to increase range, or that they worry about taking off in very warm weather.

Nic

And given Solenzara is in France, the french are the worst of the bunch :diablo:

Nic

There’s also this quote about the problem encountered by Thales about the flexibility of the aircraft cell during manoeuvers that bluewings posted somewhere, and the preceding work on the Falcon 20 testbed.

+ the fact that Thales is working on AC for missiles already.

Maybe it wasn’t possible to make that happen for the B2 which was supposed to have it, but after ten+ years of work and of increase of processing power you never know.

Nic

Have they been mentionned on the seaphoon proposals? With those + TVC the Typhoon would probably be quite the performer at lower speeds.

Nic

@Nicolas,
the point here is that aircraft were multirole capable and able to switch roles in flight back then. That they weren’t as versatile as they are today is not that important at all, as it doesn’t change the fact that multirole/swingrole capability was already a given and Rafale LF1’s delivered from December 2000 weren’t even as flexible as those early F-16s, not to say they lacked any multirole capabilities and weren’t BVR capable either!;)

As aforementioned the Rafale can do some things others can’t, but once again it doesn’t change the very facts and I have no doubt that a dynamic re-targeting is possible for any halfway advanced F-16 derivative and other fighters for that matter. All the latest fighters are equipped with a MIDS, so the Rafale doesn’t have an advantage here, others just don’t brag THAT much about that capability albeit its very much present. Take into account that dual-mode bombs a la EPW or LJDAM will allow flexible re-targeting and allow for he delivery of multiple weapons in a single pass against multiple targets as well.;) These unpowered weapons don’t offer the HOBS and stand-off capabilities of an AASM, but they are still useful and can do a lot of things as well. In my opinion the Rafale is more than ever living from myths today and its not about being capable of this or that, but about other aircraft being capable to do this or that. Much what the French claim to be “unique” and “revolutionary” about the Rafale is true for the French armed forces, but not so much for everyone else!

As you said. Those unpowered weapons don’t offer the HOBS & stand-off capabilities that the AASM does. 😀

But we’re talking more about the merits of the weapons than the aircrafts. I think the Rafale is a very smart weapons system taken as a whole (ie with its weapons). Bluewings say that the Rafale wouldn’t exist without spectra and vice versa and I agree, but we certainly could say the same of weapons like Mica and AASM. They do help make the Rafale what it turned out to be.

Very versatile plane armed with very versatile weapons (Same missile for BVR and dogfight; same weapon used for CAS/SEAD/DEAD you name it). They certainly contribute to the confidence of the french about the Rafale.

Nic

Well I agree with you mostly scorpion, but I don’t agree that F16s of thirty years ago were multirole at all. F16s back then didn’t even have BVR capabilities. In Falcon I I could only carry MK 82/83/84 and TV maverick. Only in F16 combat pilot did I have a F16C with IR/Laser maverick 😀 With something like block 50 F16s and F18C/D US planes became truly multirole, and the only one that could be compared with Rafale would be the F18E/F, and even then the versatility of the Rafales weapon play a role:

For instance a Rafale on a SEAD mission will carry AASM and not dedicated anti radiation missiles, so it can easily be diverted for a strike or CAS mission if need be during the flight. It only needs new targets updated via Link 16 or such and it’s set. Try doing that with a F16CJ carrying HARMS.

Nic