Not to be nationalistic, but i think most recently upgraded optical view enhancer is OSF-IT from Rafale.

The problem with that is that 4th and 4.5 gen fighters can lower their best aspect (frontal) RCS down to those levels (.5, .3 or slightly lower)..The problem then comes down to overall RCS as rcs does tend to spike up from the side and the rear..these are not all aspect optimized vlo designs. While the overall RCS even in VLO fighters is greater then the best (frontal) RCS, it is much better managed both in the primary design and at the material.coating level…Depending upon the mission and the quality of your opponent (Say you are going up against a steatlh fleet of F-35’s and F-22s) you may have to arm up or tank up thereby causing further de-gradation to your RCS. Overall all aspect RCS management is very poor compared to dedicated VLO designs with internal carriage of weapons.

The problem is to find the right balance between LO and kinetic capabilities. IMHO, greatest feature of 4++ 5th GEN is tactical awareness.

Apart from poltical and historical considerations, i think i heard somewhere a simple explanation : it lost tech eval to eurocanards. :very_drunk:

You werent “here” (well not here, no internet those day´s) when good old Mcdonnell Douglas was portraying the legacy Hornet has the next best thing after sliced bread (good has a Tornado in the ATG role and has capable, or almost, has an Eagle in the ATA mission) and almost everybody else in the States (not the Marine Nationale :cool:) saying that it wasnt much of an improvement over the A-7…
And dont get me started on the EFA program!

Cheers

C’mon, start!!! :highly_amused:

Talked with 3 pilots from “Gascogne” and “Provence” squadrons yesterday in La Ferte Alais.
M88 thrust is way sufficient, but more would of course be appreciated in some specific situations. Power enhancements more likely for export orders(from Dartagnan and Theo programs)
A HMD “jsf like”would be a huge add on, not schedules for french airforces, export only.
PESA radar is coherent with MICA, but seems to be the weakest point of Rafale. AESA is clearly impatiently awaited. First AESA in 1/7 Provence in august/september.
There’s recently been a very nice small upgrade of spectra, whatever it is.
Spectra 5T will be a game changer on an already “awesome” system.
Rafales effectively “disappeared” from Lybian radars, not brute jamming.
Centerline weapons pod has been spotted by pilots, no clue if aerodynamic study or more advanced.
Very soon, a FAC or another third party will be able to slew directly damocles targeting.
Rafale have significantly smaller RCS then other F4+ planes.
There is no loss in tactical awareness due to lacck of IR in new OSF, Mica sensor is excellent (and OSF IR was was medium)
They are VERY satisfied of confrontations with other planes, but i wont cite, dont want a flame war. But they are so satisfied after St Disier visit from RAF that they mentioned they were playing home, that visiting pilots may not be “as specialized” as they are and that in the end pilot quality primes.

One hour, three personnels to replace M88 engine.

http://lemamouth.blogspot.fr/2013/05/la-demonstration-par-la-visseuse.html

New campaign of Meteor tests started

Rafale to expand Meteor missile testing
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By: CRAIG HOYLE LONDON 7 hours ago Source:

Fresh separation trials involving the Dassault Rafale and MBDA’s Meteor beyond visual-range air-to-air missile are due to be performed in late May, as the type edges closer towards eventual service introduction with the French armed forces.

To be performed from the Cazaux flight test centre of France’s DGA defence procurement agency over water using instrumented rounds without warheads, the releases will follow two such tests performed from the site in October 2012. Two more of the weapons are also due to be released from the Rafale before the end of 2013, according to a DGA programme official.

The forthcoming releases will be made in different areas of the flight envelope, with the host aircraft performing a high-g manoeuvre and then flying at a high angle of attack, the official says.

Further releases will be performed as France moves towards making the first controlled and boosted launch of a Meteor from the Rafale during 2015. The new-generation air dominance missile is due to become operational with the French air force and navy from 2018, with Paris having already ordered a first batch of 200 weapons.

Meanwhile, the DGA says it has completed captive flight tests with MBDA’s submarine-launched Scalp Naval cruise missile for the French navy. The process involved flying from Cazaux with the weapon mounted beneath one of its Dassault Mirage 2000 trials aircraft.

And finally the new patch of flight demo team. Check numbers, they slghtly changed…

New low collaterage ammo guided rocket soon?

RPM on target for French Tigers
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By: CRAIG HOYLE LONDON 48 minutes ago Source:

The French army’s Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters should gain a new semi-active laser-guided rocket capability later this decade, following successful early firings conducted from a HAP-standard aircraft earlier this year.

Developed by Thales subsidiary TDA, the roquette à précision métrique (RPM) is a 68mm (2.7in) diameter weapon offering a circular error of probability accuracy of below 1m (3.3ft), from a maximum firing range of up to 3.2nm (6km).

Two safe separation firing campaigns were performed in January and April 2013 over the Biscarrosse test range of France’s DGA defence procurement agency, with another test of the roughly 8.5kg (18.7lb) rocket due to be conducted during July.

“The idea is for a low collateral damage capability,” says Matthieu Krouri, guided rocket programme manager at TDA. “Twenty metres away from the target there is no effect,” he adds. Already spanning more than three years, study work has been funded by the company and the French defence ministry.

At just over 1.4m in length, slightly longer than the TDA-supplied unguided rockets already sold to Tiger operators Australia, France, Germany and Spain, the RPM requires no physical connection with its launcher unit, due to the use of wireless induction technology.

The mid-year test is to include two launches against a fixed target being marked by a laser spot. TDA says the weapon is also capable of striking ground targets moving at up to 30kt (55km/h).

“We are discussing with the DGA for a contract,” Krouri says, with a production version of the RPM expected to be operationally available with the Tiger from 2018. The rocket’s insensitive munition-standard blast/fragmentation warhead and fuze are being developed separately, under another contract from the agency.

Speaking during a pre-Paris air show media event at the DGA’s Cazaux flight test centre on 14 May, Krouri said the weapon also offers a viable solution for a long-held French air force requirement to field a low-yield weapon between the Dassault Rafale’s internal cannon and Sagem AASM air-to-surface missile. The company has previously performed a ground-based firing trial to prove the viability of firing the RPM from a 12-tube rocket launcher.

If deployed from the Rafale, the precision-strike weapon could achieve a range of up to 5.4nm, TDA says.

The company also plans to offer the same terminal guidance kit, rocket motor, warhead and fuze for integration with 2.75in diameter rockets, Krouri says.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/rpm-on-target-for-french-tigers-385939/?cmpid=SOC%7CFGFG%7Ctwitterfeed%7CFlightglobal

There are Numerous things which need to be SORTED OUT between NOW and IOC (For all 3 versions)..Like most programs before it, challenges remain, the further it gets into testing the more of those challenges would be overcome…As of now it can also not fire any weapon , I guess that would also be an EPIC FAIL?

No. The present inability to shoot weapons is not fail, it is development.

Epic fail sorry, was self irony (referring to teenagers mmorpg players for personal reasons one can’t get on forum (i have two teenagers)). But there was an engineering fail, specially in the case of F35C tbh.