The origins of the RAFALE can be traced to joint discussions between European nations taking place in the early eighties. But in the wake of the tri-national Tornado program which had put the most emphasis on air-to-surface functions, it soon appeared that the prime requirement of participating nations other than France was predominantly on the air-to-air side.
The French Forces wanted a balanced multi-role aircraft that would be able to replace 7 types of aircraft around 2000-2010 :

- air defence missions
- reconnaissance missions
- precision strike/interdiction with conventional weapons (air-to-ground attack)
- nuclear strike

These needs were taken into account from the conception; thus it enabled the engineers, using all the new technologies, to conceive an aircraft which goes beyond objectives of each mission. Versatile and better in everything, RAFALE is truly effects multiplying.

The RAFALE has exhibited a remarkable rate of survivability during latest main French Air Force and Navy operations thank to an optimized airframe and a wide range of smart and discrete sensors. It is slated to be the French armed forces' combat aircraft until 2040 at least.