The Rafale, the French aerospace industry’s flagship, is the perfect embodiment of the concept of national sovereignty. It is the result of strategic know-how: the design and complete autonomous control of a state-of-the-art air combat system to guarantee operational independence, an essential condition for security and deterrence in the face of major threats.
Designed from the outset as a true military superiority system, the Rafale is capable of combining air superiority, ground attack, nuclear deterrence, reconnaissance and long-range power projection in a single mission. This versatility, combined with a capacity for continuous development thanks to regular updates, ensures that France has a cutting-edge military tool that is adapted to current and future threats.
In operations, the Rafale has demonstrated its ability to operate far from home territory, illustrating the freedom of strategic action it gives France and the countries that use it.
The Rafale also supports a national industrial and technological ecosystem, mobilising thousands of highly skilled jobs and stimulating innovation in key sectors such as aeronautics, electronics and motorization. Each order, whether domestic or export, strengthens the Defence Industrial and Technological Base (BITD), a pillar of France’s strategic independence.
On the export front, the Rafale has been chosen by 8 countries to equip their Armed Forces – Egypt, for 55 Rafale; India, for 36 Rafale for the Indian Air Force and 26 Rafale for the Indian Navy; Qatar, for 36 Rafale; Greece, for 12 aircraft previously in service with the French Air and Space Force and 12 new Rafale, Croatia, for 12 Rafale previously in service with the French Air and Space Force, the United Arab Emirate, for 80 Rafale Standard F4, Indonesia, for 42 Rafale and Serbia, for 12 Rafale
The Rafale contributes, as it does for France, to the sovereignty of the countries that are operating it, strengthening their position on a regional and international scale by enabling them to remain masters of their choices in terms of defence, employment doctrine and capability modernisation.
This independence of decision-making is a major asset at a time when geopolitical balances are in flux, and freedom of action depends on mastery of technology.
The Air Force single-seat Rafale C, the Air Force two-seat Rafale B, and the Navy single-seat Rafale M feature maximum airframe and equipment commonality, and very similar mission capabilities.
A true ‘force multiplier’, developed from the outset to replace seven types of aircraft while carrying out all the missions assigned to them, the Rafale has proved remarkably effective in recent operations by the French Air and Space Force and the French Navy.
Thanks to its versatility, its adaptability and its ability to meet all air mission requirements, including for high intensity warfare, the Rafale is the “poster child” transformational fighter which provides a way forward to air forces confronted to the requirement of doing “more” with “less”, in an ever-changing strategic and economic environment.
It will be the fighter aircraft of the French armed forces beyond 2060.