Serving armed forces
Dassault Aviation delivers what’s needed to meet current and future strategic challenges. France, Egypt, Qatar and India have all chosen Rafale fighters for their armed forces. We have now delivered 175 Rafales out of the 276 ordered, including 96 in export markets.
Rafale France
France has ordered a total of 180 Rafales, with 152 delivered as of December 31, 2018. A fifth batch of 30 more aircraft is expected in the 2019-2025 military spending bill.
The Rafale has now logged a total of 270,000 flight-hours, including 43,000 hours in operation, making it one of the world’s most seasoned combat aircraft. Flown by both French air force and navy pilots, the Rafale has demonstrated its outstanding versatility and combat effectiveness in a wide range of demanding theaters of operation, including Afghanistan from 2007 to 2012, Libya in 2011, and the Sahel, Iraq and Syria since 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. The Rafale can handle a variety of missions that previously required seven different types of aircraft.
The Rafale was designed from the ground up to incorporate new capabilities throughout its service life, based on operating feedback. The new F3-R standard will enter service in 2019, with features including the Meteor air-to-air missile, the Talios laser designation pod and a new version of the AASM guided missile.
Ongoing upgrades: Rafale F4
December 2018, the Rafale F4 standard will be finalized in 2024, with some functions already available in 2022. F4 will feature innovative connectivity solutions to maximize the Rafale’s effectiveness in networked combat. It also includes upgraded sensors (radar, OSF search & track system) and helmet-mounted display, along with new weapons (Mica NG, 1,000-kg AASM). Another new feature will be a new prognosis and diagnostic- aid system, introducing for the first time predictive maintenance capabilities. Other solutions to optimize maintenance are planned, including those based on big data and artificial intelligence. Lastly, the Rafale F4 will be outfitted with a new electronic engine control unit.
Export markets
Egypt, the first export customer for the Rafale, ordered 24 aircraft in 2015. By the end of 2018, 23 had been delivered.
Deliveries to Qatar kicked off in February 2019. Doha ordered 36 Rafales, including 24 in 2015 then another 12 in 2018, with an option on 36 more aircraft.
For India, a loyal customer for the last 65 years, the order for 36 Rafales is proceeding on schedule, and they will be delivered starting in 2019.
Special-mission Falcons
For France, we are now preparing the Falcon CUGE intelligence and electronic warfare program, announced in March 2018.
French defense procurement agency DGA also chose us to carry out the detailed design study for the navy’s future maritime surveillance and intervention aircraft (AVSIMAR), based on the Falcon 2000LXS. For maritime reconnaissance, the Falcon 2000 MSA/MRA version provides the best combination of size, payload, speed, range and cost of ownership. It features an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.
The Japan Coast Guard is set to receive its first Falcon 2000MSA in 2019, and ordered a fifth aircraft of this type in 2018.
Rafale M and Falcon 50 in flight © Dassault Aviation – A. Pecchi