The Rafale fighter is a French twin-engine, delta-wing, high-mobility, multi-purpose fourth-generation semi-fighter. The real advantage of the Rafale fighter lies in its multi-purpose combat capability.
In the past, no one wanted it. Now many countries are rushing to get it. The total number of orders has exceeded 200 Rafale fighters. They have proven their capabilities in many actual battles.
On 10 February 2022, Dassault stated that Indonesia had officially signed an order for 42 Rafale F4, concluding two years of negotiations with six Batch 1 aircraft, consisting of 30 single-seat and 12 double-seat.
In April 2022 Serbia canceled the deal with Russia for Su-25 fighter aircraft and plans to purchase Rafale multipurpose fighter jets from France. Currently, Serbia is negotiating for purchase of 12 new jets for a year, and later they will buy an additional 12 used Rafale from France.
On 3 December 2021, Dassault announced that the UAE had signed an order for 80 Rafale F4 in a government-to-government deal, which made the UAE the largest Rafale operator in the region and second to France.
So even though Rafale is one of the most expensive 4th generation aircraft still many countries rush to buy this aircraft even many countries reject American in favor of Rafale.
Rafale fighter is the “most comprehensive” multi-purpose fighter with balanced performance globally. It can fight in the air, attack the ground, and serve as an aircraft carrier. And can even drop nuclear bombs. In addition to the Rafale, the only new fighters in the world that belong to this type of “all-around universal fighter” are the F/A-18E/F and F-35 of the United States.
Not only that, the Rafale has been the most famous fighter jet recently. In just over a year, the sales volume has reached 182, with a total transaction value of more than 30 billion US dollars, especially 30 in Egypt and 42 in Indonesia.
Moreover, Rafale is excellent. Its most prominent bright spot is the excellent multi-purpose performance brought by its powerful load capacity, which is the most popular among buyers in the world fighter jet market. Due to the positioning of carrier-based aircraft initially, the intensity standard of Rafale is set very high. Generally, the fighter’s structural strength margin requirement is usually 50%. At the same time, therefore has reached more In other words, its extreme mount can get about 1.85 times the standard mount.
In 1983, the “Rafale” fighter aircraft began to enter the formal development; the Air Force was required to locate an all-weather multi-purpose combat model. The air-to-ground anti-ship will not be delayed. With the blessing of profound military strength, it achieved its maiden flight in only three years. The US-made F404 was used as the transitional power source in the early stage. It was later adjusted to the domestically produced Snecma M88 engine. In 1988, the French National Defense officially placed an order. Seiko produced one machine and two models, mainly considering cost savings. The Air Force uses the “Rafale” B/C version, and the Navy uses the “Rafale” M version.
The “Rafale” fighter is outfitted with a cutting-edge active phased array radar and electronic warfare equipment, giving it exceptional long-range search and electronic warfare capabilities.
The RBE-2 Active Phased Array (AESA) radar on Rafale has a maximum search distance of more than 220 kilometers. It can track 40 air targets at once and hit four of them. Simultaneously, the “Rafale” fighter has a photoelectric detecting system in front of the cockpit that can follow infrared signals hundreds of kilometers distant even when the radar is turned off. The situational awareness has improved dramatically.
All of these qualities make the first choice of many countries who wants a truly multi-role 4.5 generation fighter jet that can perform all type of missions