dassault aviation • snecma • thales rafale ......the rafale omnirole fighter’s main air-to-air...

8
PIT STOP RAFALE INTERNATIONAL Maintaining operational combat readiness can be expensive. It’s why Rafale is designed to be fully, quickly serviceable by a reduced ground crew. Compare that to the maintenance requirements of other late-generation fighters. And then carefully calculate the impact Rafale’s better design can have on your total life-cycle costs and dispatch reliability. Rafale. A generation ahead. Rafale. The OMNIROLE fighter . Dassault Aviation • Snecma • Thales RAFALE INTERNATIONAL D A S S A U L T A V I A T I O N - S N E C M A - T H A L E S N°11 FOX THREE

Upload: others

Post on 08-Apr-2020

20 views

Category:

Documents


2 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Dassault Aviation • Snecma • Thales RAFALE ......The Rafale omnirole fighter’s main air-to-air weapon, the MICA (Missile d’Interception, de Combat et d’Autodéfense, Interception,

PIT STOP

RAFALEINTERNATIONAL

Maintaining operational combat readiness can be expensive. It’s why Rafale is designedto be fully, quickly serviceable by a reduced ground crew. Compare that to the maintenance requirements of other late-generation fighters. And then carefully calculate the impact Rafale’s better design can have on your total life-cycle costsand dispatch reliability. Rafale. A generation ahead. Rafale. The OMNIROLE fighter.

D a s s a u l t A v i a t i o n • S n e c m a • T h a l e s

RAFALEINTERNATIONAL

D A S S A U L T A V I A T I O N - S N E C M A - T H A L E S N°11

FOXTHREE

Page 2: Dassault Aviation • Snecma • Thales RAFALE ......The Rafale omnirole fighter’s main air-to-air weapon, the MICA (Missile d’Interception, de Combat et d’Autodéfense, Interception,

The Rafale omnirole fighter’s main air-to-air weapon, the MICA (Missile d’Interception,de Combat et d’Autodéfense, Interception, Combat and Self-Defence Missile), is anadvanced missile which provides unique capabilities. The fire-and-forget MICA wasdeveloped as a multi-target multi-mission multi-wave weapon to replace both theacclaimed short-range, IR-guided Magic 2 and the long-range, radar-guided Super530D arming the Mirage 2000.

Summary

Editorial

In the 11th issue of Fox Free, The

Rafale Team is proud to report that the

Rafale has been engaged in combat for

the first time. During the last couple

of months, French Navy and French

Air Forces Rafales have successfully

participated in combat operations over

Afghanistan and have provided fire

support to NATO ground troops on

numerous occasions, scoring direct hits

with remarkable accuracy.

The “FOX THREE” Team

p.3/5 p.6/11

Unfair Advantage Engaged in combat

p.12-13

With the navy

p.14/15

A bright future

FOXTHREE 3

UNFAIR ADVANTAGE

PEMA 2b - Crédit photos : F. Robineau • K.Tokunaga • A.Paringaux • HP.Grolleau • Dassault Aviation – Sirpa Air – Sirpa Marine - Print : Aviaplans. This document is not contractual and cannot engage the responsability of the industrial partners in any matter. Dassault Aviation and the industrial partners reserve the right to modify any herein indicated characteristics without prior notice.

Page 3: Dassault Aviation • Snecma • Thales RAFALE ......The Rafale omnirole fighter’s main air-to-air weapon, the MICA (Missile d’Interception, de Combat et d’Autodéfense, Interception,

MICA RF

With its Thales AD4A activeradar homing head, the MICARF is fully autonomous afterlaunch so that a pilot can eitherengage several targets simul-taneously or immediately turnaway after a shot, reducingthe time spent in a potentiallydangerous area or denyingthe enemy aircraft any firingpossibility. Its high impulseProtac motor ensures very longrange, and the short propulsiontime considerably reduces thelikelihood of visual detection.The fighter/missile datalinkpermits beyond-visual rangeinterceptions with a remarkableprobability kill percentage.After launch, the MICA climbsto very high level where itsaerodynamic configurationminimises drag and signifi-cantly increases range.In the Rafale, interception and

firing data are calculated fornumerous priority targets whichcan be engaged with MICABVR / air combat active radarseeker missiles shot in quicksuccession. With its electronicscanning antenna, the ThalesRBE2 radar is fully capable oftracking another great number

of targets while updating theMICAs via the dedicated, mid-course, secure, radar-to-

missile links which enable verylong-range multiple firings with an exceptionally highprobabi l i ty k i l l ra te, evenagainst hard manoeuvringenemy fighters. This gives theRafale a unique combined situational awareness andcombat capability/efficiency

while considerably reducingaircrew workload, especiallyin complex tactical situations.

Interception and Combat

P r o d u c e d b y M B D A , t h eextremely advanced MICA iscapable of both beyond visualrange interceptions and close-updogfights, a crucial advan-tage for air- to-air combat.Thanks to its thrust vectoringvanes and long-cord wings,this lightweight (246 lb, 112kg) weapon has excellent rangeand manoeuvrability, even athigh angle of attack. This trans-la tes in to a ver y h igh k i l l probability against hard turningtargets at very long ranges.Du r i n g t h e d e v e l opmen t programme, the MICA hasbeen tested in very demanding

environment, and the tr ial programme culminated in theengagement by two MICAsfired from one fighter of twowidely separated targets usingcountermeasures.Two variants of the MICA arenow in service with French AirForce and Navy Rafales: theradar-guided MICA RF (Radio-Frequency) and infrared-guidedMICA IR. The interchangeableseekers ensure a massive reduc-tion in direct operating andmain tenance cos t s as the a i r f rames, warheads andmotors are the same for bothvariants, the only differenceb e i n g t h e s e e k e r . M o r e significantly, the availabilityof two guidance systems offers

enhanced tactical flexibility,and hampers enemy counter-measure selection, both MICAseekers also having excellentcoun t e r - c oun t e r mea su r e capabilities. When under aRafale's MICA threat, a targetwould have difficulties choosingbetween two very differenttypes of defensive tactics.On t he Ra fa l e , t he M ICA m i s s i l e s a re f i t t ed t o two hardpoints under the sides ofthe rear fuselage, and to wingpylons and wing-tip points.The fuselage-mounted MICAscan be ejected at up to 4 gwhereas the wing-mountedmissiles can be rail-launchedat up to 9 g.

MICA IR

The extremely manoeuvrableMICA IR m i s s i l e has nowbecome the Rafale’s standardshort-range IR-guided air-to-air missile. Over the years,the successive developmento f var ious genera t ions o finfrared sensors for the Matra530, Magic 1 and Magic 2missiles has allowed Frenchspecialists to design a highly-effective passive, dual-bandimagery IR seeker for the MICA

IR. Compared with the otherIR-guided missiles, the MICAIR has been fitted with a seeker

that is fully autonomous forcooling.In hard manoeuvring combat,the MICA IR allows both lockbefore launch or lock afterlaunch attacks to be performed.In the lock after launch mode,off-axis shots and even ‘over-the-shoulder’ interceptions canbe undertaken if required todefeat an aircraft approachingfrom behind. The IR seeker hasmany advantages for such a long range missile. It has excellent angular resolutionand countermeasure resist -ance - thanks to dual bandimagery - and is totally stealthy:when used in conjunction withthe Rafale’s revolutionary FrontSector Optronics system, thepassive homing head enables‘silent’ interceptions withouttell - tale radar emissions tobetray the fighter’s position;a c lear i l l u s t ra t ion o f t heR a f a l e ' s mu l t i p l e c o v e r t

interception tactics.A v e r t i c a l l y l a u n c h e dnaval/ land var iant o f theMICA, the VL MICA, is on offerf o r b o t h n a v a l a n d l a n d a p p l i c a t i o n s . T h e n a v a l configuration comprises avarying number of missileshoused in vertically-mountedcontainers for ship defenceagainst saturation attacks. Theland version is adapted to atruck, and could prove highlyefficient to defend high-valuestatic targets such as air basesor refineries. Using either IRor active RF seekers, the VLMICA system is claimed to becapable of engaging up toeight different targets spreadover a 360 degree arc in lessthan 12 seconds. The VL MICAand the airborne MICA arefully interchangeable, helpingreduce costs of ownershipw h e n b o t h v a r i a n t s a r e purchased by a single country.

FOXTHREE 54 FOXTHREE

UNFAIR ADVANTAGE

Page 4: Dassault Aviation • Snecma • Thales RAFALE ......The Rafale omnirole fighter’s main air-to-air weapon, the MICA (Missile d’Interception, de Combat et d’Autodéfense, Interception,

In early October 2006, the French Ministry of Defenceannounced an urgent operational requirement for the adop-tion of laser-guided weapons on French Air Force Rafales.The anticipated rise of Taliban activity in Afghanistan in thespring had led to the decision to fit the Rafale with the 500lbs-class GBU-12 / 22 laser-guided bombs. Standard F2Rafales then in service with the Air Force and the Navywere capable of f ir ing Scalp cruise missi les, AASM modular stand-off precision weapons and Mica air-to-airmissiles, but it was felt that a GBU-12-class weapon wouldprove ideal in Afghanistan where laser designation wasadapted due to stringent rules of engagement. Accordingly,a feasibility study was launched by the Defence ProcurementAgency and Dassault Aviation. In less than a month, DassaultAviation engineers developed a technical solution to integrate the GBU-12 and GBU-22 bombs on the Rafale.The technical proposal was accepted and the ‘Echo’ project

was off icial ly launched on 17 November 2006, the contract signed with Dassault calling for an entry intoservice as soon as possible with both the Armée de l’Air andthe Marine Nationale. To cut development time, it hadbeen decided not to equip the Rafale with a laser designationpod . I n s t ead , t he a i r c rews re l y on buddy - la s i ng , the cooperative technique where another fighter holds a laserspot on a target so that it can be struck by weapons droppedfrom the Rafale. Alternatively, a forward air controller on the ground - or a suitably trained special forces commando- could designate targets for the Rafales. It should be noted,however, that, from early 2009, the Standard F3 Rafaleswill be fitted with a Damoclès laser designation pod underthe right forward fuselage hardpoint. The introduction ofthe Damoclès targeting pod will allow Rafale aircrews toself-designate targets at extended ranges, both in daytimeand at night.

RAFALE COMBAT PROVENThe Rafale omnirole fighter was engaged in combat for the first time in March 2007 by French Air Force and French Navy aviators.

FOXTHREE 76 FOXTHREE

Flight testing

Capitalising on a series oftrials already carried out byDassault in 2001, the ‘Echo’d e v e l o p m e n t a n d t e s t programme moved forwardvery rapidly to comply withthe expected release dates.The project was a total suc-cess, only 15 sorties beingr e q u i r e d f o r t h e f l i g h t envelope expansion and theweapons-separation test/firingtrials which culminated withthe qualification live firings,at Cazaux, in mid-February2007. Trials were carried out

wi th a combat load of s ix GBU-12s, three 2000-litre fueltanks, and four Mica air-to-airm i s s i l e s fo r in te rcep t ion ,combat and self-defence. Ittook Dassault less than fourmonths to deliver the completeLGB package to the armedforces , inc lud ing a i rc ra f t modifications and armourerst ra i n i ng . The Ra fa l e wasdeclared operational with thelaser-guided bombs in earlyMarch 2007 after some 15GBU-12s had been dropped byNavy and Air Force aircrewsfor evaluation and trainingpurposes.

A total of six Navy and AirForce Standard F2 Rafalesdeployed to Afghanistan, thethree Armée de l’Air two-seatfighters flying into Dushanbe,in Tadzhikistan, on the 12thof March 2007 while the threeMarine Nationale single-seataircraft had joined the Charlesde Gaulle’s carrier air groupat Djibouti a few days earlier,bringing the overall numbero f Ra f a l e s i n t h e a r ea t o f i f teen, including the nineStandard F1 aircraft used forair-defence and buddy-buddyrefuelling missions from theFrench Navy flagship.

Page 5: Dassault Aviation • Snecma • Thales RAFALE ......The Rafale omnirole fighter’s main air-to-air weapon, the MICA (Missile d’Interception, de Combat et d’Autodéfense, Interception,

FOXTHREE 9

Page 6: Dassault Aviation • Snecma • Thales RAFALE ......The Rafale omnirole fighter’s main air-to-air weapon, the MICA (Missile d’Interception, de Combat et d’Autodéfense, Interception,

Into combat

At Dushanbe, Air Force Rafaleswere usually equipped withfour GBU-12s and two 2000-litre drop tanks only. With noperceived air threat, Mica missiles were not fitted. Fromearly May 2007, the 30 mmcannon was declared opera-t iona l and, f rom then on,Rafales flew with 125 rounds,ready to respond to any call forstrafing. “The Rafales alwaysope ra t e w i t h t h e M i rage

2000Ds as a mixed force,each pair comprising a Rafaleand a Mirage, explains ColonelFrançois Moussez, French AirForce Rafale Project Officer.We usually launch two wavesper day, one in the morning,and one in the afternoon, withmission duration varying from4 h 30 min to 6 h 30 min.Overall availability has beenexcellent since the beginningof the deployment, and wehave not cancelled any singlemission due to mechanical

problems. On average, about50 sor t ies are f lown eachmonth, wi th each ai rcraf t l o gg i ng abou t 80 f l y i ng hours per month. The initialm a i n t e n a n c e t e a m w a s composed of 50 engineers,but experience shows that wewill be able to significantlycut down that number soon.A l l m a i n t e n a n c e d a t a i s transmitted back to France viaa mil i tar y satel l i te l ink forstorage and analysis.”

FOXTHREE 1110 FOXTHREE

A giant leap forward

For the French Air Force, theintroduction of the Rafale overAfghanistan represents a majorcapability boost. “Comparedwith the Mirage 2000, theRafale offers a much longerrange and a much h igher payload, with up to six GBUsavailable per aircraft insteadof two for the Mirage, stressesColonel Moussez. With its L16datalink, the Rafale easilyp l ugs i n t o command and control networks and tacticaldata is routinely exchangedvia datalink with USAF F-15EEagles and US Navy F/A-18Hornets. Situational aware-ness is significantly improvedby the L16, a crucial advantagefor flight safety in a country

where the number of air-trafficcontrol radars is rather low.The Rafale’s electronic scanningradar is also an essential toolfor combat e f fec t iveness ,allowing tankers and otherfighters to be detected at verylong ranges.”The Rafale aircrews did nothave to wait long to becomecombat proven. The first GBU-12 firings were carried out bya Navy Rafale on Wednesday28 March 2007 when twobombs were de l i ve red in support of Dutch troops on theground. The laser illuminationwas prov ided by a SuperEtendard Modernisé. Two daysla ter, an Air Force Rafa leworking in conjunction with aMirage 2000D dropped forthe f i rs t t ime a GBU-12 to

provide fire support to NATOground forces. Since then, theRafales have delivered a largenumber of weapons in combatwith outstanding precision.The Rafale omnirole fighterwas engaged into combat eightm o n t h s o n l y a f t e r b e i n gdeclared operational by theFrench Air Force, an achieve-ment which has attracted a loto f i n t e r e s t f r o m f o r e i g nobservers. Since the beginningof the deployment, the Rafale’savailability rate has continu-ously been better than 90%and t he a i r c r ews d id no t experience any difficulty inte-g r a t i n g i n t o a c o m p l e x command network thanks tothe fighter’s advanced systemsand s ta t e - o f - t he -a r t man -machine interface.

RAFALE ENGAGED IN COMBAT

Page 7: Dassault Aviation • Snecma • Thales RAFALE ......The Rafale omnirole fighter’s main air-to-air weapon, the MICA (Missile d’Interception, de Combat et d’Autodéfense, Interception,

INTO COMBAT WITH THE NAVYIn May 2006, the first Standard F2 Rafale M omnirole fighter was delivered to the

French Navy Operational Evaluation Unit, at Mont-de-Marsan, in the South of France.

Compared with earlier Standard F1 Rafales in service with Flottille 12F (the first Navy

Rafale squadron), the improved Standard F2 offers expanded capabilities thanks to the

introduction of the L16 datalink, the Front Sector Optronics, the MICA IR air-to-air

missile, the AASM modular air-to-surface armament and the Scalp cruise missile.

In December 2006, the Navy Operational Evaluation Unitwas ordered to get ready for a deployment to the Afghantheatre of operation. At the time, the unit was busy devisingnew tactics and operational procedures to prepare thenew version’s entry into front-line service. The OEU’s effortsimmediately switched to the introduction of the GBU-12laser-guided bomb as part of the urgent operational requi-

rement. By early March 2007, the Navy Rafales had beenmodified and the fully trained detachment was ready todeploy to Afghanistan with three aircraft and five pilots. Atthe time, the Charles de Gaulle nuclear aircraft carrierwas already off Djibouti, and the three Standard F2 Rafaleshad to trap aboard after a seven-hour high-altitude transitwith the help of French Air Force C-135FR tankers.

Short notice deployment

The French Navy Rafale operations over Afghanistan werea total success, and thirty missions were flown with a 100%dispatch rate, the first GBU-12 firing being recorded onWednesday 28 March 2007. “On average, mission dura-tion was just over five hours, with tanker support providedby French Navy Standard F1 Rafales, Royal Air ForceTristars, and US Air Force KC-10s and KC-135s, explainsthe Commanding Officer of the French Navy OperationalEvaluation Unit. We normally flew with four GBU-12s andtwo 1250-litre drop tanks. With no air threats, no air-to-airmissile was required. Missions were flown in conjunctionwith Super Etendard strike fighters. Thanks to the Rafale’sadvanced man-machine interface, we did not experienceany difficulty operating in such a complex operationalenvironment in a single-seater. With the L16, we automa-

tically exchanged data with other assets in the area, andour RBE2 electronic scanning radar and our Front SectorOptronics proved invaluable for flight safety. The FSO wasalso very useful to identify at standoff distances which aircraft in a box was our allocated tanker. The Rafale’sexcellent bring-back capability was a real bonus, and wecould trap aboard the carrier with four GBU-12s and 1700kg of fuel, which gave us a much improved safety margincompared with that of our Super Etendard colleagues.”The Rafale is now firmly in service with Flottille 12F and theunit recently passed a significant milestone when the 10000flying hour mark was reached. In 2008, the first StandardF3 Rafale M will be delivered to the French Navy and,under current plans, the second Naval Rafale squadronwill be created in 2009.

Single-seaters

FOXTHREE 1312 FOXTHREE

Page 8: Dassault Aviation • Snecma • Thales RAFALE ......The Rafale omnirole fighter’s main air-to-air weapon, the MICA (Missile d’Interception, de Combat et d’Autodéfense, Interception,

FOXTHREE 1514 FOXTHREE

In late 2006, it was announced that a contract had been signed forthe development of an improved variant of the Rafale omnirole fighter.

A BRIGHT FUTURE

Damoclès and AESA

As part of the Rafale ‘roadmap’, French Air Force andFrench Navy Standard F3Rafales will be equipped fromearly 2009 with the Damoclèslaser designation pod. At thesame time, the current inventoryof 250 kg-class GBU-12 andGBU-22 LGBs will be expandedwith the entry into front linese r v ice o f t he much morepowerful, 1000 kg-class GBU-24. P r oduced by T ha l e s , t h eDamoclès is a state-of-the-arttargeting pod fitted with a 3rdgenera t ion s ta r ing a r ray

infrared detector. The intro-duction of the Damoclès willallow Rafale pilots to self-desi-gnate targets at substantiallygreater ranges and higher altitudes than earlier systems.Its excellent resolution meansit can also be used for battledamage assessment and stand-off reconnaissance. F r om 2012 , t h e Ra fa l e ’s current electronic scanningRBE2 radar will be fitted witha new gene ra t i on Ac t i veElectronic Scanning Arraywhich wil l of fer increaseddetection range and betterangular coverage in azimuth.The Thales AESA will prove

idea l fo r opera t ions wi th the Meteor, a long - range interception missile now beingtested by MBDA. The AESAradar array will be made up ofm o r e t h a n 1 , 0 0 0 t r a n s -mitter/receiver modules sothat several can fail with nosignificant degradation in acuity.It will further contribute to theRafale’s excellent reliability.The RBE2’s open architecturewill facilitate upgrading, andthe new AESA array is totally‘plug and play’, switching fromthe passive to the active arrayconfiguration taking less thantwo weeks.

FSO-IT and MWS-NG

Improvements will not be limitedto the radar, however, andnew variants of the Front SectorOptronics and of the MissileWarning System will be intro-duced in 2012.FSO-IT (Front Sector Optronics-Improved Technolgies) is a further step of the current FSOwith which pilots are able tocovertly detect targets at verylong ranges and to identifythem at stand-off distances.The FSO has already provedits wor th during numerous

NATO exercises (Tiger Meetand Ta c t i c a l L eade r s h i pProgramme) and recent combatoperations over Afghanistan,providing Rafale aircrews withunprecedented si tuationalawareness. The new variantwill offer outstanding perfor-mance levels and will contributeto an even better understandingof the tactical situation.T h e M W S - N G ( M i s s i l eW a r n i n g S y s t e m - N e wGeneration) will benefit fromt h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f n e w technologies which will signi-ficantly ameliorate its detection

and warning capabi l i t iesthanks to a lower false alarmra te and to an i nc reased detection range. As a result, thesurvivability of the Rafale willbe further boosted.With the adoption of cuttingedge technology, the Rafalewill become more lethal, moresurvivable, more reliable andmore affordable, and FrenchAir Force and French Navyaviators will be well armedand prepared to face futurethreats.