Next: Rafale F4?

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Rafale looks to the future

The development contract for the F3-R version of the Rafale was awarded on 30th December – a major step forward on the path to qualification in 2018.

Le 23/01/2014 à 16:44 / Par Guillaume Steuer

AIR & COSMOS

AESA radar, multi-mission capability, data fusion … the Rafale is without doubt a step ahead of its European rivals Typhoon and Gripen. The F3 standard in 2008 gave the aircraft the multi-role capability that had been planned from the outset of the programme. So what’s next ?

The new F3-R standard should be qualified by the French defence procurement agency (DGA) in 2018. An initial risk-reduction contract had been awarded at the end of 2012, in order to define the scope of the new standard, which had always been planned as a software upgrade. That means it can be installed on all the Rafales delivered to date.

Under the pressure of budget constraints, the F3-R standard was ultimately defined as a minimal standard, ensuring the workload of industry design bureaux while keeping the aircraft competitive on the export market. Rafale programme director Marc Howyan says a total of around one billion euros has been earmarked for work on the F3-R standard and this will « irrigate » the entire fighter aircraft industrial sector.

New-generation laser designator pod.

The new standard represents a step forward in two main sectors : air-to-air combat and air-to-ground targeting. In the latter case, the integration of the PDL NG new-generation laser designator pod should overcome the limitations of the current Damocles pod. Howyan notes that the PDL NG development and integration schedule is the tightest part of the F3-R programme. In just four years, Thales has to develop a new pod and integrate it onto the aircraft alongside Dassault. Even though risk-reduction work has already been completed, it still represents a major challenge, which will mobilise the majority of ground and in-flight test resources.

(Aircraft B340 was one of the first Rafales to be fitted with the new AESA radar.)

On the other hand, if the PDL NG lives up to its promise, it wll bring a significant boost in performance over the Damocles pod, with the addition of an enhanced-resolution infrared matrix, a new TV channel and compliance with new close air support standards. The only regret is that the total acquisition has been cut from 45 units to 20. Consequently, the total cost, initially estimated at €450 million (not included in the €1 billion for development of the F3-R), will have to be revised downward.

The Meteor missile, which recently gained final qualification by the six partner nations, constitutes the other major « building block » of the F3-R standard. According to Howyan, Meteor integration could be complete by mid-2017. French Rafales will be able to carry two Meteors, on the rear lateral fuselage points currently reserved for the Mica.

Meteor missile integration.

Following initial separation trials in October 2012, the real integration work should get under way this year. Several firings will be necessary to validate the man-machine interface and the aircraft/missile datalink with both versions of the radar, though it is the AESA radar that will able to fully exploit the potential of the new weapon, whose maximum range is thought to be well in excess of 100 km. On the negative side, the French acquisition target was reduced by half in the latest round of budget adjustments, which means that only 100 missiles will be ordered. According to the DGA, however, an option has been negotiated for the possible order of a fresh batch of missiles after 2019.

Though the scope of the F3-R standard has been defined on a minimum basis, it is not limited to the PDL NG and Meteor. Howyan indicates that other modifications are planned, such as a Link 16 upgrade, integration of a Mode 5-compatible IFF and the acquisition of a new in-flight refuelling pod for French Navy Rafales. Furthermore, given that no intermediate standard is planned between F3.4+ and F3-R, the forces have asked to receive some of the modifications under F3-R before 2018. Howyan indicates that intermediate steps have been negotiated in 2016 and 2017 so that users can benefit from improvements in electronic warfare systems and in the operation of the RBE2PESA radar.

(M39, seen here at Hyères, is the first Navy Rafale from the fourth production batch.)

Programme officials indicate that the DGA currently aims to fully qualify the F3-R standard by mid-2018, but the DGA, industry and the armed forces are already looking beyond that. The Head of the DGA, Laurent Collet-Billon, tells Air&Cosmos that Rafale F3-R and F4 and the FCAS UCAV demonstrator are guided by the same “investment logic”, which is to ensure that combat aviation continues to develop at the highest level, with a resolutely open architecture. He adds that this also ensures a product line in the long term that meets the requirements of the export market.

Next: Rafale F4?

Two major targets for this future software upgrade are already clear: development/integration of upgraded versions of current weapons (Mica, Scalp, ASMP-A), and interoperability. A number of preliminary studies are in progress to mature some of the technologies that will be needed for this hypothetical Rafale F4: enhanced performance of the AESA radar and the Spectra electronic warfare system, increased connectivity, as well as reduced global cost of ownership. There is no shortage of ideas, pending the arrival of a future mid-life upgrade around 2030, which will probably entail a variety of modifications, such as cockpit renovation or the integration of “stealth kits”.

In the meantime, the Rafale continues to go about its operational duties in the French Air Force and Navy. In 2013, both forces received their first aircraft from the fourth, “4T” production batch with the new AESA version of the RBE2 radar. For the Air Force, entry into operational service of this new capacity with 1/7 fighter squadron “Provence” is targeted for early this year.The first Rafale AESA (M39) for the Aéronautique navale arrived in early December at the CEPA test centre at Istres for completion of naval air trials.

In Autumn 2014, the DGA should qualify a new intermediate standard which, in theory, will be the last before the arrival of the F3-R. Designated F3.4+, it includes “improvements in air-to-air fire control, man-machine interface and terrain-following during transitions from radar modes to digital data”, according to an Air Force source. Modifications have also been introduced in flight safety, with the introduction of an unusual-position warning system and an emergency brake energy management system. The F3.4+ standard should be operational with the French forces in 2015, on completion of trials at the CEAM and CEPA test centres.

(English version by Duncan Macrae)