AirSkyBuster : Aircraft and Airplane

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Dassault Rafale (Wallpaper 4)
4. Photo wallpaper gallery of Dassault Rafale jet fighter aircraft. 4. Dassault Rafale jet fighter aircraft. pictures and images collection.
The Rafale is now in service in the trials and training role with the French Air Force (CEAM/EC 5/330). EC 1/7 at Saint-Dizier was expected to receive a nucleus of 8–10 Rafale F2s during the summer of 2006, and was set to enter full operational service (with robust air-to-air and stand off air-to-ground precision attack capabilities) during mid-2007 (when EC 1/7 will have about 20 aircraft, 15 two-seaters and 5 single-seaters).[34] The aircraft is already in limited operational service with the French Navy (Flotille 12F) in the air-to-air role, and has undertaken a great deal of air-to-ground trials and evaluation work. The Rafale M is fully compatible with US Navy aircraft carriers and some French Navy pilots have qualified to fly the aircraft from US Navy flight decks. The first Rafale deployed in a combat zone were those of the French Navy during "Mission Héraclès", the French participation in "Operation Enduring Freedom". They flew from the Charles de Gaulle over Afghanistan as early as 2002, but the F1 standard precluded air-to-ground missions and the Rafale did not see any action. In June 2002, while Charles de Gaulle was in the Arabian Sea, armed Rafale fighters participated in interposition patrols near the India-Pakistan border, marking a significant point in the Rafale M's operational career and its integration with the carrier. In 2007, after a "crash program" enhancement six Rafales were given the ability to drop laser-guided bombs, in view of engaging them in Afghanistan. Three of these aircraft belonging to the Air Force were deployed to Dushanbe in Tajikistan, while the three others were Rafale Marines of the Navy on board the Charles De Gaulle. The first mission occurred on 12 March 2007, and the first GBU-12 was launched on 28 March in support of embattled Dutch troops in Southern Afghanistan, marking the operational début of the Rafale. They still have to rely on Mirage 2000Ds and Super Étendards carrying laser designation pods to designate their targets. The Rafale is planned to be the French Air Force's primary combat aircraft until 2040 or later.[39] In November 2009 the French government ordered an additional 60 aircraft to take the total order for the French Air Force and Navy to 180.

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Dassault Rafale (Wallpaper 3)
3. Photo wallpaper gallery of Dassault Rafale jet fighter aircraft. 3. Dassault Rafale jet fighter aircraft. pictures and images collection.
The Rafale carries, for the first time in aviation history, an integrated electronic survival system named SPECTRA which features a software-based virtual stealth technology. The most important sensor is the Thales RBE2 passive electronically scanned multi-mode radar. Thales claims to have achieved unprecedented levels of situational awareness through the earlier detection and tracking of multiple air targets for close combat and long-range interception, as well as real time generation of three-dimensional maps for terrain-following and the real time generation of high resolution ground maps for navigation and targeting. However, in those circumstances when signature management is required, the Rafale can use several passive sensor systems. The front-sector electro-optical system or Optroniques Secteur Frontal (OSF), developed by Thales, is completely integrated within the aircraft and can operate both in the visible and infrared wavelengths. The SPECTRA electronic warfare system, jointly developed by Thales and EADS France, provides the aircraft with the highest survivability assets against airborne and ground threats.[10] The real-time data link allows communication not only with other aircraft, but also with fixed and mobile command and control centres. For those missions requiring it, the Rafale will also eventually use the DAMOCLES electro-optical/laser designation pod that brings full day and night LGB capability, though the Arm%uFFFDe de l'Air's current plans call for Rafale to use stand off weapons, and for the LGB role to be handled by Mirage 2000s. The Rafale core systems employ an Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA), called MDPU (Modular Data Processing Unit). This architecture hosts all the core functions of the aircraft as Flight management system, Data Fusion, Fire Control, Man-Machine Interface, etc... The cockpit uses a Martin-Baker Mark 16F "zero-zero" ejection seat, i.e. capable of being used at zero speed and zero altitude. The seat is inclined 29 degrees backwards to improve G force tolerance. The canopy hinges open to the right. An on-board oxygen generating system is provided to eliminate the need for multiple oxygen canisters.

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Dassault Rafale (Wallpaper 2)
2. Photo wallpaper gallery of Dassault Rafale jet fighter aircraft. 2. Dassault Rafale jet fighter aircraft. pictures and images collection.
The Rafale features a delta wing combined with an active forward canard to maximize maneuverability (withstanding 9G or -3G) while maintaining stability in flight; the forward canard also reduces landing speed to 115 knots. The aircraft can operate from 400 meter runways. The Rafale is a twin-engined, delta-wing, multirole fighter designed and built by France’s Dassault Aviation. Available in single- or two-seat variants and as a single-seat carrier-capable fighter, the Rafale entered service with the French navy in late 2000 and the French air force in 2004. Powered by two Snecma M88 turbofans (prototype examples used two General Electric F404-400s), the Rafale has a top speed of over Mach 1.8 (1,900km/h) and a combat radius of 1,000nm (1,850km). The Rafale can carry a variety of weapons on its 14 hardpoints, including MBDA’s Mica air-to-air missile, AM39 Exocet anti-ship missile and ASMP-A nuclear weapon, and Raytheon’s GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb. The type is also slated to receive MBDA’s developmental Meteor beyond visual-range air-to-air missile. Cockpit equipment includes Thales’s Spectra integrated avionics suite. The origins of the Rafale can be traced back to discussions between European nations in the late 1970s which would eventually produce the Eurofighter Typhoon. The differing requirements of the individual nations led to France going it alone with the Rafale, the first prototype of which flew in early 1986.

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Dassault Rafale (Wallpaper 1)
1. Photo wallpaper gallery of Dassault Rafale jet fighter aircraft. 1. Dassault Rafale jet fighter aircraft. pictures and images collection.
The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine delta-wing multi-role jet fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Introduced in 2000, the Rafale is being produced both for land-based use with the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations with the French Navy. It has also been marketed for export to several countries but has not yet received orders. In the late 1970s, the Air Force and Navy were seeking replacements for its aircraft. To save development costs, France agreed with four other nations to produce an air dominance fighter, but subsequent disagreements led to a split. To satisfy stringent criteria formulated by the Ministry of Defense, Dassault built a technology demonstrator to prove the viability of its new product. Further development led to the current Rafale variants, which embody innovative avionics and aerodynamics, optimised for air supremacy operations. In the mid-1970s, both the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) and Navy (Aéronavale) had requirements for a new generation of fighters to replace those in or about to enter service. Because their requirements were similar, and to reduce cost, both departments issued a common request for proposal. Meanwhile, Italy, Spain, West Germany, France and the United Kingdom agreed to jointly develop a new fighter, although the latter three had their own aircraft developments. A number of factors led to the eventual split between France and the four countries. It wanted Dassault to lead the grouping; moreover, France demanded a swing-role 9-tonne (20,000 lb) fighter, while the other four were committed to a heavier aircraft, weighing more than 10 tonnes (22,000 lb). For these reasons, France and the other nations split in 1985, after which France committed to its own design. These nations would develop what would later be named the Eurofighter Typhoon. Back in France, the government proceed with its own programme. The French Ministry of Defense required an aircraft capable of air-to-air and air-to-ground, all-day and adverse weather operations. It would perform roles previously filled by an assortment of dedicated platforms, including the Jaguar, F-8P Crusader, Mirage F1C/R/T, Mirage 2000/N, Etendard IVPM and Super Etendard. In June 1982, Dassault announced it was developing a successor to the Mirage 2000. On 13 April 1983, France awarded Dassault a contract for two Avion de Combat eXpérimental (ACX) demonstrators, later revised down to one. The resultant Rafale A technology demonstrator was a large-delta winged fighter, with all-moving foreplanes, embodying fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control system. The technology demonstrator was rolled out in December 1985 in Saint-Cloud, in a ceremony led by Marcel Dassault. The aircraft made its maiden flight on 4 July 1986 from Istres with General Electric F404-GE-400 afterburning turbofans found on the F-18 Hornet, instead of the Snecma M88, to reduce the risk that often come with a first flight, and since the M88 was not considered sufficiently mature for the initial trials programme. It was not until May 1990 when it replaced the port F404 in the demonstrator, thereafter it reached Mach 1.4 and demonstrated supercruise. After 865 sorties, Rafale A was retired in January 1994. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union, signalling the end of the Cold War, the French government considerably cut the defense budget. This resulted in the reorganisation of the Air Force, the phasing out of the Mirage 5F and the decision to upgrade 55 Mirage F1Cs to tactical fighter configuration, the Mirage F1CT. Budgets that would otherwise have been spent on the Rafale program were instead diverted elsewhere.