Rafale Order Finalized
(Source: Snecma; issued Oct. 12, 2004)
This announcement comes almost three months after the F1-standard Rafale (air-air) was officially declared operational by Admiral Jean-Louis Battet, Naval Chief of Staff, at a ceremony on the naval airbase of Squadron 12F in Landivisiau. This is the base to which the first production Rafales were delivered in July 2000.
Four years after this first delivery, Admiral Battet’s announcement marks the culmination of a long maturing process in which several Snecma Group companies took part each in their particular domains, ranging from propulsion to equipment. The next stage in the power ramp-up of the “omnifunction” fighter will be the delivery of F2-standard aircraft (air-air and air-ground) to the French Air Force by the end of 2004 for an operational evaluation scheduled to last until 2006.
The entry into operational service of the F1-standard Rafale M (single-seat models of the French Navy) was declared on June 25th on the Landivisiau naval airbase. This facility is the base for the 12F Squadron, the first Fleet Air Arm unit to fly these fighters, located in the Department of Finistère, Brittany. The ceremony gave Admiral Jean-Louis Battet, Naval Chief of Staff, the opportunity to underline the efforts made by the personnel of the French Navy, the DGA (General Delegation for Armament), and the various industrial players involved, in what he described as a “a maturing process spanning four years, from delivery of the first production aircraft in July 2000”.
The attainment of F3 standard, that is to say the validation of the acquisition of new operational modes, primarily concerned the electronic and weapon systems, both of which incorporate several remarkable technological advances. At the same time, dozens of modifications were made to other systems and equipment, with a view to the overall optimization of the Rafale’s performance.
To give an example of this optimization, the first M88-2 engines designed and produced by Snecma Moteurs that equipped the first Rafales delivered to 12F Squadron were provided with retrofit kits to increase the critical component lifetime and reduce fuel consumption. The Rafale engines have fully earned their reputation as true “thoroughbreds”: their power, speed of response, reliability and ease of maintenance have won over all the 12F Squadron personnel, pilots and mechanics alike.
As Lieutenant Christian Cosmo, Head of the Technical Services of the 12F Squadron, points out: “the M88-2 engines have demonstrated excellent reliability in spite of the most taxing climatic conditions: relentless heat and very high levels of humidity. Technical interventions have been very rare, and we have shown that an engine can be replaced in less than one hour. We even managed to remove and reinstall two M88-2 engines in 1 h 45 min. And the modular design of the engines has made maintenance operations considerably easier.”
Another item of equipment produced by a Snecma group company has also proved its worth, namely the landing system designed by Messier-Dowty. This landing system, the only one of its kind in the world, has a “jumper” landing gear capable of springing out when the aircraft is catapulted by the nose-gear strut. In mere fractions of a second, this gives the Rafale – the only delta / canard fighter operating from aircraft carriers – the ideal angle of attack for takeoff. Feedback on the experience in the particularly demanding operating conditions of the Navy has been very favorable, coming from thousands of catapult launch-arrested landing cycles performed by the 12F Squadron aircraft.
Having reached full operational maturity, the F1-standard Rafale has shown itself to be capable of accomplishing the entire spectrum of offensive and defensive air-air missions: air superiority (escort or sweep), sky policing (identification and inspection) and air defense of the Fleet Air Arm Group and of the national territory. The first nine aircraft of the 12F Squadron commanded by Commander Pierre Vandier have totaled more than 4,500 flying hours and 2,000 arrested landings on the Charles-de-Gaulle aircraft carrier.
The know-how acquired by the pilots and technicians of 12F now enables them to use the Rafale to the utmost of its capacities, even in extreme conditions, as they recently demonstrated between March and May during the Agapanthe 2004 deployment in the Middle East and India. The results of engagements against other fighter aircraft used by allied countries exceeded the highest expectations. According to the pilots of 12F Squadron, the Rafale is indeed an exceptional aircraft, and the score of victories obtained against F-14 Tomcats, F-15 Eagles and F/A-18 Hornets is remarkably high.
Entry of the first F2-standard Rafales B/C models (two-seater/single-seater) into service with the French Air Force by the end of 2004 will give a new impetus to the Rafale program, as the progressive build-up to omnifunction capacity is going to be accentuated with the coming deliveries. They should allow the creation of an operational evaluation unit for the new Rafales at Mont-de-Marsan as of the end of the year, and the setting up of the first squadron at Saint-Dizier in 2005. The French Navy, for its part, should start taking delivery of its first Rafale F2s in 2006, with a view to equipping a second Squadron in 2007.
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