Dassault Rafale, France by Gert Hilbink

About "Dassault Rafale, France"

by Gert Hilbink

About the artwork

The Dassault Rafale is a so-called multi-role fighter by Marcel Dassault Industries, the makers of the Mirage series. Development of this aircraft began in 1985 on behalf of the French government after France withdrew from the development of what would later become the Eurofighter Typhoon. France had held talks in the early 1980s with Germany, the UK, Italy and Spain to jointly build a fighter that could take on the then-new MiG-29 and Sukhoi Soe-27 fighters of the Soviet Union. Designing and building an aircraft together with all countries would be cheaper for everyone, but after disagreements over division of labour and operational requirements, France decided to design the Rafale alone. Equipped with two Snecma M88-2 engines, the aircraft is characterised by the canard wing arrangement similar to the Saab JAS39 Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Standard equipment on this aircraft includes:
two separate SAGEM Sigma 90 navigation and combat computers that together enable the highly accurate combination of gyro laser and GPS
an integrated Spectra-ECM electronic warfare system with all capabilities including infrared and laser options
an optronically monitored forward vision sector with automatic infrared detection, tracking video and laser telemetry
a code-protected terrain-following radar navigation system allowing undetected approach at very low flying altitudes
a Thomson-CSF RBE-2 radar navigation system
a second-generation pilot's helmet that projects all flight and threat data to the pilot
a Martin Baker MK16F zero ejection seat that can be used from the ground