Rafale fighter: "invisible killer" enhances French military power
2022-09-14
"Rafale" fighter is a multi-purpose fighter integrating attack, reconnaissance and nuclear attack capabilities, with balanced performance and both sea and air. Its air, ground and sea attack capabilities are very strong. It can not only fight in the air, but also attack on the ground. It can also be used as an aircraft carrier and even drop nuclear bombs. It is called the "most comprehensive" fighter in the world. In order to deeply understand the performance and advantages of the Rafale fighter, the People's Daily Online interviewed relevant experts for interpretation. Robust Performance and Advanced Design When Dassault began to design the Rafale fighter, it took reducing its visibility as a priority for research and development. On the one hand, the Rafale fighter, which was officially in service, adopted a curved design for the inlet to cover the fan radiation surface of the M88 engine of the French Snecma, thereby reducing the probability of frontal radar detection. On the other hand, the leading edge sweepback angle (the angle between the wing and the fuselage) of the canard wing and the main engine wing is changed to make them parallel, thus reducing the diffuse reflection of radar waves in the vertical direction and avoiding radar detection. At the same time, the cockpit glass cover and cockpit cover of the Rafale fighter are coated with gold to reduce the probability of being detected by radar waves and minimize the detectability of the fighter. These changes in details make the Rafale fighter a real stealth fighter with stealth combat capability and almost ultra-low radar visibility. Professor Ma Jianguang from the international issues research center of the University of Defense Science and technology introduced that in addition to the better stealth combat performance, the Rafale fighter, as the latest main fighter in France, has also added digital operational performance. Pilots can view the latest flight and operational data at any time through the three large-scale color multi-functional displays and wide field holographic head up displays in the Rafale fighter cabin. The Rafale fighter has been produced since December 1992 due to its ill fated and frequently frustrated fate. However, due to the outbreak of the Cold War, France has put economic development and debt repayment first, and the replacement speed of the Rafale fighter has become very slow. In addition, since the end of the 1990s, Dassault has been promoting its latest 4+Rafale fighter on the international market, and has participated in foreign bidding for many times. However, in the first few years, the Rafale fighter has unfortunately failed. In recent years, France has been adopting flexible methods to form contract terms and has gained some advantages. Today, customers can choose the equipment and weapon composition of the purchased aircraft. In some competitions, France can even organize the production of equipment at the customer's site, greatly increasing the order number of Rafale fighters. In the summer of 2020, France and Greece will negotiate on the purchase of 18 Rafale fighter jets currently refitted. At the beginning of 2021, the Greek authorities approved the plan to purchase the Rafale fighter, and issued a contract at the end of January. According to its terms, France will hand over 12 existing aircraft and build 6 new ones. Distinctive advantages and some deficiencies Compared with the same period fighters, Dassault Rafale's real advantage lies in its multi-purpose combat capability. The Rafale fighter is known as the "most comprehensive fighter" in the world, and its attack capability against air, ground and sea is very strong.
Edit:Wei Li Bin Responsible editor:Yin Bing
Source:PLA Daily
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