The French Ministry of Armed Forces has announced the order for 42 Rafales for the Air and Space Force. The press release read,
The Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) has notified the companies Dassault Aviation, Thales, Safran and MBDA of the contract for the 5th production tranche of the Rafale program.
It includes the production of 42 aircraft, in single-seat version to the F4 standard, intended for the Air and Space Force.
The aircraft will be equipped with the latest generation combat aviation technologies corresponding to the F4 standard. It is a standard whose development was launched in 2018 and which strengthens the so-called collaborative combat capabilities of the devices.
The Rafale is modernized and adapted to the changing needs of armies and new threats, with the aim of remaining at the best technological and operational level, by successive standards.
The Rafales will be equipped with the most modern equipment allowing armies to benefit from enhanced connectivity and self-protection capabilities. With this order, a new step has been taken towards collaborative and connected air combat.
The devices will be in a single-seat version, and intended for the Air and Space Force, explains the Ministry of the Armed Forces in a press release released on January 12.
The devices in this 5th production tranche will be brought to the F4 standard, development of which was launched in 2018 and the first increment of which was qualified by the DGA in March 2023.
This standard includes the integration of the Contact radio station, the missile MICA NG (new generation) and the Digital Autonomous Jammer (BAN) integrated into the Rafale's SPECTRA self-protection system.
The first aircraft of the 5th tranche will be delivered in 2027. This order is permitted by the Military Programming Law (LPM) 2024-2030. These fighter planes will also be designed to evolve towards the F5 standard in the 2030s.
The Rafale program contributes to more than 7,000 direct and indirect jobs in France. More than 400 companies are involved on the national territory, including many SMEs and ETIs.
Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces said,
“A new decisive step has been reached with the order of 42 Rafale for the Air and Space Force. This is excellent news for our sovereignty, our security and for our armies, which will benefit from additional Rafales with modernized operational capabilities.
The first major order financed by the Military Programming Act, it illustrates French industrial excellence and contributes to more than 7,000 jobs in more than 400 companies in France. This investment of more than 5 billion euros will irrigate many territories.
This order makes it possible to increase the production load of industrial sites located throughout France, for example in Argenteuil, Argonay, Biarritz, Bourges, Brest, Brive, Cholet, Corbeil-Essonnes, Élancourt, Étrelles, Gennevilliers, Laval, Martignas- sur-Jalle, Mérignac, Poitiers, Seclin, Vendôme and Villaroche.
A combat-proven multi-purpose fighter aircraft, the Rafale is capable of carrying out ground attack missions in all weather and in depth, nuclear strike, defense and air superiority, close fire support, reconnaissance, sea assault and the marine version offers air refueling capability.
With this fifth tranche, the Rafale, which was deployed for the first time by the French Navy in 2002, was ordered in 231 units by France. That is less than the 261 aircraft ordered by Dassault Aviation's 7 foreign customers: Egypt (55), Qatar (36), India ( 36), Greece (12), the United Arab Emirates (80), and Indonesia (42). In total, 495 devices were ordered and 253 had already been delivered by the end of 2022.
To expedite the deliveries, Dassault Aviation is reinforcing the supply chain and its industrial capacities . The French manufacturer now plans to produce three aircraft per month by the end of the year or early next year. Its assembly plant in Mérignac (Gironde) has a guaranteed workload for the next 10 years.
Picture : © Dassault Aviation - V. Almansa
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