France receives first new Rafale fighter jet after four-year pause

STUTTGART, Germany — France has received its first new Rafale fighter jet in four years, manufacturer Dassault Aviation announced Jan. 10.

The company delivered the F3-R standard aircraft to the French military procurement agency Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) on Dec. 29, according to a company press release. The aircraft is included in the “Tranche 4″ order of 60 new aircraft awarded in 2009, but which was then paused due to budgetary reasons.

For the past several years, Dassault has dedicated its Rafale production line to exports, as nations including Greece, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates have placed orders for the fighter jet.

But France’s 2023 defense budget, released this past September, included plans to order 42 new Rafale aircraft, signaling an end to the budget-imposed hiatus. Those aircraft include 30 aircraft that will be delivered under the forthcoming “Tranche 5″ order, as well as 12 additional aircraft meant to replace existing Rafales that France withdrew from its air force to sell to Croatia , in a 2021 deal worth an estimated €999 million (U.S. $1.1 billion).

Croatia is slated to receive the first six fighter jets in 2024, with the remaining six aircraft arriving in 2025. Those 12 Rafales will replace the Croatian Air Force’s Soviet-designed Mikoyan MiG-21 fighters.

Dassault plans to deliver an additional 27 Rafales to France by the end of 2024 under the Tranche 4 order, along with the 12 new aircraft meant to replace those bound for Zagreb, the company said.

The Rafale is outfitted with two Safran-built Snecma M88 engines and a Thales-built RBE2 AA active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. The F-3R standard, declared fully operational in 2021, is equipped with MBDA’s Meteor long-range air-to-air missile as well as Thales’ Talios laser designator pod for use in air-to-ground strikes, and the laser homing version of Safran’s AASM air-to-ground modular weapon, per Dassault.

France’s DGA began flight tests for the Rafale’s next “F4″ upgrade in April 2021, slated for full availability by 2025. The new standard will upgrade existing capabilities including the Thales ASEA radar and Talios targeting pod, as well as the Rafale’s electronic warfare system, and communications suite. New capabilities for the F4 include the Thales Scorpion Helmet Mounted Display, MBDA’s MICA NG (Next-Generation) air-to-air missile and the 1,000 kilogram variant of Safran’s AASM (armement air-sol modulaire) “Hammer” precision-guided munition.

The F4 standard is expected to serve as a bridge between the Rafale and France’s next-generation fighter aircraft being developed under the trinational Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program.

Under the program, France, Germany, and Spain would co-develop a new fighter jet expected to be fielded by 2040, along with a slew of state-of-the-art capabilities including a new engine for the fighter jet, a next-generation weapon system, new drones, advanced sensors and stealth technology, and an air combat cloud network. The next-gen fighter would replace the nations’ existing fleets of Rafales and Eurofighter Typhoons.

After over a year of delays, industry partners Dassault, Airbus Defence and Space, and Indra Systems have reached an agreement to move to the next phase in the FCAS’ research-and-development efforts, the companies announced last month . The contracts must now be signed by the program’s managing body – France’s DGA – before Phase 1B can formally launch.

Vivienne Machi is a reporter based in Stuttgart, Germany, contributing to Defense News' European coverage. She previously reported for National Defense Magazine, Defense Daily, Via Satellite, Foreign Policy and the Dayton Daily News. She was named the Defence Media Awards' best young defense journalist in 2020.

德国斯图加特——制造商达索航空公司于1月10日宣布，法国四年来首次接收了新型“阵风”战斗机。

根据该公司发布的新闻稿，该公司于12月29日向法国军备总局（DGA）交付了F3-R标准型飞机。该飞机包含在2009年授予的60架新飞机“第四批”订单中，但由于预算原因，该订单随后被暂停。

过去几年，达索公司一直致力于将其阵风战斗机生产线用于出口，包括希腊、印度尼西亚和阿拉伯联合酋长国在内的许多国家都订购了这款战斗机。

但法国去年9月公布的2023财年国防预算中包含订购42架新型“阵风”战斗机的计划，标志着预算限制导致的采购暂停期结束。这些飞机包括即将交付的“第五批次”订单中的30架，以及另外12架用于替换法国空军此前撤回并出售给克罗地亚的“阵风”战斗机。这笔交易于2021年达成，价值约9.99亿欧元（11亿美元）。

克罗地亚计划于 2024 年接收首批 6 架战斗机，其余 6 架将于 2025 年交付。这 12 架“阵风”战斗机将取代克罗地亚空军现役的苏联制造的米格-21 战斗机。

达索公司表示，根据第四批次订单，该公司计划在 2024 年底前向法国交付另外 27 架阵风战斗机，以及 12 架新飞机，用于替换即将交付给萨格勒布的飞机。

“阵风”战斗机配备两台赛峰集团制造的斯奈克玛M88发动机和一部泰雷兹公司制造的RBE2 AA有源相控阵雷达。据达索公司称，F-3R标准型战斗机于2021年宣布全面投入使用，配备MBDA公司的“流星”远程空空导弹、泰雷兹公司的“塔利奥斯”激光指示吊舱（用于空对地攻击）以及赛峰集团AASM空对地模块化武器的激光制导版本。

法国国防装备局（DGA）于2021年4月启动了“阵风”战斗机下一代升级版“F4”的飞行测试，预计将于2025年全面投入使用。新标准将升级现有能力，包括泰雷兹公司的ASEA雷达和Talios瞄准吊舱，以及“阵风”战斗机的电子战系统和通信套件。F4的新增能力包括泰雷兹公司的“蝎子”头盔显示器、MBDA公司的MICA NG（下一代）空空导弹以及赛峰集团AASM（模块化空地导弹）“铁锤”1000公斤级精确制导武器。

F4 标准有望成为阵风战斗机与法国在三国未来作战空中系统 (FCAS) 计划下开发的下一代战斗机之间的桥梁。

根据该计划，法国、德国和西班牙将联合研发一款新型战斗机，预计于2040年投入使用。同时，三国还将研发一系列尖端技术，包括新型战斗机发动机、下一代武器系统、新型无人机、先进传感器和隐身技术，以及空中作战云网络。这款下一代战斗机将取代三国现有的“阵风”和“台风”战斗机。

经过一年多的延误，行业合作伙伴达索、空中客车防务与航天公司以及英德拉系统公司上月宣布，已达成协议，将推进未来空中作战系统（FCAS）研发工作的下一阶段。目前，相关合同尚需由项目管理机构——法国国防装备总局（DGA）签署，才能正式启动第一阶段B部分。

薇薇安·马奇是驻德国斯图加特的一名记者，主要负责《防务新闻》的欧洲报道。她此前曾为《国家防务杂志》、《防务日报》、《卫星通讯》、《外交政策》和《代顿每日新闻》撰稿。2020年，她荣获防务媒体奖最佳青年防务记者称号。