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Rafale News

2018

12 November 2018 | Flight Global

F3-R-standard Rafale gains French approval

Dassault has achieved French military qualification for the F3-R-standard variant of the Rafale combat aircraft.

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2017

28 March 2017 | Combat Aircraft

Dassault announces latest Rafale standard

French Minister for Defense, Jean-Yves Le Drian, authorized the start of development of the new Dassault Rafale F4 standard on March 20. As early as 2023, a first version of the F4 standard will follow the F3-R standard, which is scheduled for qualification in 2018.

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2016

30 September 2016 | Defense-Aerospace

Eight French Rafale Carrier Fighters Strike ISIS Targets

ABOARD CHARLES DE GAULLE, At Sea --- French fighter jets took off from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle on Friday for an operation against the Islamic State group in its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul, an officer said. Eight jets took off from the carrier in the eastern Mediterranean, an AFP pho...

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23 September 2016 | Flight Global

India signs 36-unit Rafale contract

India has concluded a deal to acquire 36 Dassault Rafale fighters, with a contract signed in New Delhi by the nation s defence minister, Manohar Parrikar, and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on 23 September.

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13 September 2016 | Defense-Aerospace

India Finalizes Details of Rafale Contract But New IGA Needed

NEW DELHI --- Details of the multi-billion euro contract for 36 Rafale fighter aircraft have been finalised and the government is now working on the inter-governmental agreement (IGA) with France. Government sources said the cost, offsets and service details have been finalised and now the effort...

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29 March 2016 | DefenseNews.com

Qatar, France Complete Dassault Rafale Fighter Jet Deal

France and Qatar completed the deal for 24 Dassault Rafale fighter jets at the opening day of the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference.        

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25 January 2016 | Flight Global

Dassault to work with India to build on new Rafale agreement

Dassault says it will go step by step to securing further Rafale orders from India after prime minister Narendra Modi today confirmed a deal to purchase 36 of the fighters.

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2015

5 August 2015 | Flight Global

India ends MMRCA fighter acquisition

​India’s defence minister Manohar Parrikar has informed Parliament that a request for proposals for the procurement of a new fighter under the Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft programme has been withdrawn.

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20 July 2015 | IHS Jane's

Egypt receives first Rafale fighters

The first three of 24 Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft for Egypt arrived in-country a day after being formally handed over on 20 July. The three twin-seat variant aircraft arrived in Cairo on 21 July, having been officially handed over during a ceremony at the Dassault Aviation Flight Test Centre

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29 April 2015 | IHS Jane's

Qatar selects Rafale fighter aircraft

Qatar will sign for 24 Dassault Rafale combat aircraft to fulfil its fighter procurement requirement on 4 May. The upcoming contract, which was announced by Dassault on 30 April, will be signed in Doha during a visit by French President François Hollande. The deal follows French media reports

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16 February 2015 | Flight Global

Egypt's order for 24 Rafales confirmed

​Thales has confirmed that Egypt has ordered 24 Dassault Rafale multirole aircraft, following a selection announcement for an undisclosed number of the type on 12 February.

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2014

1 December 2014 | DefenseNews.com

India, France Agree to Finalize Rafale Deal by Spring

India will fast-track the finalization of the US $12 billion plan to purchase 126 Dassault Rafale jets, according to a senior Indian Defense Ministry official, almost three years after India made Dassault its preferred bidder.

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8 October 2014 | Flight Global

Stored Rafale M completes F3 upgrade

​One of the French navy’s first Dassault Rafale M combat aircraft has been returned to the nation’s DGA defence procurement agency, following the completion of an upgrade activity to bring it to the latest F3 operating standard.

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20 September 2014 | DefenseNews.com

Hollande: France Carries Out First Air Strike in Iraq

French jets carried out their first air strike against Islamic State militants in Iraq Friday, successfully destroying their target, President Francois Hollande announced, vowing that more operations would follow.

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20 June 2014 | Defense-Aerospace

Qatar Close to Selecting Rafale

Dassault Aviation SA is poised to win a contract from Qatar for 72 Rafale jets, a French government official said, indicating the jet may have its first export contract before India signs a commitment for 126 units. A contract would probably come in two batches of 36 aircraft, the official said. ...

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24 January 2014 | Defense-Aerospace

Rafale Flies with New Weapons Configuration

The Rafale has successfully completed its first test flights in a new heavily-armed configuration, comprising six air-to-ground precision AASM Hammer missiles, four medium and long range air-to-air missiles from the MICA family, two very long range METEOR missiles, as well as three 2,000 liter fuel tanks.

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11 January 2014 | DefenseNews.com

France To Upgrade Rafale Arms, Electronics

France has signed a development and integration contract worth around 1 billion (US $1.4 billion) to upgrade the Dassault Aviation Rafale fighter with arms and systems, including a long-range missile, and make improvements on a targeting pod and active electronic radar, the procurement office said in a Jan. 10 statement.

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10 January 2014 | Defense-Aerospace

France Launches €1bn Rafale Upgrade

During his visit of Dassault Aviation’s main production facility in Bordeaux-Merignac, French Defense Minister Jean- Yves Le Drian awarded to the participating companies the contract for the development and integration of a new standard of the Rafale, called "F3R standard." ...

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2013

12 December 2013 | IHS Jane's

French president pledges 100% technology transfer to back Dassault F-X2 bid

French President François Hollande took advantage of an official visit to Brazil during the week of 9-13 December to re-open discussions on the sale of the Dassault Rafale in a bid to secure the contract for supplying the 36 F-X2 aircraft to the Brazilian Air Force. In doing so, Hollande

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12 December 2013 | Defense-Aerospace

Rafale to Enter Indian Service in 2017: AF Chief

SHILLONG, India --- Browne said the 'Rafale' are expected to be inducted into the force by 2017, three years approximately after the contract is signed The Indian Air Force is negotiating with French aviation major Dassault Aviation's Rafale for 126 medium fighter jets in a multi-billion dollar ...

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18 October 2013 | Defense-Aerospace

India May Finalise Rafale Deal By March

NEW DELHI --- India will finalise a $15 billion deal to buy 126 Rafale fighter jets from France's Dassault Aviation by March 2014, an Indian air force official said on Thursday, after the deal had been held up by differences over local manufacturing. New Delhi picked the Rafale for exclusive nego...

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4 October 2013 | Defense-Aerospace

First Two 4th Lot Rafales Delivered to French AF

After being handed over to the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) on September 12, 2013, the two-seat Rafale registered B 339 – the first production 4th Tranche production aircraft- - arrived Sept. 17 at Air Base 118 in Mount de-Marsan. A week later, it was the turn of the second aircraft, regis...

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20 September 2013 | Defense-Aerospace

Dassault Delivers First Lot 4 Production Rafale

PARIS --- The Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) took delivery on September 12, 2013 of the first aircraft of the fourth production tranche of the Rafale program. The sixty aircraft of this production lot are all fitted as standard with next-generation sensors, namely the RBE2 Active Electronica...

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20 June 2013 | Flight Global

PARIS: First AESA-equipped Rafale heads for squadron service

With a first sensor already in the advanced stages of test and evaluation at its air force's Mont-de-Marsan air base, an operational French squadron will within the next few weeks receive its first Dassault Rafale equipped with a new active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.

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16 May 2013 | Flight Global

Rafale to expand Meteor missile testing

Fresh separation trials involving the Dassault Rafale and MBDA's Meteor beyond visual-range air-to-air missile are due to be performed in late May, as the...

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15 January 2013 | DefenseNews.com

France Bolsters Force in Mali To Battle Insurgents

France has committed 1,700 troops, of which 800 are on the ground, to the military intervention in Mali against Islamist and Tuareg rebel fighters, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Jan. 15. The French operation, dubbed Serval, will support the Malian government against the insurgents. It includes ground troops, light tanks, Mirage and Rafale fighter jets and Gazelle attack helicopters, backed by French military bases in Ivory Coast and Chad, Le Drian told a news conference on the fifth day of combat.

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14 January 2013 | Defense-Aerospace

Snecma Upgrades Rafale’s M-88 Engine

The M88 jet engine built by Snecma (Safran), powerplant of the Dassault Aviation Rafale multirole fighter, has largely proven its maturity and operational capabilities, especially during the Harmattan operation in Libya, lasting eight months in 2011. With the latest M88-4E standard, incorporatin...

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2012

12 December 2012 | Flight Global

Brazil keeps F-X2 fighter contest on hold until economy recovers

Brazil will keep a long-delayed acquisition of 36 fighters on hold until the national economy recovers from an ongoing slump ...

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21 July 2012 | DefenseNews.com

India at Least 9 Months From Inking Rafale Deal

Negotiations to build Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Air Force won't be complete for at least nine months, following news that the state-owned company tapped to build the jets in India has missed a deadline for filing its license production evaluation report.

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21 June 2012 | Defense-Aerospace

Rafale Fires ASMPA Nuclear Missile in First Operational Test

On Tuesday, June 19, 2012, France’s strategic air force command successfully carried out the first operational evaluation launch of the integrated weapon system comprising a C135 tanker, a Rafale strike aircraft, and the ASMPA nuclear stand-off missile according to a scenario representative of a rea...

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23 April 2012 | Defense-Aerospace

France to Upgrade 10 Rafale-Ms to Latest F3 Standard

The first ten Rafale Marine fighters delivered to the French Navy in the early 2000s will be upgraded from their current F1 standard to the latest F3 standard, according to Christophe Carpentier, head of the French defense procurement agency’s “Operation Rétrofit F1-F3”. Carpentier says that his...

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30 March 2012 | DefenseNews.com

First Rafale To Be Equipped With AESA This Summer

Thales delivered in February a first series-production RBE2 active electronically scanned array radar to Dassault Aviation for the Rafale fighter jet, the electronics company said in a March 29 statement.

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14 February 2012 | Defense-Aerospace

Brazil Likely to Revive Rafale Buy

SAO PAULO --- Brazil is "very likely" to choose France's Rafale fighter jet to refurbish its air force, government sources say, a decision that would award one of the emerging-market world's most coveted defense contracts to a jet whose future was in doubt only two weeks ago. President Dilma Rous...

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2 February 2012 | MILAVIA News

Rafale Selected For Indian Air Force MMRCA

On January 31, 2012, Dassault Aviation issued a press release that its Rafale fighter has been selected by the Indian Ministry of Defence as its new medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) in an estimated $10.2bn deal for 126 aircraft.

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30 January 2012 | Defense-Aerospace

Dassault Lowers Rafale Price; Hopes to Upstage Gripen

French aircraft maker Dassault has made a new offer to Switzerland for its Rafale fighter jets after the government decided in November to buy Sweden's Gripen planes instead, a report said Sunday. Dassault has sent a letter to parliament -- which has yet to approve the November decision -- offeri...

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2011

21 July 2011 | Defense-Aerospace

Sagem Touts Rafale/AASM ‘Dynamic Duo’

As we have seen throughout recorded history, each new conflict seems to bring its own share of innovations. Recently, for example, the air strikes over Libya – Operation Harmattan for France, and Operation Unified Protector for NATO in the framework of the UN resolution 1973 – have spotlighted the u...

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5 July 2011 | AviationWeek

Rafale's Multirole Capability

French air force and navy Rafale F3 combat aircraft are touted as true “omnirole fighters.” Military officials say there are multirole fighters that conduct reconnaissance, air-to-air combat, air-to-surface attack or deterrence, but only one at a time. The F3 can perform all in a single mission, they maintain.

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23 March 2011 | Flight Global

PICTURES: French navy Rafales fly first missions over Libya

French navy Dassault Rafales have flown their first sorties in support of the coalition campaign against the regime of Libyan leader Col Gaddafi ...

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2010

8 October 2010 | AviationWeek

French Form Rafale Training Squadron

France has stood up a squadron of Rafale F3 multirole fighters to train pilots transitioning to the new combat aircraft.

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6 October 2010 | Key.Aero

French Navy Rafale OCU stands up

The French Fleet Air Arm has stood up its Rafale operational conversion unit.

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6 July 2010 | Key.Aero

Rafale goes nuclear

The French Air Force's Rafale has been declared operational in the nuclear strike role.

Read Full Article @ Key.Aero