What is the Rafale?

France initially took part in the program that led to the Eurofighter, but withdrew in 1985 because it needed a lighter aircraft suited to carrier operations. Dassault then developed the Rafale with two Snecma M88 engines producing around 75 kN (17,000 lb) each with afterburner, a delta wing with canards, and avionics designed so a single pilot can handle several mission types in the same sortie. There are three versions: the single-seat Rafale C, the two-seat B, and the naval M, with reinforced landing gear and an arrester hook for the carrier Charles de Gaulle.

It was the first European fighter in service with an electronically scanned radar, the RBE2 AESA, and carries the integrated Spectra electronic warfare system, which detects threats and jams them without relying on external pods. It can carry more than 9 t across fourteen hardpoints: Mica and Meteor missiles for air-to-air combat, AASM guided bombs, Scalp cruise missiles, and, for the nuclear mission, the ASMP-A missile. A front optronic sensor and the Talios pod round out the suite.

In France it has progressively replaced the Mirage 2000, the Jaguar and the Super Étendard, and has operated over Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Iraq and Syria, flying from bases in France, abroad, or from the carrier. After years without export success, since 2015 it has won contracts with Egypt, Qatar, India, Greece, Croatia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Serbia, pushing total orders past 500 units (as of September 2026). Dassault continues development with the F4 standard and is preparing the F5, expected within the next decade.