How much does the Rafale F4 cost?

The F4 is the Rafale upgrade contracted by France in 2019 to enter service from 2023: new satellite communications and data link, improvements to the RBE2 radar and the Spectra system, a helmet with an integrated display, predictive maintenance and additional weapons such as the Mica NG missile and the 1,000 kg AASM bomb. Aircraft built today already leave the factory in F4 standard and earlier ones are upgraded during depot visits, so the price of a new Rafale is, in practice, the price of a Rafale F4.

The factory price of the aircraft stands between €80 and €100 million according to French parliamentary estimates. In December 2023 France ordered a fifth batch of 42 aircraft for over €5 billion, about €120 million per unit including spare engines and support. Export contracts are much higher because they include weapons, simulators, training and infrastructure: the United Arab Emirates' 80 Rafale F4s cost around €16 billion in 2021, close to €200 million per aircraft; Indonesia's 42 cost about $8.1 billion; and India's 36, bought in 2016 to the previous standard, cost about €7.9 billion including bases and weapons.

Greece and Croatia bought used Rafales from the French air force at around €80 million each with support, and France replaces them with new aircraft. As with every modern fighter, the purchase is only the start: each flight hour, major overhauls and standard upgrades over 30 or 40 years comfortably exceed the initial price. Even so, the Rafale has become Europe's best-selling fighter of the last decade, with close to 500 units sold or ordered.