French Rafale jet fighters

The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine delta-wing multi-role jet fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Introduced in 2000, the Rafale is being produced both for land-based use with the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations with the French Navy.

European nations, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom agreed to jointly develop a new fighter in the early 1980s. Disagreement over the fighter's size and project leadership led France and the other nations to split in 1985. France developed the smaller Rafale, while the other nations developed what would later be named the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Three versions of Rafale were in the initial production order:
[1] Rafale C (Chasseur) – Single-seat fighter for the French Air Force
[2] Rafale B (Biplace) – Two-seat fighter for the French Air Force
[3] Rafale M (Marine) – Single-seat carrier fighter for the French Navy

The Rafale carries an integrated electronic survival system named "SPECTRA" which features a software-based virtual stealth technology. The most important sensor is the Thales RBE2 passive electronically scanned multi-mode radar. Thales claims to have achieved unprecedented levels of situational awareness through the earlier detection and tracking of multiple air targets for close combat and long-range interception, as well as real time generation of 3D maps for terrain-following and the real time generation of high resolution ground maps for navigation and targeting.

Let us study the Rafale Ms on board the Charles De Gaulle Aircraft Carrier:

This is the carrier-borne version for the Aéronavale, which entered service in 2002. The Rafale M weighs about 500 kg (1,100 lb) more than the Rafale C. Very similar to the Rafale C in appearance, the M differs in the following respects:

[1] Strengthened to withstand the rigors of carrier-based aviation
[2] Stronger landing gear
[3] Longer nose gear leg to provide a more nose-up attitude for catapult launches
[4] Deleted front centre pylon (to give space for the longer gear)
[5] Large stinger-type tailhook between the engines
[6] Built-in power operated boarding ladder
[7] Carrier microwave landing system
[8] "Telemir" inertial reference platform that can receive updates from the carrier systems

On 19 March 2011, French Rafale jets reportedly conducted reconnaissance and strike missions over Libya in support of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. On 24 March 2011 it was reported that a Rafale shot down a Libyan Air Force G-2/Galeb light ground attack/trainer jet. A few hours later an armed forces spokesman specified that the plane was destroyed on the runway with an AASM air-to-ground missile just after it had landed.