Does the Rafale F-35 compete?.. Learn the secrets of the deals and the advantages of the French and American fighters

Paris

- With

announcing the signing by the French military industries company, Dassault, a $17 billion contract with the UAE to buy 80 Rafale fighter jets, in the last Gulf tour of French President Emmanuel Macron, talk of the plane came back strongly. And its advantages compared to its competitors, especially the American F-35.

Recent years have witnessed an increase in demand for the French plane. Egypt signed a deal in 2015 to supply 24 planes before adding a new order with 30 planes in 2021, then successive orders and contracts with many countries, especially India and Qatar, which signed two contracts to supply 36 fighters each. Greece ordered 24 fighters, and Croatia 12 used and in service aircraft.

The new version of the Rafale came after a development plan worth more than two billion dollars (French)

development race

As soon as the French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, announced in 2019 the launch of the new phase of development of the “Rafale” aircraft, represented by the “F4” version, local media reports quoted her at the time as saying that the new version of the French fighter would constitute a “technological, industrial and strategic leap.” Dassault, especially with the huge amount announced for the development of this fighter, amounting to 1.9 billion euros ($2.150 billion).

competitive capabilities

"Windstorm" - the literal meaning of Rafale - is a given name, and according to the Dassault company's website, the aircraft has a speed of Mach 1.8 (the speed of sound), or 1912 km / h.

It has a range of 3,700 km, consists of about 300,000 pieces, and a French twin engine. The aircraft is available in a single-seat ground version and a two-seater marine version.

The Rafale is a multi-role fighter designed and built by Dassault Aviation, designed to perform air superiority, deep strikes, anti-ship strikes and nuclear deterrence missions.

In contrast, the speed of the American plane "F-35" is 1975 km / h, and as the manufacturer's website indicates, the plane is the first supersonic stealth fighter and the second fifth-generation fighter to enter service in the US armed forces.

The American fighter "F-35", like its French competitor, consists of 300,000 pieces, and it has one engine and one seat for the pilot.

The aircraft is descended from a project by Lockheed Martin, whose development is primarily funded by the United States, with additional funding from program partner countries from NATO and close US allies.

The last generation of the F-35 has a wide radar range that allows it to detect enemy aircraft early, and has additional capabilities to jam enemy radars from long distances.

Rafale alternative to the US market

For his part, Roman Melkirk, a military expert and writer specializing in defense issues and international relations, believes that the success of the "Rafale" was not surprising, and that enthusiasm for it is not something new. Between 2000 and 2010, the Rafale was considered a high-quality aircraft.

He added to Al Jazeera Net, "Several factors have played a role in the recent contracts, and I think one of the most important things is the desire of customers to reduce their dependence on the United States, as President Donald Trump has shown how unexpected options for this country can be," he said.

He pointed out that the arrival of Joe Biden did not change anything. He said a few months ago that he wanted to reduce exports to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, "which makes France one of the best alternatives to the American market."

Despite the great progress in manufacturing the new generation of the Rafale aircraft, the "F-35" is superior to it in some features, the most important of which is its ability to hide from radar (Reuters)

Two fighters of different generations

Regarding the possibility that the new model of the "F4 Rafale", which is under development, could match or surpass the capabilities of the American "F-35" plane, Melkirk stressed that it is difficult to compare the French and American fighters "because they are two planes of different generations." .

He continued, "While the first entered service in 2015, the Rafale started since 2002 and flew for the first time in 1986, while the F-35 flew in 2008."

Regarding the comparison between the two planes in the global arms market, the writer specializing in defense issues and international relations pointed out that it is primarily a political and strategic choice.

Cautious deals

If the value of the last generation of the F-35 plane, according to the manufacturer Lockheed Martin's website, ranged between 94 and 101 million dollars, the military expert Melkirk believes that it is difficult to determine the financial value of the two planes, because these two fighters are not general products, and each manufactured model differs from the Others, depending on a variety of circumstances.

He continues that the cost of the French Rafale differs from the Indian or Emirati Rafale, as the Rafale plane for the French forces does not cost the cost of the Rafale for the Indian forces, and the same is for the F-35 planes.

He explains that the cost of the "F-35" model in the British Air Force is different from that of the Israeli Air Force or the US Army.

"In export contracts, countries remain cautious about details, in order to avoid impeding negotiations with other potential clients by giving a very specific idea of ​​what has been accepted elsewhere," he said.

The French expert also says, "In general, we have a global amount, we are talking about $ 17 billion for 80 Rafale aircraft in the UAE contract, and the contract includes, in addition to aircraft, ammunition and spare parts, and perhaps infrastructure development and training of pilots, mechanics and officers."

He added, "One of the elements of the negotiations with the Emirates, for example, was related to France's restoration of the old Mirage aircraft in some contracts, and there are also compensations, as in the contract with India with part of the production directly in the buyer country, but the contract with the Emirates was not a reference To this point, which means that all production will be in France."

Melkirk concluded that all these details make the cost of the combat aircraft differ from one contract to another and from one country to another, and if we do quick calculations, this makes the value of the UAE Rafale amounting to about 238 million dollars, while the value of the Indian Rafale is 108 million dollars, and thus we note this difference Deep in the cost of the same aircraft in different contracts.

pilot helmet

By entering into the details of the manufacture of such advanced aircraft and air fighters, and the cost of some of their important parts, reports published on the two planes confirmed that the cost of one pilot's helmet for the F-35, for example, is about 400 thousand dollars, and the helmet enables the pilot to see the ground clearly in Day and night, and all the vital organs of the plane.

On the other hand, the helmet of the pilot of the new generation of the French fighter, according to military expert Roman Melkirk, is still under development and progress.

The technologies and technology of current pilots' helmets from the last generation of the Rafale are distinguished by the same characteristics as the pilots' helmets in the American F-35 aircraft.

These advanced technological standards are a cornerstone of the work and superiority of modern armies, and the final cost of the new Rafale pilots' helmets remains unknown, and has not been disclosed yet.

stealth from radar

In answer to a question about the extent to which the F-35 is superior to the Rafale in terms of the radar stealth mechanisms provided by its advanced technological system that modern fighters enjoy, the writer specializing in defense issues justifies this superiority by the fact that the stealth of radar in the older Rafale generation was less Significance of today's aircraft.

He added that the stealth feature has witnessed recent talk and increased discussion, and that those in charge of the project to modernize this fighter are seriously considering developing this point.