France’s frontline fighter is being prepared for its ultimate evolution, with definition work on the F5 standard of Dassault Aviation’s Rafale gathering pace.
Speaking to FlightGlobal ahead of the Paris air show, General Arvind Badrinath, head of combat air for France’s DGA defence procurement body, detailed the transformational nature of the future package.
“In 2025, the aim for us is to focus on the preparation of the future F5 standard of the Rafale, accompanied with a UCAV [unmanned combat air vehicle],” he says. Additionally, flight-testing of its nearer-term F4.2 configuration will begin before year-end.
Badrinath describes F5 as representing the final part of a mid-life update for the Rafale, but notes that the fighter is the subject of continuous evolution.
“It is an incremental approach all the time – as soon as we have operational feedback we try to introduce it,” he says.
The multi-role fighter’s current F4.1 standard achieved initial operational capability at the end of 2023, and “almost all” examples operated by the French air force and French navy have now been upgraded, he says.
At Le Bourget, an F5-representative aircraft is being displayed as part of the Ministry of Defence’s sprawling outside exhibit.
Planned major updates include an “extended-generation” radar: Thales was in the third quarter of last year contracted by the DGA for the second phase of development work on this RBE2 XG sensor. The active electronically scanned array will use new and more powerful gallium arsenide/gallium nitride transmit/receive modules.
“It will increase the performance of the radar both in detection and tracking of targets, and enable it to have different modes working together,” Badrinath explains. The sensor also will have improved performance against low radar cross-section threats, with “assessments ongoing” around an electronic attack capability.
A new version of the Thales OSF infrared search and track sensor with extended-range performance will also be fielded – with the passive system to use the name ‘Silent Killer’. The same company’s current Talios pod also will be replaced with a new targeting and reconnaissance, or ‘TNR’ system, with increased autonomy thanks to the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
The fighter’s Spectra electronic warfare (EW) equipment will also be transformed into a fully digital standard for both detection and jamming.
An inter-vehicle datalink will enable the jet to operate using low-cost smart weapons, which Badrinath says will represent “the first step into remote carriers”: a capability planned for use alongside the Rafale’s sixth-generation successor. That New Generation Fighter will be a product of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme between France, Germany and Spain.
Initially focusing on MBDA’s Smart Glider and Smart Cruiser designs, plus an evolution of Safran’s AASM Hammer, early capability is being targeted with the Rafale’s F4.3 standard from 2028-2029. Full integration will be achieved as part of the F5.1 configuration by 2033.
F5-standard Rafales also will be cleared to deploy two air-launched nuclear weapons in the deterrence role: the improved ASMPA-R and France’s future ASN4G hypersonic missile.
Safran Aircraft Engines, meanwhile, is studying a ‘T-Rex’ development of its M88 engine, two of which power the Rafale. To retain the same dimensions as the existing version, this would boost output from the 7.5t- to 9t-thrust class with afterburner.
“The aim will be an evolution of a few modules,” Badrinath says, along with a FADEC software upgrade. During a risk-reduction activity, Safran recently demonstrated the updated performance without increasing fuel consumption. A production decision is due before the end of 2025, with the T-Rex modification also expected to be available as a retrofit option.
And in a potentially visually striking design shift, the Rafale F5 could gain conformal fuel tanks (CFTs). These would extend range and endurance, and also boost manoeuvrability in some conditions versus the carriage of under-wing tanks.
Dassault extensively studied the use of CFTs in the early 2000s, including during flight-tests involving prototype aircraft B01. That work saw the aircraft fitted with two 1,150litre (300USgal), 7.5m (24ft 6in)-long tanks above its rear fuselage. The airframer at the time said the addition could boost the fighter’s range performance by up to 25%.
A decision on the potential CFT integration is also expected before year-end, with Badrinath saying assessments are considering “the evolution of the [geopolitical] context and operational needs”.
Once combined, the updates under consideration will ensure that the Rafale will “remain a very potent aircraft for all kinds of missions”, he says.
Another consideration during F5 definition work is that the future updates should not result in an increased support burden for the aircraft’s operator.
“The Rafale is well known for its carefree handling and ease of maintenance, because it was designed that way,” he says. “I need the aircraft to be even easier to maintain. AI will clearly help us in that field, by detecting future failures thanks to big data analysis.”
With Europe’s two sixth-generation combat air programmes expected to deliver new manned fighters only in the 2035-2040 timeframe, Badrinath notes: “Looking at the environment and the operational needs, we cannot wait that long to have some key evolutions on our fighters.
“All of the work that is done now will also be very useful for the FCAS,” he says, describing such activity as a “global risk-reduction phase”. That will also include the acquisition of initial remote carriers and the UCAV.
Meanwhile, definition work on the fighter’s F4.2 standard has been qualified by the DGA, with an official qualification to be declared “in the coming days”. Operational test and evaluation activities will commence at Mont-de-Marsan air base late this year.
Badrinath says the latest version will feature updates to the RBE2 radar, Talios targeting pod and EW system.
The aircraft also will be cleared for operations in a new air dominance-style configuration, featuring a full load of eight air-to-air missiles.
Further additions include an electronic flightbag, and the integration of an embedded system to enable live and virtual constructive training.
A new auto-approach system for the naval-variant Rafale M was tested using the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle last October, with “very satisfactory” results. This technology – which will reduce pilot workload in the pattern and during final approach to the vessel under F4.2 – is planned to evolve into a full auto-land system for use with the Rafale F5 and also the UCAV platform being developed by Dassault.
Beyond that, the first elements of the programme’s F4.3 evolution have entered initial testing, with the standard to be fully defined in 2027. However, Badrinath says it will bring a “full connectivity standard” via the use of software-defined radios, enhanced EW performance, and carry a new-generation version of MBDA’s Mica air-to-air missile.
Regarding the broader programme, the DGA expects Dassault to deliver a total of 28 Rafales this year: 13 to the French air force, and the rest for export customers. Its order backlog includes jets for the air forces of Egypt, Indonesia, Serbia and United Arab Emirates, and for the Indian navy.
The airframer, meanwhile, is expected to during 2025 achieve “Pace 3” as part of an ongoing ramp-up activity, with this to represent an annual output of up to 33 jets.
In February, French defence minister Sebastien Lecornu indicated that an uptick in defence spending could see Paris acquire a future further batch of 20-30 Rafales for the nation’s air force. The order is among investments currently being considered as part of a long-term spending plan.
