The next version of the Rafale, called F5, will not be satisfied with technical improvements. It represents a change of philosophy in the way in which France intends to conduct its offensive air operations. Presented at the last Bourget fair by the Directorate General of Armament (DGA), one of the main novelties lies in the ability of the device to take up to eighteen Smart Cruiser missiles, distributed in three Hexalaunchers nacelles. The objective is to saturate enemy soil-to-air defense to make them inoperative from the first hours of a conflict.
18 missiles suddenly
Developed by MBDA as part of the AASF (Future Air-Sol armament) program, this new generation tactical missile is specifically thought of for SEAD and Dead missions-abolition and destruction of enemy air defenses. He obeys a so -called “saturation” logic: send a large number of projectiles simultaneously in order to force the opponent to reveal his positions, overload his response capacities and create exploitable breaches for the Allied forces.
This return to a neutralization capacity of radars and ground-to-air batteries is not trivial. Since the removal of the AS-37 Martel missile in the 1990s, the French army no longer had a dedicated tool for this type of mission. A gap all the more problematic as potential adversaries have since perfected their integrated, mobile and interconnected defense networks, the famous A2/AD model (“Anti-Access/Area Denial”).
Scheduled to enter service between 2033 (initial capacity) and 2035 (full operational capacity), the Rafale F5 will benefit from many developments: RBE2 XG radar with more efficient active antenna, reinforced electronic war, hyperconnectivity, and possibility of close collaboration with a combat drone.
The Smart Cruiser is not a simple guided missile. It works in pack, adjusts its flight trajectory, exchange of data with the Rafale launcher and the other effectors of the battlefield. Embedded artificial intelligence makes it possible to modify the mission in real time, according to the evolution of the theater of operations. Rather than eliminating a unique radar, it is a question of disorganizing all the opposing defensive architecture.
This network approach reflects a new way of conceiving air superiority. Rather than betting everything on a few large -range planes or missiles, the doctrine now favors the multiplication of more agile and interoperable means. It is a question of adapting to modern war environments, where the complexity and the density of threats require to coordinate well and to be reactive.
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