Even though the capabilities of the Rafale F4 fighter jet (latest variant) are already very tough to serve air-to-air and air-to-surface warfare, Dassault Aviation does not stop developing the Rafale variant. By measuring future war strategies, Dassault is now obsessed with developing a "Super Rafale", or referred to as the Rafale F5.
Amendments recently tabled in the French National Assembly have revealed that Dassault Aviation is advancing work on a Loyal Wingman-capable variant of the Rafale F5 (combat drone/UCAV).
The French Ministry of Armed Forces submitted amendments earlier this month to provide more information about the upcoming Rafale program endeavors, particularly with regard to the F5 variant to be developed under the Military Planning Program (LPM) for the period 2024-2030.
The disclosure is important because Europe's sixth-generation fighter jet program – the Future Combat Aircraft System (FCAS), in which France is also a participant, is finally moving on after being stuck in the doldrums for a long time. According to French media, Dassault Aviation has considered exiting the arrangement and developing a French alternative (as Plan B) if the FCAS program fails to cross the impasse.
At that time, Dassault Chief Eric Trappier said he had a concept for significant Rafale development, a kind of Super Rafale that would work together with Dassault's loyal wingman combat drones made using technological advances in the nEUROn program.
However, the FCAS program was later 'saved' with French partner countries, such as Germany, and Spain by settling their differences and signing contracts for the program's research, development and demonstration activities.
In March 2023, FCAS partners officially started their landmark Phase 1B program at an event held in Madrid. Significant progress has been made on the FCAS program after a long stalemate which, at one point, created a dilemma.
However, despite the investment and commitment to FCAS, France has not given up on the idea of developing and flying the Rafale F5 fighter jet.
Rafale F5
The Rafale F5 concept, or 'Super Rafale,' has been around for a long time and has been in the headlines since 2021. The French magazine Zone Militaire quotes Frédéric Parisot, Deputy Chief of the French Air and Space Force, as saying: “Dassault Aviation will carry the F5 standard of the Rafale which exists."
“In the early 2030s, the F5 standard will allow us to further enhance the Rafale's capacity with new sensors and weapons, but also the capacity to communicate, collaborate and be interoperable,” said Parisot.
The defense amendment outlines some of the capabilities that will be developed as part of the Rafale F5 program, including significantly greater processing power.
Key new capabilities are being introduced on the Rafale F5 namely, Suppression of enemy anti-aircraft defenses (SEAD) on the one hand and the development of combat drones which are presented as "derivatives" of technological advances from the nEUROn drone program.
The report further says SEAD's capabilities will most likely be based on the development of new anti-radiation air-to-ground missiles to destroy anti-aircraft systems and their transmitters, as well as powerful jammers that will enable a Rafale to protect not only itself but allied aircraft. others operating in the area with inefficient electronic warfare systems.
However, the most attractive feature of the Rafale F5 is undoubtedly having a loyal wingman, the Rafale F5 Standard will be developed during this military programming law, in particular, the development of a companion drone for the Rafale, resulting from the work of the Neuron demonstrator.
nEUROn is a combat drone designed in the early 2000s. This combat drone was produced by France from a partnership with five other countries (Sweden, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Greece). The demonstration of this stealth device was completed in 2012...
This demonstrator drone aims to validate the development of advanced technologies that reflect all mission systems, including high levels of flight control, stealth, the ability to fire actual air-to-ground missiles from the internal weapon bay.
The FCAS sixth generation fighter jet will also use the loyal wingman. In fact, in November last year, a new modular design for an armed “heavy loyal wingman” to be used as part of a larger FCAS was showcased by Airbus at the 2022 International Fighter Conference (IFC 2022).
The use of the loyal wingman concept with the 'Super Rafale' is interesting to observe and even more so because this is the first time the concept has appeared together with the mention of the Rafale in official French communications.