Dassault Aviation and the French Defence Procurement Agency have launched development of Standard F4, the next variant of the Rafale omni-role fighter that will enter service in 2025. Henri-Pierre Grolleau has the story.
Latest Standards
ALL ARMÉE de l’Air (French Air Force) and Marine Nationale (French Navy) Rafale B, C and M variants in the inventory have now been brought up to increment F3.4+ standard. Dassault Aviation, its industrial partners and the French Armed Forces are now busy preparing for entry into service of the Standard F3R. This encompasses a range of new systems, including the Thales TALIOS (Targeting Long-range Identification Optronic System) targeting pod, the MBDA Meteor beyondvisual- range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM), a Mode 5 IFF interrogator, a Mode S transponder, and numerous improvements to existing systems such as the RBE2 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, the Spectra electronic warfare/self-defence suite and the Link 16 tactical data link.