Rafale: 1 or 2 way data link ?

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15 years 5 months

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i keep hearing conflicting statements, so which one is it going to be when Meteor enter service in french air force ?
i'm looking for the definite answer, so thanks in advance

also: is there any plan to replace or complement link 16 with a more capable DL ?

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11 years 6 months

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One way AFAIK.

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12 years 1 month

Posts: 4,168

i keep hearing conflicting statements, so which one is it going to be when Meteor enter service in french air force ?
i'm looking for the definite answer, so thanks in advance

also: is there any plan to replace or complement link 16 with a more capable DL ?

One way, french AdlA considered two way was not worth the money. Mica already have a datalink, aswell reuse it. DL will be improved using tragedac PEA results.
Btw, 2nd way is porposed as an option for export.

Member for

12 years 1 month

Posts: 255

i keep hearing conflicting statements, so which one is it going to be when Meteor enter service in french air force ?
i'm looking for the definite answer, so thanks in advance

also: is there any plan to replace or complement link 16 with a more capable DL ?

Initially Meteor for France was supposed to be 1 way DL only . However it prove to not be economical , hence they will get the 2 ways DL version anyhow,but it is unclear whether they will deploy it .

There are effectivelly plan for new communication gears , sets of digital radio and TDL with higher bandwidth and conform to european standards .This is the program CONTACT and its Thales SYNAPS pendant . The scope is wider than Rafale ,since it concern all Land, sea and Air communication for a full network centric C4I solution, which is to be fully deployed in 2019, at least according the plan . In the scope there are specific air requirements , notalby for enhanced aircraft to aircraft communications.

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19 years 11 months

Posts: 1,403

Initially Meteor for France was supposed to be 1 way DL only . However it prove to not be economical , hence they will get the 2 ways DL version anyhow,but it is unclear whether they will deploy it .

There are effectivelly plan for new communication gears , sets of digital radio and TDL with higher bandwidth and conform to european standards .This is the program CONTACT and its Thales SYNAPS pendant . The scope is wider than Rafale ,since it concern all Land, sea and Air communication for a full network centric C4I solution, which is to be fully deployed in 2019, at least according the plan . In the scope there are specific air requirements , notalby for enhanced aircraft to aircraft communications.

What about mica-NG ? 1W or 2 W DL ?

Member for

12 years 1 month

Posts: 255

What about mica-NG ? 1W or 2 W DL ?

No clues , information are sparse.
I would tend to hope for a 2 way links, even a basic one. Especially in view of the current trend envisionning weapon guidance shared accross multiple platform (ie launcher and guiding platform being evenually different )

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15 years 5 months

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ok, thanks for answers, somehow i got the impression the 2 way DL meteor wasnt compatible with rafale and therefore the rafale was to be upgraded,
looks like its compatible anyhow somehow

Member for

12 years 1 month

Posts: 4,168

ok, thanks for answers, somehow i got the impression the 2 way DL meteor wasnt compatible with rafale and therefore the rafale was to be upgraded,
looks like its compatible anyhow somehow

Compatible? Yes. Implemented on french and indian Rafales? No.

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15 years 5 months

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the strange thing is: why would they come up with the thought of produce a 1 way DL meteor specifically for rafale ?
it was right there, i read it

Member for

19 years 11 months

Posts: 1,403

the strange thing is: why would they come up with the thought of produce a 1 way DL meteor specifically for rafale ?
it was right there, i read it

May be they thought it would have been cheaper... and then realized it was not the case and a bad idea in case they decide to upgrade to a 2W DL in a future Rafale Standard (possibly for an export customer)

Member for

12 years 1 month

Posts: 255

the strange thing is: why would they come up with the thought of produce a 1 way DL meteor specifically for rafale ?
it was right there, i read it

I have the same recollection, of a one way DL specific version for France initially contemplated.
Guess for 200 units this was not truly economically pertinent in the end.

I guess ADLA and DGA weighed the value add of the down link and its discretion against the investment needed to integrate and make it compatible with the avionics . Apparently they judged it was too much troubles for too little gain and mot worth it on the long list of priorities .

Anyhow with Qatar, and India ,It is no longer constrained to French air force budget priorities. Hence I would not be surprised to see it implemented anyway as part of the export demands.