Will the Indian Navy say ‘Namaste’ to the Dassault Rafale?

Will the Indian Navy say ‘Namaste’ to the Dassault Rafale?

                Recent news reports seem to suggest that the Indian Navy has pulled back from the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft programme and has instead begun weighing various other internationally available options to operate from the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and the yet to be commissioned Vikrant (IAC-1) being built at Kochi.

                The Indian Navy inducted the MiG 29K in May 2013 and operates two squadrons for an ultimate total of 45 aircraft. Considering the fact that the Navy purchased a total of 29 Sea Harrier aircraft (23 fighters and 06 trainers) in the 1980s-2000s, the apparent decision to beef up its maritime capabilities with 50+ additional multi-role carrier borne fighters (MRCBF) indicates an acknowledgement of the rapidly changing geo-political scenario and its potential impact on the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). For the Navy, it will also mean going from operating around 10 operational fighter aircraft in 2010 to around 100 fighters by 2028. To effectively utilise such large number of fighters would mean significant investments in infrastructure, manpower recruitment, training, etc. But, that’s another story….   

     

                Initial reports indicate that the contest for the MRCBF contract is primarily going to be between the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Saab JAS Gripen and the Dassault Rafale M. All the non-Naval variants of these aircraft were also evaluated, along with the Eurofighter Typhoon, by the Indian Air Force (IAF) for its Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender for 126 multirole fighters. Dassault Rafale had won this competition apparently due to its lower life-cycle cost. This deal was subsequently reduced to 36 Rafale aircraft in ‘fly away’ condition for something like US$8 billion at a cost of $200 million each in 2015-16, with an offset requirement of 30 percent of the deal's value for France to reinvest in India's defence sector and create infrastructure in India for the Rafale to operate.    

           

                This deal of 36 Rafale aircraft for the IAF gives Dassault a head-start over the others for the MRCBF contract due to commonalities between logistics and spares between the Rafale EH (Single-seat version for the Indian Air Force), the Rafale DH (Two-seat version for the Indian Air Force) and the Rafale M (the maritime version being operated by the French Navy).   It may also be noted that while the Rafale is planned to be France’s primary combat aircraft until 2040 or later, the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet may well be phased out much earlier with the gradual induction of the Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II by the US. Another possible sticking point with respect to the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet could be the “offset” clause given the Trump administration’s stated aim of bringing back manufacturing jobs to the US.

                So, what do we know about the Rafale M? This twin-engine, canard delta wing fighter is almost entirely built by one country, involving most of France's major defence contractors, such as Dassault, Thales and Safran. Different elements of the aircraft are produced in numerous factories across France with the final assembly taking place near Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport in south-western France. Roughly 50 percent of the aircraft is produced by Dassault and the other half divided between the two major partners, Thales and Safran, who in turn rely on a network of 500 subcontractors. As of 2012, the fabrication process of each fighter took 24 months, with an annual production rate of 11 aircraft.

                M01, the naval prototype, first flew on 12 December 1991 with the first trials aboard the French carrier Foch in April 1993. The first naval deployment was in 2002 on board the carrier Charles de Gaulle. The aircraft was subsequently declared operational with the French Navy in June 2004. Interestingly, the Rafale M is fully compatible with US Navy aircraft carriers. On 4 June 2010, during an exercise on USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), a French Rafale became the first jet fighter of a foreign navy to have its engine replaced on board an American aircraft carrier.

                As expected, the Rafale M features a greatly reinforced undercarriage, an arrestor hook and a "jump strut" nosewheel which only extends during short takeoffs and catapult launches. However, unlike the MiG 29K, the Rafale M cannot fold its wings (wingspan- 10.80 m or 35.4 ft). This fixed wing characteristic of the Rafale M would probably have placed constraints on its deployment from INS Viraat (decommissioned this year on 06 Mar 17) which operated the Sea Harrier (wingspan- 7.6 m or 25 ft 3 in) but not from INS Vikramaditya which is of similar displacement (42,000+ tons) as Charles de Gaulle of the French Navy.

                The Rafale M weighs about 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) more than the Rafale B and Rafale C of the French Air Force while retaining about 95 percent commonality with these two aircraft. It may therefore be reasonable to expect a similar level of commonality in the airframe, engine & basic electricals/ electronics between the Rafale M and the Rafale EH and Rafale DH contracted for the IAF.

          Akin to other fighter aircraft of its generation, the Rafale is an aerodynamically unstable aircraft capable of withstanding from −3.6g to 9g and uses digital fly-by-wire flight controls to artificially enforce and maintain stability. Its minimum landing speed is reported to be 115 knots (213 km/h; 132 mph). To present a reduced RCS, the engine air inlets have been positioned underneath the wing and composite materials (approximately 70% of the surface area) as well as serrated patterns have been used extensively for the construction of the trailing edges of the wings and canards.

                The primary flight controls are arranged in a hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS)-compatible configuration, with a right-handed side-stick controller and a left-handed throttle. The ejection seat (a Martin-Baker Mark 16F "zero-zero” model) is inclined rearwards at an angle of 29° to improve g-force tolerance during manoeuvring and to provide a less restricted external pilot view. The aircraft utilises OBOGS (On-Board Oxygen Generating System) eliminating the need for bulky oxygen cylinders.

                The cockpit features a wide-angle holographic head-up display (HUD) system, two head-down flat-panel colour multi-function displays (MFDs) as well as a central collimated display. The cockpit is fully NVG compatible. An integrated direct voice input (DVI) system allows a range of aircraft functions to be controlled by spoken voice commands though not for safety-critical elements of the aircraft's operation.

                The total value of the radar, electronic communications and self-protection equipment is projected to be about 30 percent of the cost of the entire aircraft. However, the actual equipment fit of radar (Dassault is likely to offer the aircraft with the Thales RBE2 AA active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar with a detection range of around 200 km), communication/ navigational aids and weapon systems will depend upon the Indian Navy’s requirements to satisfy fleet integration imperatives and to meet specific threat projections. A notable exception here could be the acceptance of an integrated defensive-aids system named SPECTRA. This system, jointly developed by Thales and MBDA, protects the aircraft against airborne and ground threats through the deployment of various ESM, ECM and ECCM measures. The system has also been designed to be highly re-programmable for addressing new threats and incorporating additional sub-systems in the future. A proven system, operations over Libya were apparently greatly assisted by SPECTRA allowing Rafales to perform missions independently from the support of dedicated Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) platforms.

                A front-sector electro-optical system or Optronique Secteur Frontal (OSF) developed by Thales could also be offered to the Indian Navy. The OSF is completely integrated within the aircraft and can operate both in the visible and infrared wavelengths. It enables the deployment of infrared missiles such as the MBDA-developed MICA (an  anti-air multi-target, all weather, fire-and-forget short and medium-range missile system) at beyond visual range distances and can be used for detecting and identifying airborne targets as well as those on the ground and at sea. Dassault describes the OSF as being immune to jamming and capable of providing covert long-range surveillance.

                It is presumed that the Rafale M in the fray would be of the nuclear-capable F3 standard. F3 standard Rafales are capable of undertaking many different missions or roles with a range of equipment namely air defence/ superiority missions, precision ground attacks, anti-shipping missions, reconnaissance flights as well as have the capability to conduct nuclear strikes. Of course, effectiveness in each role/ mission would largely be dependent on the type of armament/ weapon system the customer chooses to integrate with the aircraft as long as it’s electrical interface is MIL-STD-1760 compliant.

                The Rafale M has 13 hardpoints with a maximum external load capacity of nine tons and for those who believe that no fighter is complete without a gun, the Rafale carries the 30 mm GIAT 30 DEFA cannon. According to Dassault, the Rafale's onboard mission systems enable ground attack and air-to-air combat operations to be carried out within a single sortie, with many functions capable of simultaneous execution in conjunction with another, increasing survivability and versatility.

                Those conversant with the indigenous LCA project would be interested to know that the Rafale ‘A’ demonstrator was initially powered by the General Electric F404 engine. The Rafale is now powered by two Snecma M88/ M88-2/ M88-4E turbofan engines, each capable of providing up to 50 kN (11,250 lbf) of dry thrust and 75 kN (16,900 lbf) with afterburners. The M88-4E is an upgraded variant with greater thrust and lower maintenance requirements than the preceding M88-2. The engine is of modular design for ease of construction and maintenance and to enable older engines to be retrofitted with improved subsections. The current status of a thrust vectoring variant of this engine designated as M88-3D is not known.

                Additional points of interest are- an empty weight of 10,600 kilograms (23,400 lb) with an approximate max takeoff weight of 24,500 kilograms (54,000 lb), an internal fuel capacity of  4,700 kg (10,360 lb), a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 (1,912 km/h or 1,032 knots) at high altitude and a maximum speed of Mach 1.1 (1,390 km/h or 750 knots) at low altitude, a range of 3,700+ km (2,000+ nmi)  with 3 drop tanks, a combat radius of 1,852+ km (1,000+ nmi), a service ceiling of 15,235 m (50,000 ft) and an ROC of 304.8+ m/s (60,000+ ft/min).