I’m aware it would be more of a gimmick than anything else, since weaponry is stored outside, but i’m just curious
I wonder if it’s going to be a pure RCS number like say a f-16, or if they’ll implement multipliers like the F-117
idk if aircrafts cirrently have a proper RCS each, or if they all have a default value tbh
All aircraft already feature a RCS to some degree. So the same will also be true for Rafale and Typhoon where it’s possible to replicate that inside of game conditions.
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ok thank you for the clarification !
@WreckingAres283 Do you know from what standard the GBU-49 was added to the Rafale? From what I see on the internet it would have been tested and integrated on Rafale M in 2012.
EDIT : it might be a F3.3
On the other hand, I don’t know at all if the bomb was integrated into Rafale C.
As far as I can tell it has always been 1-way. I haven’t seen anything suggesting that one of the new standards added it. These two less credible links seem to suggest that due to the datalink being based on MICA, with Rafale it features the same 1-way implementation.
France Orders 200 Meteor Long Range Air-Air Missiles - Defense Industry Daily.
Someone may be able to find something definitive.
There’s a possibility MICA NG will be added with 2 way DL however, and since it should enter service next year, maybe standard F4 is compatible with it.
Just speculation
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France also bought the standard meteor with the 2-way datalink rather than developing a one-way only variant which was floated, so I think perhaps F.5 will feature MICA NG and Meteor with 2-way datalink capabilities. The updated radar will also help to support that.
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The issue with those kind of sources is that nowadays most western jets can carry most western weapons, technically. Since there is a pretty large standardization on the pylons, wiring… we could technically see a rafale with IRIS-T or a some GBU40 something.
However France has had its own alternatives developed, in the MICA, MICA NG and AASM, so they don’t have the need to integrate those other systems. I think it’s better to take the approach of looking for pictures with such systems installed or showcased to be able to be installed on the plane, unless there is primary sources that clearly establish the weaponry’s existence, such as what we did for the RMV
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the F3.3 M can carry GBU-49 for sure(I don’t know if the C can)
apparently the Rafale F3.2 can only hold 6 AAMs, is there a source for this?
You can get a look at this post :
There’s no source specifically stating it can only carry 6 missiles I believe. However we have sources that only 6 pylons are ever used for AAM until F4 where new pylons were opened for AAMs (MICA and Meteor)
Armament capability is pretty much the same across all three airframes as along as we talk about the same standard.
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Thing is, when implementing a new configuration on an aircraft, it isn’t easy as strapping the ordonnance on its drop point and be done with it.
It needs a qualification process, and Dassault never went through it because Armée de l’Air never asked for it until the F4 variant, where 2 more points were “opened”.
Theorically however, Rafale could carry 10 missiles, but if the french air force never asks for it, it just won’t happen. Weight for example isn’t really a problem, since it can carry this loadout :
No one is going to use a 10 meteor configuration, especially in peace time, because if the aircraft is lost, you also lose a non negligible percentage of said country’s meteor stockpile. It mostly stays a model airshow / magazine thing
I’ll note though, since 2022, things are looking less predictible, and newer variants (F4.1 & 4.2) are starting to appear, with a bit more punch, like this :
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They might just give it 8 because later or exports versions did
As looking at the German Eurofighter with Brimstones gives me this idea
yeah, but with the logic of “use all the pylons” the A10 COULD hold 20 9Ms, I’m asking how many does it actually hold at maximum in the French air force
wow!
- F3.2 : 6 mica
- F3R : 6 mica OR 4 mica + 2 Meteor
- F4.1 : 6 mica + 2 Meteor
I am assuming 2-way-DL enables the function to take control of a missile of another Aircraft; it was added with F.4.1 in case of Meteor. As with Scorpion JHMCS.
https://www.defense.gouv.fr/dga/actualites/dga-qualifie-rafale-au-standard-f41
I hope Rafale C F3 from Storm Warning update trailer equipped Thales Damocles XF or TALIOS targeting pod 🙏