Interestingly, I did look into the Rafale’s F3R primary documents, it does not confirm usage of IRST and makes multiple mentions of only the TV sensor, so I will have to look further into this and report it if it’s confirmed not to have an IR channel.
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IR channel was removed on later batches of the F3 standard for OSF-IT. However, the devs have modelled the IR channel in game so we have an earlier F3 batch.
Yes, it is confirmed earlier batches of F3 standards contained both IRST/TV channels but the statcard in-game shows Rafale F3R, and only the F3R onwards had the AESA radar, same for testing the Scorpion HMD.
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I would do it myself but I don’t speak french lmao. But Honestly I don’t see the point, I was just bringing it up as an example of the whole tit for tat thing goes both ways. Sorry if I came off as rude.
Instead of removing it a better option (In my opinion) would be to rename/rework the current model into a F.4.1/ F.4 Early airframe, therefore retaining the current capabilities (and widening the gap for an early Rafale at a lower br).
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We only speak British here
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The IRST was removed since the technology had become outdated - it was late 1990s technology after all.
PIRATE is worse. It is very early 1990s technology. It hasn’t been upgraded because the UK optronics industry hasn’t made sufficient progress to warrant an upgrade. At the same time, PIRATE is also heavily constrained by volume and weight constraints which is a byproduct of fundamental design flaws of the Eurofighter. For comparison, Rafale made over 10x the amount of room for OSF. Eurofighter consortium lacks foresight (among other things).
The point I was making was that Gaijin makes these arbitrary decisions all the time, don’t get your hopes up about nerfing it as they may just say no and leave it.
and is half the issue Typhoon players have.
Rafale:
Skipped PESA straight to AESA
HMD from very very late in its service or even the next version
IRST that by the looks of things it couldnt actually use
8x MICA from the export variant
Typhoon:
Buggiest radar at top tier at the moment and barely usable
HMD that is missing loads of features like DL IFF
an ahistorically early version of an ahistorically nerfed AGM
Missing loads of GBU options
etc etc
Feels like Rafale got every single feature it could get, even features that weren’t strictly speaking present on the Rafale that is meant to be represented and yet the Typhoon is denied fairly basic features of even its initial production variant.
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Oh I was only bringing it up because a Rafale bro came in and made a report about pirate because they conflated sensor FOV and sensor scan area, I fully expect no change or a simple renaming.
I’m simply trying to point out that tit for tat reports are stupid, and that we could all find dodgy/bad sources to nerf whatever we want.
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- “It (Pirate) is produced by the EuroFIRST consortium consisting of Leonardo of Italy, Thales Land & Joint Systems of the UK, and Tecnobit of Spain”
- The OSF is produced by Thales Group
And, you dear sir lack tact and decorum.
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Does anybody actually use guided bombs for CAS?
PIRATE was originally designed and developed by Pilkington Thorn Optronics. PTO was then taken over by Thales who then assumed responsibility for the project. French wouldn’t produce such an obsolete system.
You’re right, the Eurofighter might compete against early Rafales but is hopeless against later standards.
Thales make both PIRATE and Rafales IRST
The Rafales IRST didn’t work till the F4
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Thales only later assumed responsibility for the PIRATE project. It is still an early 1990s product from the UK’s Pilkington Thorn.
You have a source for that, bud?
Unless you consider the fact we have the earliest version of the Typhoon currently and can get later versions outselves… (yes it is technically the second version but we dont even have a decent representation of the prototype Typhoons yet)
My god. What did the Typhoon do to you for you to outright despise it so much?
Typhoon will destroy the Rafale once we get our IRL performance and the Rafale gets nerfed down to its IRL performance. To be entirely fair. We should have the T4 Typhoons currently compared to what the French have gotten with the Rafale F4
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Considering Pilkington competed against Thorn EMI (& FIAR/Leonardo) for the PIRATE contract and lost, as the Pirate contract selection occurred in 1992 and the Pilkington-Thorn merger wasn’t until 1995, I would be surprised that was the case. My Point was more that Thales is both the UK & France’s Optronics industry. Saying the UK optronics industry hasn’t made sufficient progress to warrant an upgrade is a farcical argument.
+ Due to production delays, the first Pirate units weren’t delivered until 2007 (AM) & 2008 (RAF), so well after the 2000 purchase of the last of Pilkington by Thomson-CSF (later Thales Group) to become Thales and Pilkington Optronics (later just Thales Optronics), adding to their 50% purchase in 1991, and 40% purchase in 1998.
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They don’t have F4 Rafale though
They have multiple features that should only be found on the F4.
Like HMD and IRST (heck 8x MICA was never done in French Service on the C F3)
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Oh ok. They should bring it in line with the real F3R standard then
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