France places $5.5 billion order for 42 new Rafale fighters

Dassault’s Rafale fighter jet is the backbone of French air power (French Air and Space Force on X)

PARIS — The French military has placed an order for over €5 billion ($5.5 billion) from aircraft-maker Dassault Aviation and partners Thales, Safran and MBDA for 42 more Rafale fighter jets to be delivered between 2027 and 2032, the government announced today.

For France this is the fifth tranche of jets from the Rafale program, bringing the total to 234 aircraft — 13 ordered in 1993, 48 in 1999, 59 in 2004, 60 in 2009, 12 in 2021, and now 42 in 2023.

The 42 single-seat aircraft will come in the standard 4 configuration but will be able to be upgraded to standard 5, scheduled to be introduced in the mid-2030s notably to allow the Rafale to fly in collaborative combat with remotely piloted aircraft, according to the French procurement agency DGA. Dassault began developing standard 4, which focuses on improved connectivity, in 2018. The first increment was qualified by DGA last March.

The 42-plane order was actually made in December but only announced today, though it does not come as a surprise as it was on the books and accounted for in the 2023 budget. Twelve of the 42 aircraft are to replace those that were taken out of the Air and Space Force and sold by the French government to its Croatian counterpart in November 2021.

Sebastien Lecornu, the French armed forces minister who was confirmed in his job this week by the new French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, said this order “is excellent news for our sovereignty, our security and our armed forces who will benefit from extra Rafales with modernised operational capacities.” He remarked that the order would “contribute to more than 7,000 jobs in 400 companies in France” adding that “this investment of more than €5 billion will irrigate numerous areas.”

Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation said in statement, “We are ready and determined to use our skills as prime contractor and complex systems integrator to serve the sovereignty of our nation. This military industrial sovereignty is an exception in Europe. It guarantees the superiority of our combat aviation. It is also an asset for diplomatic influence and an economic strength in export trade.”

Standard 4 will implement a number of changes, according to the French Ministry of Armed Forces. The RBE2 AESA radar’s Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) will detect and follow ground targets in 3D. The aircraft to missile communication system will provide the missile with regular information concerning its target until its own system locks onto the target.

The aircraft’s self-protection SPECTRA system will have its detection and jamming bandwidths extended so that it no longer needs to triangulate. And the Rafale will be able to carry up to three 1,000 kilogram AASM air-to-ground missiles.

Other improvements include a helmet mounted display system, bigger VTLs in the cockpit which can be manipulated like a smartphone including zooming in and out using two fingers, new optronics to detect stealthy targets, integration of the CONTACT tactical radio and improved protection from cyberattacks.

Dassault has 229 Rafales on its order books to date: 159 for export and 70 for France.

Indonesia ordered 18 Rafales in August 2023 taking the overall number of Rafales ordered last year to 60. Earlier this week Jakarta ordered a further 18 aircraft taking its total ordered to 42, after the first six were ordered in September 2022.