THINKING ON THE FUTURE: DASSAULT RAFALE BETTER FOR BRAZIL Brazil is in a period of its history that most Brazilians have not seen before. Economy is growing, its industrial base is in expansion, its vast mineral resources backing up a future of energy independence, and social advances are reaching more and more Brazilians. Now Brazil is a player in global forums. Brazilian foreign policy is to have good relations with all countries and always in favor of peaceful, diplomatic solutions for international disputes. This does not mean that Brazil should not have its armed forces prepared and equipped to defend its territory and interests (including the 200 mile economic territorial waters). With exception of Venezuela, that has been buying military equipment of all types from Russia, all other countries in the continent have their armed forces balanced for their own defense. This is the situation of today. No one knows what may come in the future and Brazil has to act now to have its armed forces as strong as its economy. A process of modernization of armed forces takes years, as any process of armament acquisition. What will be decided in the near future will be passed to the future generation, so that the decision has to be taken soon and thinking on the future. Of the modernization process, we will comment and give our view on the fighters acquisition for the Brazilian Air Force, as aerospace industry is were we have been working for more than 30 years, in many countries. THE PARTICIPANTS From the initial aircraft proposed for the so called FX-2 bid, today only three are finalists. These aircraft are the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the Dassault Rafale and the Saab JAS-39 Gripen. A short description of these aircraft is presented here. At the end of the article there are links for more details on history and technical data.
Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet The Hornet that is manufactured today by Boeing derives from the Northrop YF- 17, that after further development of MacDonnell Douglas and Northrop was designated as F-18 Hornet. It was developed originally to operate on aircraft carriers, having reinforced landing gear and arrester hook. The aircraft produced today as the Super Hornet is quite a new design using the same concepts. It is bigger than the original series and incorporates aerodynamic refinements. In few words, the F-18 is a twin engine fighter/ ground attack aircraft capable of performing multiple missions. Comparing with the other candidates for the Brazilian fighter it is bigger and heavier than the other competitors but slightly slower and less range. There is no doubt that it is a good aircraft. Although it can be an aircraft carrier equipment, it operates in large carriers, that is not the case of the Brazilian aircraft carrier. With two turbo fans it is more reliable than single engine designs. As an American aircraft, export licences have to be approved by the Americam Congress.
Dassault Rafale The Rafale is the answer of Dassault Aviation to a joint request of the French Air Force and the French Navy, issued on 1983, for a common platform that could replace many dedicated aircraft (Jaguar, F-8 Crusader, Mirage F1, Mirage 200, Etendard and Super Etendart). France was initially together with other European countries in the development of an European Fighter (now known as Eurofighter). As French requirements were not the same of the other nations, France left the joint program and Dassault was assigned for the development of a platform according to the French needs. As design was oriented from start with the dual role of a land based and aircraft carrier operation, the two versions have large commonality and it operates in small aircraft carriers.with two turbo fans it is more reliable than single engine designs and has some stealth capabilities including eletronic jamming. Engines, radar, eletronic and armament systems are French, not under the export restrictions of the USA.
Saab JAS-39 Gripen Initial studies for the development of the Saab JAS-39 Gripen started in 1979 and the first flight was in 1988. Problems with the electronic flight system delayed the development and it only entered service in 1997. It is a single-engine multirole fighter. Carrier based version is in study, as India and Brazil could be potential customers of a carrier borne fighter. The Gripen has a high content of electronic systems from the USA and an engine of the new NG variant is a GE F414, what was a concern in the recent competition for the Indian Air Force, that now is to choose the Dassault Rafale or the Eurofighter. As a small aircraft, the Gripen has a lower acquisition and maintenance cost and can operate in short runways. There is no doubt that it is a good design but being a light, single engine aircraft, it was not selected up to now by nations with large territorial extension. The largest country to operate the Gripen is South Africa.
WHAT IS BETTER FOR BRAZIL All aircraft selected for the final decision are good designs. Opinions of what is the one that is better will vary, as has already been published by the press. The former Brazilian president is said to be in favor of the Rafale. The Brazilian Air Force, again according to the press, prefers of the Gripen. The president of Embraer, according to Wikileaks, is in favor of the F-18. With a vision of the future, as these aircraft have to be operational and with support for defending our airspace for the next decades and considering that this contract may represent an excellent opportunity of accessing technology that we will need in the future, our opinion is that the Dassault Rafale is the best choice. The Rafale is a design newer than the F-18 and the Gripen is a small fighter. To have for the next years one fighter only, it is better to have a twin engine with the newest design. This opinion is based not only on the aircraft but also considering the following: Brazil has operated the Dassault Mirage for years and has always had the support for the fleet. Dassault is less influenced by political facts and support their aircraft all over the world, independent of political changes. The production of parts of the Rafale in Brazil will represent an injection of manufacturing technology that we wish will not be limited to just one or two aerospace companies. This is a good opportunity to expand the base of suppliers of aerospace assemblies and sub assemblies to compete internationally. Although all competitors are promising the same, we have to think in possible future restrictions on the so-called sensitive technology, be it by political or commercial reasons. The electronic equipment of the Rafale, most of it from Thales (already established in Brazil), can be produced here and with technology transfer, the country can enter the small group of countries able to develop advanced radars, navigation and communication systems, armament systems and all advanced electronics present on the Rafale. This type of technology, for US made equipment, is subjected to export licenses that sometimes even their close allies are restricted. The Snecma turbo fan of the Rafale can be serviced in Brazil and with the technological transfer that the contract requests, Brazil can have access to aircraft engine technology that just a few countries dominate, mainly in the engine hot section. Again the sensitive technology has to be considered, mainly if Brazil selects an aircraft with an American engine like the F-18 or Gripen.
For comparing basic data of these aircraft, we summarized some technical data on a table at the end of the article. The table is for reference only, as data from different sources and variants are not always the same. For more information, links, videos and cutaways, visit the site: http://www.engineerstoolkit.net BASIC DATA COMPARISON Boeing F-18 Dassault Rafale Saab Grifen Origin USA France Sweden Type carrierborne fighter and attack aircraft multi-role combat aircraft single-seat all-weather fighter, attack and reconnaissance aircraft First flight 1978 (A model) 1986 1988 Max Speed 1,032 kt / 1,183 mph 1,150 kt / 1,324 mph 1190 kt / 1,370 mph Max Range 740 km / 460 miles 1,093 km / 679 miles 800 km / 500 miles span 11.43 m / 37 ft 6 in 10.90 m / 35 ft 9 in 8 m / 26 ft 3 in length 17.07 m / 56 ft 0 in 15.30 m / 50 ft 2 in 14.10 m / 46 ft 3 in height 4.66 m / 15 ft 3.5 in 5.34 m / 17 ft 6.25 in 4.70 m / 15 ft 5 in empty weight 10,455 kg / 23,050 lb 9060 kg / 19,973 6,822 kg / 15,040 lb max take off weight 25,401 kg / 56,000 lb 19,500 kg / 42,990 lb 16,000 kg / 35,500 lb Powerplant Armament two 7257-kg (16,000-lb) afterburning thrust General Electric F404- GE-400 turbofans one 20-mm M61A1 Vulcan six-barrel rotary cannon with 570 rounds; up to 7711 kg (17,000 Ib) of disposable stores, including AAMs, ASMs, anti-ship missiles, freefall or guided bombs, cluster bombs, dispenser weapons, napalm tanks, rocket launchers, drop tanks and ECM pods, carried on nine external hardpoints two 7450-kg (16,424-lb) afterburning thrust SNECMA M88-2 turbofans one 30-mm DEFA 791 B cannon, plus provision for up to 6000 kg (13,228 Ib) of disposable stores carried on 14 external hardpoints. Missiles: MICA IR/EM or Magic II and MBDA Meteor. Air-to-ground: MBDA Apache or SCALP EG or AASM or GBU-12 Paveway II or AM 39 Exocet or ASMP- A nuclear missile one 8210-kg (18,100-lb) afterburning thrust Volvo Flygmotor RM12 turbofan. GE F414 on the NG version one 27-mm Mauser BK27 cannon; provision for Sky Flash and Sidewinder AAMs, Maverick ASMs, Rb15F anti-ship missiles, bombs, cluster bombs, rocket-launcher pods, reconnaissance pods, drop tanks and ECM pods carried on six external hardpoints Operators Australia, Canada, Finland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Spain, Switzerland, United States France (Air Force and Navy) Czech Republic, Hungary, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand (Ordered 6 x JAS 39)
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