Capabilities of Dassault Rafale Aircraft: Can Rafale fighter jet tackle Pakistan’s F-16 Fighting Falcon? | Military Equipment

  

Capabilities of Dassault Rafale aircraft , Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon, Military Equipment

Capabilities of Dassault Rafale aircraft and “Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon” bring these jets among the top fighter jets of the modern era. The comparison of these two fighter jets becomes important in the scenario of rivalry between two Asian nuclear powers i.e. Pakistan and India. Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has been using F-16 fighter jets for the last two or three decades. These F-16s have helped PAF dominate Indian Air Force at various occasions during these times. The most recent clash between two countries occurred in February 2019, where PAF reportedly shot down at least one of the Indian fighter jets during a dogfight.

Indian top military leadership also felt the importance of having the latest fighter jets that could manage the threat of PAF as well as the Chinese Air Force. This situation raised the importance of India’s deal with France regarding the acquisition of Dassault Rafale jets that are believed to challenge Pakistan’s F-16s. India is likely to receive 36 Rafale jets under this deal and 4 of them have already been delivered to India. This article is aimed at comparing the capabilities of F-16 and Rafale jets in order to have an idea that how Rafale jets can provide India with air superiority in future.

Dassault Rafale Fighter Jet

Dassault Rafale is a twin-engine multirole aircraft that can perform aerial reconnaissance, air supremacy, in-depth strike, ground support, nuclear deterrence, and anti-ship strike missions. Two Snecmo M88 engines of Rafale provide it with up to 50 kN of dry thrust and 75 kN thrust with afterburners. The engines are also capable of reducing infrared and radar signals (Dassault Aviation, 2020).

Rafale has a length of 15.30 meters and height of 5.30 meters. Its wingspan is 10.90 meters. The overall empty weight of the fighter jet is 10 tons, while the maximum take-off weight is 24.5 tons. The fighter jet has a maximum speed of 1.8 Mach and the range of about 3700 km. The service ceiling of Rafale is 5000 ft (Dassault Aviation, 2019). Rafale’s rate of climb is 18288 meters/min and it is capable of detecting 40 targets simultaneously. Rafale can carry 4.7 and 6.7 tons of fuel internally and externally respectively (Ramdas, 2020).

Rafale is not completely a stealth aircraft but, its design supports reduced radar cross-section (RCS). Reduced size of the tail fin, reshaped fuselage, use of composite materials, and repositioned air inlets of the engine (underneath wings) are some of the design factors that support the reduction of RCS. The RBE2 AA AESA radar provides the jet with a detection range of 200 km, and improves the overall reliability of Rafale.

Rafale contains a glass cockpit where the pilot can have simpler control and command through the function of a central computer that prioritises and select the necessary information. Right-handed stick and left-handed throttle are the major flight controls. G-force tolerance is improved by using a seat inclined at an angle of 29 degrees (Collins, 2009).  

IMA or integrated modular avionics system is among the core avionics components of Rafale that hosts major functions including fire control, data fusion, flight management, and the man-machine interface. An integrated defensive-aids system is used o protect the jet against ground and airborne threats. Moreover, a variety of decoying, detection, and jamming methods have incorporated into the Rafale to ensure the overall efficiency of the jet.

The OSF or Optronique Secteur Frontal system is integrated into the aircraft that can operate in infrared and visible wavelengths. This system is immune to jamming and can provide long-range surveillance. The Rafale jet can carry EM and Mica IR air-to-air missiles, AASM air-to-surface missile, and SCALP EG cruise missiles (for ground missions). Moreover, the AM 39 missiles can be used to carry out anti-ship missions. Furthermore, the aircraft can carry ASMP-A missiles for nuclear strikes (Dassault Aviation, 2017).

Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon

The F-16 Fighting Falcon, on the other hand, is a supersonic multirole fighter jet that works on a single-engine. This fighter jet was originally developed for US Air Force. But, many other countries including Pakistan have also been using F-16 fighter jets for decades. Pakistan Air Force reportedly has over 75 F-16 fighter jets in service. F-16 Jets used by PAF are usually powered by F-100 series engine that can provide a thrust of about 129 kN.

F-16 is 15.02 meters long with a height of about 5.090 meters. The maximum speed of F-16 is 2.0 Mach as compared to 1.8 Mach of Rafale. But the empty weight (9.2 tons) and Maximum take-off weight (21.7 tons) of F-16 are lower than Rafale jet. F-16 can carry 3.1 tons of fuel internally and 1.38 tons of fuel externally with a climb rate of about 15240 meters/min (Ramdas, 2020).

The range of F-16 Fighting Falcon is slightly over 4000 km with a service ceiling of around 5000 feet (Global Security, 2020). F-16 fighter jet uses AN/APG-68 radar that provides it with long-range detection of over 250 Km against aerial targets. This radar uses a programmable signal processor to employ VHSIC (very high speed integrated circuit) technology. AN/APG-68 Radar is equipped with (SAR) Synthetic aperture radar capability that further improves F-16’s reliability against other fighter jets (F16.net, 2020).

As far as the cockpit of F-16 is concerned, an exceptional field of view provided in the cockpit is the key feature of this fighter jet. The single-piece canopy provides a pilot with 360^o visibility. But, this canopy lacks forward bow frame that may resist the pilot's forward vision during some occasions. The ejection seat is tilted back at an angle of 30^o as compared to 13 to 15 degrees in competitor jets. This tilted seat provides the plane with more g-force tolerance, and can accommodate taller pilots as well.

F-16 jets can be armed with six AIM-9 short-range air-to-air missiles, and medium-range AIM-7 Sparrow (radar guided) missiles, Moreover, F-16 Fighting Falcon can also carry various air-to-air, air-to-ground, rockets, bombs, electronic countermeasures, and fuel tanks. F-16 also contains 20mm M61A1 Vulcan cannon that provides it superiority during close-range aerial combats. F-16 is also capable of carrying missiles to carry out nuclear strikes at any level (Lockheed Martin, 2020).

Read also about JF-17 Block III

Concluding Remarks

As evident from the detailed analysis of capabilities and specification data of F-16 fighting Falcon and Rafale Dassault, both the fighter jets are quite capable of providing their respective Air Forces with the advantage in particular aspects. F-16 is superior in terms of its higher speed of 2.0 Mach, range of over 4000km, and radar detection range of over 250 km. These parameters can help F-16 target Rafale jet first during a dogfight. But, the Rafale has a better climb rate of 18288 meters/min that provides Rafale jet with an aerial advantage. Moreover, the load-carrying and fuel carrying capabilities of Rafale jet are also superior to F-16 due to bigger size that can help this jet carry a wide range of weapons as well. Thus, unlike the existing fighter jets (SU 30s and MIG21s that were outclassed by F-16s) of Indian Air Force, Rafale jet is likely to manage the threat of Pakistani F-16 fighter jets in a better way.

 

 

Sources

Collins, P. (2009). FLIGHT TEST: Dassault Rafale - Rampant Rafale. Retrieved 5 September 2020, from https://www.flightglobal.com/flight-test-dassault-rafale-rampant-rafale/90047.article

Dassault Aviation. (2017). The Rafale for the replacement of the F-16s of the Air Component of the Belgian Defense. Retrieved 5 September 2020, from https://www.dassault-aviation.com/fr/groupe/presse/press-kits/rafale-remplacement-f-16-de-composante-air-de-defense-belge/

Dassault Aviation. (2019). Specifications and Performance data. Retrieved 5 September 2020, from https://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/defense/rafale/specifications-and-performance-data/

Dassault Aviation. (2020). DASSAULT AVIATION AND THE ACE AERO PARTENAIRES FUND. Retrieved 5 September 2020, from https://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/group/press/press-kits/

F16.net. (2020). F-16C/D. Retrieved 5 September 2020, from http://www.f-16.net/f-16_versions_article9.html

Global Security. (2020). F-16 Fighting Falcon. Retrieved 5 September 2020, from https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/f-16-specs.htm

Lockheed Martin. (2020). F-16 Fighting Falcon. Retrieved 5 September 2020, from https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/f-16.html

Ramdas, D. (2020). Rafale vs F-16. Retrieved 5 September 2020, from https://www.thequint.com/videos/news-videos/rafale-jet-vs-f-16-comparison