“To meet the urgent need of the Greek authorities, the deliveries of aircraft will begin in the summer of 2021 and will be spread over two years,” the airframer says. It describes the 12 secondhand fighters included in the package as having been “recently in service with the French air force”.
Guided weapons supplier MBDA says the Rafale’s armament fit will “benefit from strong commonality with the [Dassault] Mirage 2000s and Mirage 2000-5s currently in service in the Hellenic Air Force”. This will include.
SCALP EG also know asStorm Shadow is a low observable air launch cruise missiles manufactured by am European Developer MBDA. It is the same company that manufactures Meteor, one of the best Air to Air Missile in the world.
Things which makes SCALP EG, a deadly missile is its stealth characteristics and ability to neutralise ground target at the maximum range of 560 KM.
It is powered by Turbomeca Microturbo TRI 60-30 turbojet engine which is capable in producing 5.4 kN thrust. This Missile is can cruise at a maximum speed of 0.95 mach (1173 KM/hr) depending upon flight altitude.
AM39 Exocet anti-ship missiles
Exocet AM39 is the airborne version of the Exocet anti-ship missile family. It can be launched from strike aircraft, Maritime Patrol Aircraft and helicopters.
With a range of up to 70 km, depending on the altitude and speed of the aircraft, the Exocet AM39 enables the aircraft to remain at range from enemy air defences.
When carrying out a low altitude attack, the missile may also be launched under the target ship radar coverage. Ingress is at a very low altitude over the sea (sea-skimming).
Mica short-range air-to-air missiles.
MICA is the multi-mission air-to-air missile system for the Rafale and the latest versions of Mirage 2000-5 combat aircraft. It has a high level of tactical flexibility in order to meet the most demanding operational requirements:
- Beyond Visual Range (BVR) multi-target / multi-shoot
- Enhanced Short Range (SR) performance
- Maximum flexibility for multi-role / swing-role aircraft
MICA has a totally dual role for Rafale's. It is able to cope with both BVR and SR combat situations and exhibits very high performance in both situations. The weapon covers Beyond Visual Range situations and in addition offers 2 guidance systems with its 2 interoperable seekers:
- RF MICA with radar seeker providing all weather shoot-up / shoot down capability
- IR MICA with dual waveband imaging infrared seeker surpassing latest generation AAM missiles.
MICA outperforms other BVR missiles with its unique stealthy interception capability provided by its silent seeker.
Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles.
Meteor is an active radar guided beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) Meteor offers a multi-shot capability against long range maneuvering targets, jets, UAVs and cruise missiles in a heavy electronic countermeasures (ECM) environment with a range in excess of 100 kilometres (54 nmi).
Guided by an advanced active radar seeker, Meteor provides all weather capability to engage a wide variety of targets from agile fast jets to small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and cruise missiles.
The weapon is also equipped with data link communication. Aimed at meeting the needs of a network-centric environment, Meteor can be operated using third party data, enabling the Meteor user – the pilot – to have the most flexible weapon system.
Greek defence minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos says the acquisition “will contribute to the further strengthening of the combat capability and deterrent power of the air force and the armed forces”. He adds: “The firepower of the Greek air force will be multiplied. The special features of the Rafales, with advanced electronic [warfare] systems, in combination with their strategic weapons, make them an important factor of air superiority.”
Dassault notes that the sales success continues a more than 45-year relationship with the Greek air force, which fielded its Mirage F1 in 1974, Mirage 2000 in 1985 and Mirage 2000-5 in 2000.
“The continuity of our presence in Greece, even in the most difficult times, is a token of the quality of this relationship,” says Dassault chief executive Eric Trappier.
French defence minister Florence Parly, who also attended the signing ceremony, notes that this is the first Rafale export deal concluded with a NATO member. Dassault has previously supplied the multi-role type to Egypt, India and Qatar, along with the French air force and navy.
Cirium fleets data shows that the Greek air force’s combat aircraft inventory includes a combined 42 Mirage 2000/-5s, the oldest of which have been in use for 32 years. The French air force, meanwhile, has 102 Rafale B/Cs in active service, aged between six and 16 years.
France has ordered 12 Rafale combat jets for its airforce to replace those sold to Greece earlier this week.
With this, Dassault industries says it has enough Rafale orders to last till 2025.
