The minister said in an interview with Action 24 television that the first two have arrived, a third arrived “the other day”, and another is expected early next year.
He stressed that another six Rafale aircraft are expected “in 2023 and another six the year after that.”
Regarding Turkey’s repeated threats, he stressed that “deterrence is important, and Greece has taken many steps in recent years.”
Rafale is a Dassault Aviation-designed twin-jet fighting aircraft. The aircraft is equipped to carry out operations of air superiority, interdiction, airborne identification, land assistance, in-depth attack, anti-ship attack, and nuclear deterrence.
The plane can hold a variety of powerful weapons. European rocket producer MBDA’s Meteor, beyond the visual range of air-to-air rockets and Scalp cruise missiles, will be the core of the Rafale fighter jet weapons kit.
COCKPIT
The Rafale cockpit holds a hands-on throttle and stick (HOTAS) control feature. The cockpit also has a wide-angle monitor, and Thales Avionique provides the avionics with the required aircraft control and firing signal details. The war pilot has a scope installed on his mask. And there is a camera and onboard recorder which records the view while the mission takes place.
THE ENGINE
The Rafale has twin M88-2 engines, each capable of producing dry thrust and afterburners of up to 50 kilonewtons (11,000 pounds-force) and 75 kN (17,000 pounds-force). This also provides a refuelling buddy facility that enables one fighter aircraft to transfer the fuel to another while still in action.
Many of the cutting-edge technologies they’ve used involve single-piece bladed piston disks, single-crystal turbine blades, and ceramic coatings, which is why it’s so common. The engines drive the Rafale to achieve a 1.8 Mach (1912 kmph) high altitude and a range of more than 3700 km with three drop tanks.
THE WEAPONS
The Rafale arms (Air Force version) are reported to bear more than 9 t of payloads. And they will carry the naval variant 13 t. The weapons range from Sidewinder, Apache, Harpoon, ALARM, PGM100, Magic, and Mica. This can hold anti-ship and air-to-air rockets and fire targets on the ground about 300 km from the SCALP rocket.
Around the same time, it can also shoot for eight specific goals. It has a twin-gun tank and a 30 mm cannon that can shoot over in one minute over 2500 bullets. The bird is also equipped with technologies that make missile laser guidance.
SPECIFICATIONS OF THE RAFALE JET
Dimensions:
Wingspan: 10.90 m
Length: 15.30 m
Heigh: t5.30 m
Performances:
Max. thrust: 2 x 7.5 t
Limit load factors: -3.2 g / +9 g
Max. speed: M = 1.8 / 750 knots
Approach speed: less than 120 knots
Landing ground run: 450 m (1,500 ft) without drag-chute
Service ceiling: 50,000 ft
Weight:
Overall empty weight: 10 t (22,000 lbs) class Max. take-off weight: 24.5 t (54,000 lbs)
Fuel:(internal): 4.7 t (10,300 lbs)
Fuel (external): up to 6.7 t (14,700 lbs)
External load: 9.5 t (21,000 lbs)
This post was last modified on December 7, 2022 3:48 pm