thanks to the higher thrust, the EF could possibly take off with a given paylaod more easily from runways based at high altitude where the atmosphere is rarified and engines have to work much harder (Leh for eg).
Yes & no, CM, lol
That was in there. If the load is below 6+ tons things should be pretty even
but around maximum payload for the EF, from 5,5 to 7 tons approx,
clear advantage to the Typhoon but reverting back to Rafale after 7.5 tons
and further since the maximum payload is reached for the Eurofighter!
Still, it gives the Typhoon best performance at the most credible load range.
Here are pics of it in best form :
http://media.defenseindustrydaily.com/i ... cal_lg.jpg
http://www.armybase.us/wp-content/uploa ... phoon-.JPG
The first is far interdict over the mountain range and the second
shows the half'n half 6+6 mix of the Typhie in multirole.
So yes March,
too.
And Rahul_M sir that :
it is offset by the much lower loaded weight of the rafale (about 2 tons if wiki is correct)
is true of each with same payload and fuel, MTOW is one ton higher on the Rafale, just to be clear.
It is a shame to have misplaced that analysis, those are the fine tuning details that add up
to give a clear picture of those magnificient flying machines in operative form.
Eurofighter should go thrust vectoring at some point.
If/when available it would "complete" the Typhoon perfectly.
As for
SPECTRA it is very special and anyone forgetting it makes a major blunder.
As you know, the name shows the place it occupies in the plane's overall design.
Système de
Protection et d'
Évitement des
Conduites de
Tir pour le
RAfale.
Or RAfale's Targeting Controller Evasion and Protection Suite in English format.
It has a few distinctive features to what had been done on fighters before.
One in the name stands out, it was conceived for the plane specifically so that
A) it is completely networked to the pilot and helps in the consolidation of
alerts,
it does so both for the AtoA AtoG situations
C) it takes advantage of all sensors adding those of the weapons to its own.
There is an element of active cancellation involved but I will not
comment further on that since it is kept under a tight lid.
Anyway, real active cancellation is on the way in a few years max,
it has been done on bigger planes than fighters.
As for the nosecone size, time will tell if it was the proper choice.
The timeline goes about thus :
When Dassault gets ready to fix the design, the prefered route is
centered on a smaller plane so that its very size plays a part in
being LO.
Thales is already more or less fixed on going AESA and proposes a radar,
the RBE2 with electronic scan and complex mode interlacing so that
the switch would be "natural".
Confident that the AESA solutions of the future will add to SPECTRA
and compensate, Dassault indulges in a smallish nosecone.
That is why the Captor in AESA form will be so important in assessing
acquisition performance differences between the two planes.
The most important variable you cited was when AWACS are added to
the equation but it is somewhat incomplete.
Replace AWACS by NetworkCentricElement. Through link 16, any form
of targeting system that can communicate with the Rafale will do from
the AWACS, from a ground radar station or C2 plane or ship connected
to it and mostly another Rafale from the same patrol.
Detecting a plane silently as it scans a friend, so that you can transmit
to it the firing data it needs to engage.
In that example, the first plane(s) in a patrol is(are) silent and the rear
one comes in with radar beaming.
Such tactics have seen high off boresight firing of a MICA to reach an
hostile incoming full rear in exercise as commanded by a wingman that
had acquired the threat.
It relates to SPECTRA as said before as at least one instance has been
recorded of SPECTRA firing a MICA by itself.
( I wonder if the pilot felt bad? Too slow jack, the machine chose fer ya? )
As for a BVR IR missile, at 60kms that would be the MICA IR which debuted
in 2000.
Of course, we'd all like a METEOR IR and it may come but at 100kms,
you'll need quite a Pirate/OSF to give a confirm in passive mode
That's about it' Tay.
