The certification of the Standard F4 (4.1) variant for the RAFALE fighters has been completed according to an announcement by the French DGA which develops them together with Dassault Aviation.
The certification is said to have taken place on March 13, 2023, immediately after the delivery of the first aircraft with the new configuration even though the DGA went ahead with the official announcement a few days ago.
The Direction générale de l’armement (DGA), is a French government agency for defense procurement and technology that is responsible for the management of the equipment program of the French Armed Forces, the development of new solutions, weapons and means and also responsible for the approval of exports of French arms in other countries.
According to the announcement:
The DGA reports that the first Rafale F4.1 meets all the requirements, including in particular:
➡️ Possibilities of cooperative engagement in air combat
➡️ the integration of AASM HAMMER 1000kg
➡️ Strengthening the fighter jet against cyber threats.
The F4 standard will enter service in two (2) stages (in 2023 and 2025) to take advantage of all the new technologies and innovations available.
The objective of the gradual development of the F4 variant is to be able to remain at the best level in view of the changing national and export needs” concludes the DGA announcement.
The French government plans to upgrade all 180 Rafale B, C and M it has to the F4.1 variant. with deliveries expected to take place between 2027 and 2030.
This variant will have improved capabilities in the helmet-mounted display \ and, as reported by the DGA, the ability to be armed with a 1000 kg AASM HAMMER.
The primary objective of the F4 variant is to improve the Rafale’s connectivity with other systems. For this purpose, it will integrate new satellite and not only connections, as well as have upgraded communications and tactical image transfer systems, with a very important part of cooperative engagement that will enable the control even of METEOR shots from different aircraft of the type beyond the fighter that launched him.
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