PARIS—French procurement agency DGA is continuing to retrofit the Dassault Rafale in preparation for the Block 4.2 standard after announcing the qualification of the combat aircraft to the F4.1 standard in March.
The contract to upgrade the Rafale to the F4 standard was awarded to Dassault Aviation in January 2019 as part of a €1.9 billion ($2.04 billion) development contract.
The F4 standard’s development is built around the pillars of increased connectivity, enhanced weapons capability, improved detection systems, elevated cyber resiliency and better availability.
The F4 upgrade work is divided into three blocks: 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3. Block 4.1 will feature collaborative air combat capabilities, integration of the 1,000-kg (2,200-lb.) Armement Air-Sol Modulaire (AASM) precision-guided bomb, new functions for the Thales RBE2 active electronically scanned array radar and Thales Talios targeting sensor, and the first elements for increased connectivity.
The first block consists of light modifications that are taking three to four months to be completed. The work is being partly carried out at the Aeronautical industrial workshop/Atelier Industriel Aéronautique (AIA) in Clermont-Ferrand, and also in Brittany for the Rafales operated by the French Navy and at the Saint Dizier air base.
The next step is to launch the work on the F4.2 standard. A first prototype is being modified at Dassault Aviation’s Istres site. An AIA team also is on site, monitoring the work “to understand what’s behind it,” explains a manager, and to be ready to launch work in Clermont-Ferrand. F4.1 and F4.2 modifications can then be carried out in parallel on the same aircraft to save time in 2024-2025. The retrofit to block 4.3 should be carried out directly by Dassault, but discussions are underway with the AIA to do the work. A final decision is expected in a few months.
Dassault Aviation will deliver 39 Rafales to the French armed forces by 2026, and negotiations also are underway for an additional 42 aircraft. According to the French programming law, the Rafale fleet will comprise 141 aircraft—100 for the French Air Force and 41 for the French Navy—by the end of 2023.