The Dassault Rafale fighter was designed as a replacement for the aging French Navy (Aéronavale) Chance-Vought F-8E Crusader fighters as the Rafale M (Marine) and for the the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) SEPECAT Jaguar fighter bomber as the Rafale B single seater and Rafale C two seater aircraft, the prototype first flew in late 1993 and became operational with the Aéronavale in 2002. Dassault Rafale M Specifications: - Crew: Pilot only
- Length: 15.27 m (50.0 ft)
- Wingspan: 10.80 m (35.4 ft)
- Height: 5.34 m (17.4 ft)
- Wing area: 45.7 m² (492 ft²)
- Max takeoff weight: 24,500 kg (54,000 lb)
- Engines: Twin 17,000 lbf (75 kN) SNECMA M88-2 afterburning turbofans
- Maximum speed: Mach 1.8
- Range: 1,800 km (970 nm, 1,100 mi)
- Service ceiling 18,000 m (60,000 ft)
Armament: - Single 30 mm GIAT 30/719B cannon
Air-to-air Missiles can be any of the following: - MICA IR/EM
- AIM-9 Sidewinder
- AIM-132 ASRAAM
- AIM-120 AMRAAM
- MBDA Meteor
- Magic II
Air-to-ground Missiles can be any of the following: - MBDA Apache
- SCALP EG
- AASM
- AM 39 Exocet
- ASMP nuclear missile
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