Dassault Rafale M
Jet Fighter Plane

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