More ATLC Rumors…
According to a reliable French blog, RAF typhoons, Dassault Rafales and LMT F-22s did indeed face off on several occasions during last month’s ATLC in the UAE. As we are still awaiting for the sacrament of confirmation about this news, the website has chosen to selectively highlight very positive events for Rafales, as apparently reported by an AdA pilot.
- Rafale vs Typhoon: several engagements took place. Of those reported by the website, it’s 7-1 for Rafale, with degraded AA weaponry.
- Rafale vs F-22: Furballs, and in visual range only. Rafale went reportedly only once on the wrong side of F-22’s gunsight. Again, we do not know how many times, RoEs, etc…
- Rafales also reportedly performed SEAD missions and were able to detect missile sites that had not been detected by F-16CJs.
- The Rafale famed OSF was able to “silently” detect targets at up to 23 NM.
- Finally, another Rafale demonstrated its multirole capabilities by simulating the launch of 6 Sagem AASM on as many targets and firing 3 MICA AA missiles within one minute. The website also reports that the backseater that day was an Emirati pilot.
So, once we carefully qualify the source, and take into account the selectivity of the information presented in this case, it nevertheless remains a very impressive demonstration of Rafales’ capabilities in a fairly realistic environment. Now let us wait for the other side of the story to get the full picture.
G2 Solutions @ December 17, 2009