(Radar 0 will out-range both against airborne targets). (RBE2 likely to still beat Radar 0 upon IOC due to more mature system and HMI). In 2006, it was announced that, in addition to Saudi Arabia's contract to purchase the Eurofighter Typhoon, both the Tornado IDS and ADV fleets would undergo a £2.5 billion program of upgrades, allowing them to remain in service to at least 2020. The Tornado still is a kickass aircraft, and many of the technologies now present in the Eurofighter Typhoon were first deployed in the Tornado. The news was first reported by German site AugenGeradeaus. For Rafale, Meteor is regularly carried by the F3R standard aircraft on live operational sorties by both the Armee de l’Air and Aeronavale. Both Typhoon and Rafale can launch capable standoff cruise missiles in the shape of the Storm Shadow/SCALP and Taurus KEPD 350. However, the Hornets will need a new certification to wield … Money Minute: Sending cash by mobile apps — convenient, but be careful, Money Minute: Getting the Most When buying a Used Car. I asked a Eurofighter pilot about this and I’m still not quite sure it’s a meaningful thing. It seems to hinge on the EW suite being ‘e-programmable’. NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management … The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard–delta wing, multirole fighter. US development efforts have emphasised these cooperative engagement capabilities (CEC) far more than French ones over the past two decades, and Typhoon benefits from that weapon heritage. They’re trying to do something much more ambitious; although in many scenarios the output is functionally similar. Just wondering what everyone thinks , out of the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Tornado F3 Which one do you think is better I genreally prefer the Typhoon , seen it at a airshow and by god that Jet is a beauty! Until some time ago, the German Air Force was aiming to replace the Tornado fleet only with the Eurofighter in both the ECR and the Project Quadriga configuration. Air-to-air engagements at short ranges and why?RBE2 due to much faster AESA scan, acquisition and classification of target capabilities, greater resistance to dropping contacts during manoeuvres, as well as excellent information display for pilots in F3R cockpit. COLOGNE, Germany ― Germany’s Ministry of Defence has officially ruled out the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as a choice to replace its aging Tornado … I would say this has to be counted as the definitive Rafale v Typhoon comparison for the early 2020s. By giving us your email, you are opting in to the Early Bird Brief. I am surprised the Typhoons new Digital Stealth was not mentioned, it seems to be a world leading capability on Typhoon to counter, if not surpass the lack of static stealth in the air-frame. Rafale has a superior ECM (electronic attack) capability in the shape of the SPECTRA suite allowing it more options to degrade the performance of hostile SAM radars if it needs to penetrate defended airspace. Make sure this fits by entering your model number. His article provoked a huge response from readers around the world. “There does not have to be a nuclear Tornado replacement,” Karl-Heinz Kamp, president of the government think tank Federal Academy for Security Policy, told Defense News in August. Sign up for the Early Bird Brief, the defense industry's most comprehensive news and information, straight to your inbox. In practice, however, Typhoon users with Sniper or Lightning III can off-board data using the jet’s own datalinks. Etymology 1 From (etyl) storm, from (etyl) . Typhoon with the PIRATE system is significantly ahead of the legacy Rafale IRST. It is packed with a feast of material, ranging from interviews with fighter pilots (including the English Electric Lightning, stealthy F-35B and Mach 3 MiG-25 ‘Foxbat’), to wicked satire, expert historical analysis, top 10s and all manner of things aeronautical, from the site described as: “the thinking-man’s Top Gear… but for planes”. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. However, the biggest win in recent years is for Typhoon from Germany for both the Quadriga-standard replacement order for the Tranche 1s and also 90 aircraft to replace Germany’s Tornado fleet in the conventional strike role. Meanwhile the new Qatari standard Rafales are being delivered with the type’s first HMD, but the French Air Force still lacks this capability, and the system is still to be matured. Brimstone’s smaller size also allows more weapons to be carried per aircraft, with three per hardpoint on adaptors. However, even within the RAF, the older Tranche 1s are much more costly to fly and difficult to maintain than the new Tranche 3s. Both fighters are fairly expensive to operate compared to solutions such as Gripen or F-16 on a one-for-one basis, being large, complex, twin engined beasts. Change ), Eurofighter Typhoon versus Dassault Rafale: A 2020 comparison – luftverteidigung.ch deutsche Version, In the cockpit with real Topgun instructor: Dave ‘Bio’ Baranek takes us for a brief history of fighter cockpits, F-106 to F-35 | Hush-Kit, In the cockpit with real Topgun instructor: Dave ‘Bio’ Baranek takes us for a brief history of fighter cockpits, F-106 to F-35 – My Blog, The US Air Force Secretly Designed and Flew a New Fighter Jet Testbed and I just Feel Depressed, Upgrade gets you Su-34 mug, signed book, RAF blood chit tea towel & WW2 badge, The best made military propaganda film: Wehrhafte Schweiz (1964) features incredible flying footage, I was the first foreign pilot to fly the Mach 2.8 MiG-31 interceptor, here’s my story: By Air Marshal Anil Chopra (Retd), We don’t need no edgy ejection: Interview with man who ejected from a Harrier and played on a Pink Floyd album, Eurofighter Typhoon versus Dassault Rafale video: Part 1. Curious on what he bases his comments on instantaneous and sustained turn rate. It is said that the Rafale would have an advantage in a dogfight below 10K feet and a Typhoon above, would you agree with this? The flip side is that both AMRAAM variants have advanced off-board guidance capabilities to allow passive engagements in cooperation with another aircraft in active mode. German defense officials on Thursday evening stressed that no decisions had been made besides reducing the playing field to the FA-18 and the Eurofighter Typhoon. Rafale’s SCALP and Typhoon’s Storm Shadow are essentially the same (extremely capable but very expensive) missile from MBDA. A Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet flies at the Berlin air show. Unless he has access to the official EM charts for both, he is simply guessing. Costs like a Raptor, flies like a Tornado. English. Also Damocles is replaced by TALIOS as part of F3R. Deputy Defense Minister Ralf Brauksiepe stated in December that Berlin saw the Eurofighter Typhoon as the “primary” option for replacing the domestically-produced Panavia Tornado, whereas the F-15, F/A-18 and F-35 were merely “secondary choices.” Which is doing better on the export market and why? The UK’s much more ambitious (and now funded) ECRS2 promises a massive leap in AESA capability with areas of advantage even over the latest US AESAs, but is so far only likely to be integrated onto the 40 Tranche 3s, with the fate of the 67 Tranche 2s less certain in that regard. Germany’s parliament has approved a major €5.4 billion ($6.35 billion) contract to purchase heavily modernised Tranche 3 variants of the Eurofighter Typhoon fourth generation combat jet, which will allow it to phase its ageing Cold War era Tornado swept wing fighters out of service. COLOGNE, Germany ― Germany’s Ministry of Defence has officially ruled out the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as a choice to replace its aging Tornado fleet, Defense News has learned. “We have not been officially notified of a decision on Germany’s future fighter,” Lockheed spokesman Mike Friedman said in an emailed response to a query. The military is scrambling to understand the aviation crash risk from a new 5G sale, Biden picks Lloyd Austin, retired Army general, to lead Pentagon, Acting SecDef, service secretaries exposed to COVID-19 after top civilian tests positive, Head of nuclear weapons agency unexpectedly resigns. Based on the physical properties of the two aircraft I’d suspect the Rafale has a higher instantaneous rate, but at the same time the Typhoon should have a superior sustained turn rate irrespective of altitude thanks to signifantly higher thrust and a lower induced drag. The Eurofighter is also the front-runner to meet the Luftwaffe’s 85-aircraft requirement for a Tornado replacement. The RBE2 radar has continued to mature and is now a standout feature of the jet, whilst the French government has committed to a major upgrade of the jet’s internal systems and sensors in the upcoming F4 standard programme. Before the German MoD confirmed that the F-35 was officially out of the running, Reuters on Thursday reported that the ministry was considering splitting the buy between the Typhoon and either the F-35 or Super Hornet. Rafale is designed to excel at subsonic speeds and at lower altitudes. With external pylons, tanks, weapons and pods, both have a sufficient RCS to be detected at long ranges by modern sensors such as the Irbis-E on the Su-35 and Chinese AESAs on J-10C, J-16 or J-20, as well as ground based air defence radars. With the Centurion upgrades, Meteor integration and an extremely experienced user community both in terms of strike/multirole missions and air superiority, the RAF’s Tranche 3 Typhoons would edge out the Kuwaiti and Qatari aircraft in terms of operational capability, even though the latter feature the export version of the CAPTOR-E radar series. Fascinating insights into exceptionally obscure warplanes. However, as a rule Rafale is probably slightly cheaper in real terms to acquire than Typhoon. Both Rafale F3R and P3E standard (Centurion upgraded) Typhoons present pilots with an intuitive combined situational awareness display which integrates data from multiple sensors. The Italian Air Force has recently begun training its first Eurofighter and Tornado pilots on the Alenia Aermacchi T-346A at Lecce airbase, in southeastern Italy. However, Rafale can also use the RECO-NG wide area/standoff TAC-R pod to provide a modern, fully digital equivalent to RAPTOR. From the cocaine, blood and flying scarves of World War One dogfighting to the dark arts of modern air combat, here is an enthralling ode to these brutally exciting killing machines. Germany’s decision appears to have been a surprise for F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin, which was not told by the ministry of the imminent announcement. The drawback is extremely high munitions cost. Highly experienced crews, full DAS and radar capabilities without export restrictions (and a nuclear missile capability). In terms of load carrying capacity, ECM, subsonic agility, low and medium altitude WVR performance and cost Rafale F3R would also likely still come out ahead of a Tranche 2 or 3 P3E standard Typhoon. Completely slicked off with no external stores or targeting pods, a Rafale would likely have a lower frontal RCS compared to a Typhoon, but in practice neither would be combat effective in this configuration. The ongoing flight trials of the SPEAR 3 multirole light standoff munition (which includes an EW variant for stand-in jamming) on UK Typhoons give the type access to another highly potent option, although at present the UK is only paying to actually use SPEAR 3 on F-35B. The Rafale's Matra MICA missiles are modern dogfight missiles on par with the AIM-9X, IRIS-T, … Both are significantly cleaner in terms of switches and clutter than previous generations of aircraft and slightly cleaner than current generation F-15s and F-16s in USAF service. Frankly, Switzerland should be flying Gripen C/D or possibly E/F given their national budget, neutrality and mission requirements and I’d wager anyone who looks at it from an operational requirements point of view would come to a similar conclusion. Both types are highly tolerant of bad weather conditions although Rafale-M has an edge in terms of landing conditions tolerances due to the carrier-suitability adaptions. – In A2G, India ordered SPICE glide bombs for Rafale Typhoon’s flight control software starts to progressively restrict the jet with heavier (or particularly asymmetric) loads. This is because modern SAM systems such as the S-400 and HQ-9 are highly mobile and have such long range that a subsonic cruise missile launched from a safe distance would take tens of minutes to arrive. Maritime attack RBE2 again due to advantages of AESA array plus a more mature maritime attack mode with Exocet integrated. Brimstone is more accurate with a much smaller ultra-low collateral warhead. Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH is made up of the major aerospace companies from the four Eurofighter Typhoon partner nations. Thank you very much. As for the UK v US crap spouted on here, they are the strongest alleys in the world. Some points to be corrected: For reference the German/Spanish ‘Radar 1’ standard will add further capabilities and the UK’s ECRS2 version will be a different beast entirely with advanced ground mapping, GMTI and EW capabilities in addition to traditional AESA functions. In practice, there is little to choose between them, I pity the enemy shot at by either. “With common DNA in terms of initial development and requirements setting work before France spilt away from what became the Eurofighter consortium to develop the Rafale, it is unsurprising that both aircraft have relatively similar design philosophies compared to their competitors globally. The French Air Force’s latest F3R aircraft with the RBE2 and Meteor are, on balance, likely to be the most capable Rafales around for much the same reasons as the RAF’s Tranche 3 Typhoons are. Typhoon users will have to wait for the UK-developed ECRS2 radar and DAS upgrade for a competitive or even (potentially) superior option. The main argument is to keep European companies involved in building combat aircraft and, perhaps even more importantly, staying clear of disturbing Franco-German momentum in armaments cooperation. Typhoon is designed to excel in acceleration, climb rate and supersonic performance and agility at high altitudes for maximum beyond visual range capability. PIRATE is a genuinely exceptional IRST, although for years shortages of spare parts limited its use by various frontline squadrons. It’s worth noting that despite complaints about the cost of keeping the aging Tornados flying, keeping around a certain number of them has always been under consideration — a painful, but not impossible, proposition among some defense experts. The French Rafales can also carry the ASMP-A nuclear standoff missile which is a unique capability. Eurofighter Typhoon is one of the worlds most advanced new generation multi-role/swing-role combat aircraft available on the market. He noted that any German government is acutely averse to the publicity surrounding Berlin’s would-be atomic bombers. I’m a bit surprised the RECO-NG pod was not mentioned in the Recce-Equipment section. In within-visual range combat, both Typhoon and Rafale would likely destroy each other in the merge in a 1v1 or 2v2. We went back to Justin Bronk and asked him to revisit this analysis to include half a decade’s worth of development and weapons integration which has now placed these two aircraft at the top of their game. That is especially the case for the nuclear mission. Between 15,000 and around 30,000ft the relative merits will depend on speed range, as if the Typhoon might start with an advantage in a supersonic merge but Rafale would improve relatively as speeds drop during a long engagement. The Indian standard does feature some impressive additions including additional podded electronic warfare capabilities and TRD, whilst the Qatari standard features the new HMD. The central display protruding out towards the pilot in the Rafale would be a matter of personal taste over the more traditional Typhoon display layout, with an easier view of the main radar/situational awareness display coming at the cost of slightly reduced cockpit working area in a cockpit already slightly more snug than Typhoon’s. The actual cost will depend on the govt-govt relationship and how many of the bells and whistles each customer wants to pay for. This is a significant advantage over Typhoon in the TAC-R role. – In Range, the Eurofighter’s LPD takes up a wet point However, the decision leaves open the question of certification for nuclear weapons. Ordering both the Typhoon and an American aircraft would make it easier to continue carrying out the NATO nuclear mission, while also lending support to the European industrial base. The Aerodynamic Modification Kit (AMK) developed by Eurofighter would address these limitations and greatly improve the instantaneous turn rate and agility at all speeds with heavy loads, but so far no operator has bought it – suggesting they are broadly satisfied with the aircraft as is. In 2015, Research Fellow at the RUSI Think-tank Justin Bronk, compared Europe’s two middle-weight fighter aircraft, the Typhoon and Rafale, The relatively subtle differences between these two superbly capable aircraft have inspired a great deal of heated debate, often poisoned by pride and nationalism. At higher altitudes, Typhoon’s greater specific excess power and decoupled canards give it a slight advantage, which increases as altitude increases above 45,000ft. I will add an estimate in brackets for the Kuwaiti/Qatari standard Typhoon with the ‘Radar 0’ version of the CAPTOR-E AESA which is flying and enters service this year in Kuwait. Depends on altitude and speed. The BK27 has slightly better muzzle velocity and ballistic properties whilst the GIAT has slightly better destructive effect due to its larger shell. Typhoon has to make do with a less than fully optimised TAC-R pod as the RAPTOR pod fitted to Tornado GR.4 was not integrated when the latter was retired – in part because of centreline store size limitations on Typhoon due to the front landing gear leg placement. Typhoon comes with one or two TRDs mounted in a wingtip pod as standard, with specific version dependent on operator choices. While the Eurofighter … Rafale uses the Damocles targeting pod for light recce duties whilst RAF Typhoons use the Lightning III which also has limited FOV recon capabilities. This site needs a small donation from you to continue. COLOGNE, Germany — The race between Boeing’s F-18 jet and the Airbus Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to replace Germany’s Tornado fighter-bombers has … Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. How many Meteor could be carried in a wartime emergency? Rowland White, author of the best-selling ‘Vulcan 607’, I’ve selected the richest juiciest cuts of Hush-Kit, added a huge slab of new unpublished material, and with Unbound, I want to create a beautiful coffee-table book. The Eurofighter has now replaced the Tornado ADV in the air-defence role. ( Log Out /  While Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH co-ordinates the programme on Industry side, the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) acts as the single point of contact for customers and governments. At time of writing the following comparisons would be for the latest F3R Standard Rafale with the RBE2 AESA radar vs a Typhoon FGR.4 in UK service with the CAPTOR-M. The Typhoon has an advantage in terms of a mature helmet mounted display (HMD) system in the form of the Striker helmet, and an extremely advanced follow on (the Striker II) is well into testing with integral night vision, multi role visual/voice target designation capabilities and other advancements. What is Typhoon’s configuration designed to excel at, and the same for Rafale? Air-to-air engagements at long ranges The RBE2 (has the advantage) against targets with a low radar cross section due to the greater performance of AESA types against these threats. If it was a priority to up the Meteor carriage on Rafale to four, I expect that could be done at the cost of MICA numbers on the centre underwing station. Their job is to deter and if necessary provide overmatch against the latest hostile fighter types. The Damocles pod has an advantage over Sniper and Lightning III in that it features an integral datalink capability to transfer reconnaissance and target data directly to other stations such as those found on French Air Force tankers. How has Typhoon improved since your 2015 assessment?The multirole capabilities of the jet have matured drastically since 2015, especially as a result of the RAF’s Project Centurion programme which integrated Brimstone, full Paveway IV functionality and Storm Shadow, in addition to full Striker HMD exploitation and a number of other multirole enabling capabilities. The Typhoon—despite its superior aerodynamic performance—is slowly being edged out by the stealthy F-35. The Eurofighter Typhoon is the RAF's most advanced combat jet aircraft Photo: PA. ... (1,550 mph) making them considerably faster than the RAF’s workhorse Tornado jets, … In 2015, Research Fellow at the RUSI Think-tank Justin Bronk, compared Europe’s two middle-weight fighter aircraft, the Typhoon and Rafale,  The relatively subtle differences between these two superbly capable aircraft have inspired a great deal of heated debate, often poisoned by pride and nationalism. By dint of being complex multi role single seat (in most cases) fighters, the HOTAS controls are fairly intimidating to someone used to a US teen series (or my DCS A-10C/F-16 HOTAS), but once mastered are extremely comprehensive. Price: $11.99 + $6.99 shipping: This fits your . France’s AASM ‘Hammer’ series of glide and boosted bomb guidance kits gives Rafale a comparable capability to Paveway IV with a greater amount of warhead and range flexibility. Eurofighter Typhoon vs F-35 Lightning IIComments of readers (Feel free to “Leave a Reply” on bottom.)1. In terms of energy regeneration, Typhoon has the edge by dint of a higher specific excess power. I think that is now enabled. I’m not 100% sure if Rafale can now use the full two-way datalink functionality on Meteor. Europe's two middle-weight fighter aircraft, the Typhoon and Rafale, have fought tooth and nail for multi-billion Euro sales across the world. According to all the Rafale pilots I have spoken to, the Rafale’s F3R standard HMI is superb from an operator’s point of view in multirole scenarios, especially in terms of displaying threat information. Both types have a similar ferry range with a ‘heavy’ three tank fit. In practice, both types depend to a large degree on tanker support for most operational missions. As above, the higher the speed and altitude of an engagement, the better Typhoon performs relative to Rafale and vice versa. However, those will not be in service for several years so are not included here. Berlin for some time has officially favored an upgraded version of the fourth-generation Eurofighter Typhoon — built by a consortium of Airbus, Leonardo and BAE Systems — as the Tornado replacement. His article provoked a huge response from readers around the world. Which aircraft would fare better against the Flanker family and other aircraft likely to be flown by near-peer competitors such as the Chinese J-10 family? The integration of the Meteor missile for the F3R standard Rafales has plugged a major weakness of the type in my 2015 assessments – the lack of a serious BVR stick. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo that conducts the majority of the project through a joint holding company, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH formed in 1986. In terms of the design philosophy effects on the final aircraft, the Rafale has a greater emphasis on load carrying and exceptional handling even at very low speeds whilst the Typhoon as a design is more focused on maximum performance at altitude, and agility at transonic and supersonic speeds. However, it could complicate logistics, adding more expense and forcing the German Air Force to maintain two supply chains. Typhoon’s habit of fighting at very high speeds and altitude for BVR engagements will result in a longer effective range on Meteor shots, but in practice there are almost no scenarios short of a full scale war with Russia where the rules of engagement would allow shots at such a range where that difference would tell. Cockpit layout/man-machine interfaceBoth aircraft have similar cockpit layouts in most respects, with three large main multifunction colour displays capable of significant customisation to suit individual pilot preferences in the latest versions. With 707 aircraft ordered by six nations (Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Austria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), and in service with all nations, the aircraft is Europe’s largest military collaborative program. MICA has slightly superior range to ASRAAM and significantly superior range to IRIS-T. All are highly agile and lethal missiles in a WVR engagement, with IRIS-T boasting the greatest knife fight agility, ASRAAM the best performance off the rail, and MICA the best reach. The book will be a stunning object: an essential addition to the library of anyone with even a passing interest in the high-flying world of warplanes, and featuring first-rate photography and a wealth of new world-class illustrations.