France announces development of Rafale F5 with new UCAV and nuclear missile

The new UCAV that will complement the Rafale F5 will benefit from the achievements of the nEUROn program. The development comes at a time of changes in air warfare and application doctrine in the French Air and Space Force, particularly with regard to SEAD/DEAD missions.

French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced on October 8, 2024, the development of the next Rafale F5 standard, accompanied by a stealthy UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) and the new ASN4G hypersonic nuclear missile, scheduled for implementation in the 2030s. The drone would also largely be a derivative of the nEUROn aircraft, which first flew in December 2012 after being commissioned in 2003 as Europe’s first UCAV in a collaborative aerospace technology effort between six European countries.

The announcement was made on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the FAS (Forces Aériennes Stratégiques – Strategic Air Forces) at the Saint-Dizier air base. The FAS is a component of the Air Force responsible for the Force’s nuclear strike missions with the Rafale and the ASMP-A supersonic missile.

“This UAV will be complementary to the Rafale and suitable for collaborative combat,” said a statement from Dassault Aviation. “It will incorporate stealth technologies, autonomous control (with man-in-the-loop), internal payload capability and more. It will be highly versatile and designed to evolve with future threats.”

Interestingly, the development comes at a time of changes in air warfare and application doctrine in the Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace (AAE), particularly with regard to SEAD/DEAD (Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defense) missions. ). Discussions in the French parliament from November 2023 reveal that the service envisages that future SEAD/DEAD missions will effectively be achieved through joint forces missions and not just through air power. As will be discussed later, France’s reading of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and the evolution of the electromagnetic spectrum does not require the development of a dedicated electronic warfare version of the Rafale.

Rafale F5 and UCAV

Dassault said the Rafale F5 “combined with the UCAV and its evolutions, such as the Mirage IV in its time, will guarantee France’s independence and capability superiority for decades to come.” Introduced into service in 1964, the Mirage IV was a strategic bomber and the only European aircraft (at least at the time) that could maintain a speed of Mach 2 for more than 30 minutes.

The company then mentioned the nEUROn program, which after “more than 170 test flights to date… has delivered on all its promises in terms of performance levels, delivery times and budget.” The new UCAV is said to benefit from the achievements of the nEUROn program.

The nEUROn program involved Dassault Aviation as prime contractor, in collaboration with Airbus Spain (formerly EADS-CASA), Hellenic Aerospace Industries, Italian Leonardo (formerly Alenia Aermacchi), Swiss RUAG and Swedish defense major SAAB. The flying wing drone was intended to allow European industry to develop the knowledge needed for these systems.

Éric Trappier, president and CEO of Dassault Aviation, said the stealthy UCAV “will contribute to the technological and operational superiority of the French Air Force by 2033.” The description that calls it capable of evolving “with future threats” suggests an open architecture and modular design aircraft that can be upgraded with interchangeable guidance, navigation and sensor suites.

An amendment to the French Military Programming Law specifies that the Rafale F5 could include “the development of a drone to support the Rafale, based on the nEUROn UCAV demonstrator.” This drone was described to Parliament as capable of “acting discreetly and quickly as an extension of the Rafale F5 (remote sensor and effector) to produce decisive network effects”, becoming a “cornerstone in the handling of modern anti-aircraft medium and long range”. -aircraft systems.”

Dassault: Unmanned combat aerial vehicle program begins as part of Rafale F5 standard.

The unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) will complement the future Rafale F5 standard after 2030.

This UAV will be complementary to the Rafale and suitable for collaborative combat.… pic.twitter.com/UmjHEkpH5c

— Vayu Aerospace Review (@ReviewVayu) October 9, 2024

The Rafale F5 upgrade is designed to have a higher level of connectivity, data processing and sensor fusion capabilities, similar to the F-35 Lightning II. It is also considered a transition to the Next Generation Weapons System within the FCAS (Future Combat Air System). The jet’s primary sensor would be the Thales RBE2 XG radar.

The Rafale F5, according to a report in Opex360it would be a very different aircraft compared to the current standard Rafale F3R and F4 variants. Mainly, it would be capable of carrying the future nuclear-capable ASN4G missile. Another defining feature would be the ability to process “huge volumes of data,” which will require fiber optic cabling that current versions do not support, according to General Stéphane Mille, AAE chief of staff.

France’s thinking on SEAD/DEAD missions

The French Ministry of Defense’s response to a parliamentarian on 21 November 2023 shows how it believes that the suppression of enemy air defenses in future wars would preferably be achieved successfully through combined air and land means, and not just power aerial.

Decryption. Le Rafale has reached a crucial stage with the arrival of the F5 standard.

This new model will be accompanied by a stealthy combat drone and will be capable of importing the future hypersonic nuclear missile, the ASN4G.

Return to this advanced strategy for the forces… pic.twitter.com/SB1HBxdYi5

—Ministère des Armées et des Anciens combattants (@Armees_Gouv) October 9, 2024

“In the context of a high-intensity conflict, even though the air environment is likely to continue to predominate in the application of these military effects, the suppression of enemy air defenses is considered through a joint, multi-environmental approach in order to be able to take advantage of a wide range of complementary capabilities,” the response said.

This was in response to the question of whether the AAE needs to develop an equivalent to the US Navy’s EA-18G Growler, an incredibly powerful and capable aircraft that many analysts say forced even China to develop the J-16D.

The Rafale payload (presumably referring to the F5 standard) will also be “modernized munitions capable of destroying powerful and mobile air defense systems.” The ministry added that future air-to-ground weaponry is designed for “electromagnetic spectrum saturation” to combat A2/AD (Anti-Access/Area Denial) systems.

The transcript noted that enemy defense systems are “increasingly interconnected, fully integrated, redundant and much more robust,” and this must be taken into account. The solution is, therefore, “to be able to apply diversified and synchronized effects on its various components (command and control centers, means of communication, networks, radars, surface-to-air systems, etc.) to degrade its functioning”.