Justin Bronk is a Research Fellow of Military Sciences at the Royal United Services Institute and Editor of RUSI Defence Systems. Both fighters will pull 9G all day long in air combat configuration at most altitudes. Typhoon has anti-ship munition options but no current operators use them. 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. Rafale has had some impressive success on the export market since 2015, with the combination of RBE2 radar, combat record in Libya and aggressive French state support for marketing efforts contributing to success in Egypt, Qatar and Greece (as well as India). For such targets, Typhoon users would employ Paveway II/III/IV series weapons. However, Brimstone is not designed to produce area effects or destroy structures, so for such targets the AASM family provides far more capability, especially with the larger ‘bomb’ body variants. However, Typhoon also uses a lot more fuel in afterburner so for mission profiles that involve a lot of AB use, Rafale will likely have the edge. 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. They’re trying to do something much more ambitious; although in many scenarios the output is functionally similar. However, Rafale can also use the RECO-NG wide area/standoff TAC-R pod to provide a modern, fully digital equivalent to RAPTOR. 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. Sign up for the Early Bird Brief, the defense industry's most comprehensive news and information, straight to your inbox. He noted that any German government is acutely averse to the publicity surrounding Berlin’s would-be atomic bombers. Interviews with pilots of the F-14 Tomcat, Mirage, Typhoon, MiG-25, MiG-27, English Electric Lighting, Harrier, F-15, B-52 and many more. The integration of full Meteor capability and upgrades to the UK’s ESM capabilities within the DAS are also a big boost. Neither aircraft sparkles in the high-alpha regime compared to the Hornet family or anything with thrust vectoring, but the Rafale’s aerodynamically coupled canards give it slightly better high-alpha authority at slow speeds than Typhoon. 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. Both Typhoon and Rafale can launch capable standoff cruise missiles in the shape of the Storm Shadow/SCALP and Taurus KEPD 350. The German/Spanish Radar 1 order will, however, mean that there are a large number of AESA equipped Typhoons in service by the mid-2020s with all the Quadriga and Tornado replacement Typhoons to feature the capability. It is still a brutal performer compared to most other fighters, but cannot match Typhoon’s climb rate and brute thrust especially at higher altitudes. CAPTOR-M (has the advantage) against larger targets such as bombers or MiG-31 ‘Foxhound’s due to a much larger aperture and generally higher altitude perch during air-to-air engagements. While the Eurofighter … 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. 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. However, neither truly does the F-35’s signature trick of feeding the raw sensor inputs into a complex analytical process which cross references data from and cross cues not only each sensor on the jet but also those across a formation of F-35s, before presenting a processed single SA picture to the pilot. ( Log Out /  In practice, there is little to choose between them, I pity the enemy shot at by either. 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. Eurofighter Typhoon is one of the worlds most advanced new generation multi-role/swing-role combat aircraft available on the market. However, the Hornets will need a new certification to wield … It can also carry other munitions including the US Paveway II and III series of laser-guided bombs, and has been cleared for the AGM-88 HARM and British ALARM anti-radiation missiles although these are not in operational service. Make sure this fits by entering your model number. Typhoon users will have to wait for the UK-developed ECRS2 radar and DAS upgrade for a competitive or even (potentially) superior option. However, if talking about a ‘guns’ fight, then Rafale has better agility, instantaneous turn and sustained turn capabilities below around 15,000ft. Air-to-groundRBE2 as a multifunction AESA radar gives far more air-to-ground functionality than CAPTOR-M. (Radar 0 is optimised for air-to-air and is unlikely to challenge RBE2 in this arena). It only takes a moment. The Gripen, Rafale, Eurofighter, F22, F35 & all the American legacy fighters, along with the Tornado & Mirage are a massive deterrent to ANY aggressor of NATO! The Tornado still is a kickass aircraft, and many of the technologies now present in the Eurofighter Typhoon were first deployed in the Tornado. Low-observabilityBoth Rafale and Typhoon have low observable features but quite frankly neither is a low observable type. 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. 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. ( Log Out /  For Rafale, Meteor is regularly carried by the F3R standard aircraft on live operational sorties by both the Armee de l’Air and Aeronavale. Panavia Tornado VS Eurofighter Typhoon airplane Poster Home Decoration Printing Wall High quality Picture Print 20x30Inch by Wall Decor Master. What is the best Typhoon variant today and why? For example, Spanish Typhoons cost a great deal more to fly than British ones since the RAF flies its fleet a lot more and has more streamlined maintenance support arrangements. Eurofighter Typhoon procurement is the planned selection and purchase of the Eurofighter Typhoon jet fighter by various countries.. There’s a reason (beyond the undoubted inefficiencies and concurrency) why the US have had to put nearly half a trillion dollars into the F-35 programme to date, mostly aimed at getting the nightmarishly ambitious and complex software architecture to work. 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. The Panavia Tornado was created in the 1970s … – In Recce, Rafale has the dedicated Reco NG pod. That is especially the case for the nuclear mission. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. 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.” Typhoon export users employ the Damocles pod (Saudi Arabia) and the Sniper pod (Kuwait). The Rafale's Matra MICA missiles are modern dogfight missiles on par with the AIM-9X, IRIS-T, … At low altitudes Rafale’s energy retention is slightly better at best corner speed, whilst at higher altitudes Typhoon has better energy retention. (RBE2 likely to still beat Radar 0 upon IOC due to more mature system and HMI). 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. Eurofighter Typhoon is the only fighter to offer wide-ranging operational capabilities whilst at the same time delivering unparalleled fleet effectiveness. In fact, the Eurofighter is the only modern Western fighter that still has such a radar, because older fighters like the F-15, F-16, and F/A-18 have already been refitted with AESAs. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. As for the UK v US crap spouted on here, they are the strongest alleys in the world. As such, both Typhoon and Rafale could make a very valuable contribution to a SEAD/DEAD operation in support of more stealthy penetrating ISTAR/strike assets such as F-35 or advanced UAVs, but if hypothetically forced to fight alone neither is particularly well suited at present – Rafale having a slight edge due to the SPECTRA suite. ( Log Out /  (From the Sponsor) Personal finance expert Jeanette Mack discusses steps to take for paying your student loan payments. NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management … The German air force has settled on replacements for its aging Panavia Tornado fleet, agreeing to buy Eurofighter Typhoons and Boeing F/A-18E/F Hornets in both Super Hornet and Growler configurations. 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! What is Typhoon’s configuration designed to excel at, and the same for Rafale? eurofighter ; Derived terms * typhoon fifth Related terms * tycoon See also * cyclone * hurricane * tornado storm . Germany has cleared its Taurus KEPD 350 cruise missile but since German politicians do not believe that Air Forces should be used to kill people, its capabilities remain untested in combat. In extremely broad brush terms, French Rafales sit somewhere in the middle in terms of operating costs compared to Typhoon, being slightly more expensive than the UK’s Tranche 2 and 3 Typhoons under the TyTan support arrangements but cheaper than Spain or Germany’s Typhoons. The drawback is extremely high munitions cost. Rafale’s SCALP and Typhoon’s Storm Shadow are essentially the same (extremely capable but very expensive) missile from MBDA. English. I think that is now enabled. German officials later tried to distance themselves from Muellner’s F-35 preference. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images. 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. Brimstone is more accurate with a much smaller ultra-low collateral warhead. Shame about the whole referendum thing for the Swiss Air Force. I asked a Eurofighter pilot about this and I’m still not quite sure it’s a meaningful thing. If you’ve enjoyed an article please donate here. Engaging Top (and bottom) 10s including: Greatest fighter aircraft of World War II, Worst British aircraft, Worst Soviet aircraft and many more insanely specific ones. 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. Typhoon comes with one or two TRDs mounted in a wingtip pod as standard, with specific version dependent on operator choices. Rafale operating costs and availability likewise varies across standards and operators. The Eurofighter is also the front-runner to meet the Luftwaffe’s 85-aircraft requirement for a Tornado replacement. 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. (Radar 0 will out-range both against airborne targets). 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. How frequently is Meteor actually carried in 2020?Tranche 2 and 3 Typhoons regularly carry Meteor on live operational sorties with European users, although the Tranche 1s do not use the missile which is why the RAF purchased the latest AIM-120D for its remaining Tranche 1s. Defensive aids SPECTRA has a better reputation primarily because of Libya in 2011 (a result of French political ambition and risk tolerance, alongside technical capability). The solid well-researched information about aeroplanes is brilliantly combined with an irreverent attitude and real insight into the dangerous romantic world of combat aircraft. Some points to be corrected: 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. His article provoked a huge response from readers around the world. 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. Typhoon is designed to excel in acceleration, climb rate and supersonic performance and agility at high altitudes for maximum beyond visual range capability. 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. The fact that Kuwaiti Typhoons are already flying with the export AESA is a welcome but long overdue improvement but Typhoon really continues to lag in terms of exploitation of its huge potential (given the massive nose aperture and power available) in the AESA department. COLOGNE, Germany — The race between Boeing’s F-18 jet and the Airbus Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to replace Germany’s Tornado fighter-bombers has … The biggest source of differences comes from the French requirement that the basic airframe design be suitable for CATOBAR carrier operations, which carries particular requirements in terms of relatively high-alpha, low speed handling especially with external stores still attached. 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. As above, the higher the speed and altitude of an engagement, the better Typhoon performs relative to Rafale and vice versa. However, as a rule Rafale is probably slightly cheaper in real terms to acquire than Typhoon. This means that the Rafale will continue to improve, especially in the EW and sensor fusion department throughout the 2020s. In terms of unit cost, Rafale is marketed as cheaper than the latest standards of Typhoon, although the Indian experience would suggest that in practice export customer requirements on industrial offsets and liability can dramatically alter costs compared to the up-front offer, so I’d be wary of comparing public cost claims from either manufacturer. Which is doing better on the export market and why? This doesn’t really count as an export success though. The AIM-120C7 and AIM-120D variants of AMRAAM used by RAF Typhoons significantly outrange MICA, although they do no boast an IR variant for passive BVR engagement capabilities. Typhoon’s flight control software starts to progressively restrict the jet with heavier (or particularly asymmetric) loads. Related to (l). Expert analysis of weapons, tactics and technology. Having ‘flown’ full fidelity Typhoon simulators in Italy and the UK, including the latest Project Centurion multi-role standard now used by the RAF, I was impressed by the intuitive ‘feel’ of the human-machine interface (HMI) across various multi role tasks. As the foundation of NATO’s next generation of air power, the F-35 is the most advanced aircraft in the world today, and includes Electronic Attack capabilities well beyond any specialized fourth generation aircraft.”. 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. Range: 3,700 km: 2,900 km: Max speed: Mach 1.8 (1,912 km/h) Mach 2.0 (2,120 km/h, 1,320 mph) Service ceiling: 15,235 m: 19,812 m: Weight empty: 10.3 t: 11 t: Weight max: Finland will be an interesting result to watch, but I’m not sure either aircraft could be considered a favourite. 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. – In A2G, India ordered SPICE glide bombs for Rafale Fascinating insights into exceptionally obscure warplanes. 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. The exact cost per flight hour (a hugely contentious topic anyway) will depend greatly on which operator and which version you are looking at. The lack of a helmet mounted sight for Rafale until the Qatari standard has meant that in practice Typhoon users may be able to get more out of IRIS-T or ASRAAM in a dynamic WVR engagement. 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. 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? However, even within the RAF, the older Tranche 1s are much more costly to fly and difficult to maintain than the new Tranche 3s. Maritime attack RBE2 again due to advantages of AESA array plus a more mature maritime attack mode with Exocet integrated. “If you have any interest in aviation, you’ll be surprised, entertained and fascinated by Hush-Kit – the world’s best aviation blog”. He is based in Cologne, Germany. 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. 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. 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. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  The move is not altogether surprising. In that sense, both feature sensor fusion and represent a significant upgrade compared to legacy aircraft and previous Rafale and Typhoon standards. Author has 887 answers and 3.5M answer views. 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. Typhoon is happiest at 50,000ft and above. 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. What is the biggest difference in the philosophy of the designs? No significant difference in price. Brimstone’s smaller size also allows more weapons to be carried per aircraft, with three per hardpoint on adaptors. The Indian standard Rafales come with a Towed Radar Decoy (TRD) but the French aircraft currently lack this feature. As far as I’m aware the Rafale has so far only been cleared for Meteor carriage on the two side-fuselage hardpoints although I could be wrong on that. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. In terms of instantaneous turn rate, Rafale has a slight advantage in air combat configuration and that increases with heavier multirole or strike loads. F-35 is more economical, the Eurofighters twin engine will need more and mor Part of this upgrade is the “Quadriga” project that will replace the German Tranche 1 Fleet. 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? 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. The news was first reported by German site AugenGeradeaus. In a complex battlespace with dense ground based as well as aerial threats, both Typhoon and Rafale are formidable assets but would rely on support from dedicated penetrating and stand-off assets to minimise risk and truly perform at their best. 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. Competing against the Typhoon is Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. All information comes from wikipedia.org, cia.gov, icanw.org, government websites and press releases. The UK’s new Britecloud active radar ‘chaff’ countermeasures are another area where Typhoon is potentially somewhat in the lead on DAS features. Both include the RBE2 although it is likely to be an export standard that is slightly de-tuned compared to French aircraft. 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. Support Hush-Kit with our high quality aviation themed merchandise here. 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. Sweden's Air Force said its Gripen E fighter jets are designed to kill Russia's fearsome Sukhoi fighters and have a "black belt" at it. The latter was deleted from the latest F3R standard aircraft pending an updated capability in the F4 standard jets, leaving a laser rangefinder/EO ball only. Unless he has access to the official EM charts for both, he is simply guessing. The RAF’s Tranche 3 jets. For export operators, things are much more dependent on fleet size and support contract structures than the differences between each aircraft type.