In June 2021, the UDI deputy of Seine-Saint-Denis and member of the Defense Committee of the National Assembly, JC Lagarde, had questioned, based on an article published on Meta-Defense, the Ministry of the Armed Forces on the relevance of developing a version of the Rafale dedicated to electronic warfare missions, as was done, for example, with the US Navy's E/A-18G Growler from the F/A-18F Super Hornet.
According to the arguments put forward, a Rafale “specialized” in this electronic warfare mission, would increase the capabilities of the French air forces to suppress opposing anti-aircraft defenses, and thus guarantee, over time, the capabilities of the French air and naval forces to operate over a highly contested area.
The Ministry of the Armed Forces has published a response to this question which, although not surprising in its purpose, raises real questions about how it envisages the use of the French Armed Forces in the years to come.
In this section:
Un Rafale electronic warfare, a device to respond to the evolution of modern ground-to-air threats
Let us quickly recall what this file was about. Faced with the rise in anti-aircraft defense capabilities of major adversaries such as Russia, it seemed relevant to simultaneously develop an airborne cyber jamming and warfare pod, an anti-radiation munition intended to eliminate opposing radars, and possibly modify a cell Rafale to make a dedicated version, like the American Growler or the Chinese J-16D, so as to gain the upper hand over the adversary in the electromagnetic and cyber spectrum in a given airspace.
This approach not only allowed to increase the protection of the aircraft itself, but also that of other allied aircraft flying around it and, if necessary, to significantly undermine the enemy's resources.
For the Ministry of the Armed Forces, a Rafale electronic warfare is not needed today
Unsurprisingly, therefore, the Ministry of the Armed Forces considers that the development of such a device is not necessary. To justify this lack of need, however, it presents very unconvincing arguments, including the fact that in its future versions, the Rafale will be much more interconnected, and will have increased means of self-protection.
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