France will therefore develop, alongside the land-based versions of the Rafale F5 and its combat drone, a Rafale Marine F5 and a naval version of its combat drone, to replace the Rafale M the oldest, at the end of their potential, as well as to provide the embarked air group with a 6th generation capacity, certainly ahead of the phase of the other large Western navies.
This is, in any case, what the deputy of the Defense Committee, Franck Giletti, indicated in his recent report on the evolution of French air power. This announcement, all in all expected and without any real surprise, is part of a major effort undertaken by the French Navy and the Ministry of the Armed Forces, to adapt military naval power to the new geopolitical and technological naval realities, which have been developing very rapidly for several years.
What will be the advantages of this new capability for the French embarked air group? Is it adapted to future needs and new threats? And how will the French Navy evolve, to respond to the multiplication of theaters of engagement, and the acceleration of the military technological tempo?
In this section:
12 Rafale Marine F5 and naval combat drones to arm French aircraft carrier(s) by 2035
On the sidelines of the Euronaval 2024 exhibition, the Ministry of the Armed Forces indicated, in its communication, that the Air Group embarked on the nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle would also have, of the new standard Rafale F5, as well as its combat drone.
The information was somewhat surprising. Indeed, until now, the French authorities had systematically refused to mention the possibility of a new order of Rafale M, even to replace the oldest and most worn out devices, in an environment and conditions of use that are very demanding for the cells of the devices.
At the same time, all the information concerning the new F5 standard indicated that it would only be backward compatible from the native F4.2 standard, already in fiber optic cable, leading to a divergence of evolution in future versions of the Rafale, mentioned in several articles on this site.
In fact, there was little alternative for the Navy but to confirm the next order of Rafale Marine F5, both to carry the on-board nuclear component with the arrival of the new generation supersonic missile ASN4G, successor to the ASMPA-R, and to control the new combat drones, also developed simultaneously in land and on-board naval versions, such as the Rafale.
We now know that 12 of these devices are expected to be ordered as part of the 6th tranche of Rafale intended for the French air force, for deliveries which should take place shortly after 2030.
Will the French Navy be the first in the West to have a 6th generation naval aviation?
The arrival of Rafale Marine F5 and its combat drone, within the French air and naval forces, will certainly cause some capacity and structural upheavals. Thus, the format of 12 aircraft seems to perfectly correspond to the creation of a fourth embarked fighter flotilla, specialized for the implementation of these new capabilities, as is the case of the 12F flotilla, specialized in air defense.
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What worries me most is not France's ability to manufacture weapons, planes or boats, but to manufacture them in a timely manner.
I always feel like we are behind the times compared to current situations.
Wars possible from 2027 but 5th/6th generation aircraft from 2035 or even 2040.
Find the mistake !!!
It is not the industrialists who are behind in research, it is the finances...
Great article as always. I think there is a slight error in "end up with 2 nuclear aircraft carriers from 2028". Wouldn't it be 2038 instead?
yes, it is corrected
The problem seems to me less material than human resources… These capacities must be equipped and served by trained and seasoned crews. This cannot be decreed at the drop of a hat. Italian and British sailors are struggling at the moment on this HR issue, and our situation is fragile. The creation of a 4th hunting flotilla seems essential to me.
"already fiber optic cable"
Every time I read this, I can't imagine why it's so complicated to change Ethernet cables to fiber inside the trunking.
Is it rather a simplified way of saying that it is the entire embedded IT infrastructure that must be readapted: for example, as Windows XP does not manage the fiber card, it must be upgraded to Windows 7 and that would mean changing all the peripherals well managed by this old OS. But it would be strange if each peripheral of this type of machine was not interchangeable (at least for repairs) ...
I do not understand.
It is the whole logic of redundant cabling, buses, and the position of the units that is modified. We go well beyond adding a card to a PC. Because this requires rethinking the internal architecture of the device, but also reevaluating the questions of masses and centering. If we had to make an analogy with a PC, I would say that it is like changing the motherboard, with new dimensions, new electrical needs, cooling, etc. Obviously, a new case is needed.
nice article fabrice, we are enjoying it. wouldn't you like to be 20 years younger to be able to fly on the new F5 which will arrive after 2030?
For my part, I hope to see our navy regain its capabilities of the glorious years before 1990 and perhaps one day see our two aircraft carriers sailing together again. We can dream, right!
I wasn't a hunter but a patmarist. And they are still on ATL2 and Falcon. So it wouldn't change much.
That said, I admit to having been quite frustrated by the lack of ASM missions from 1992, even though I had chosen the patmar specialty precisely for that.
I think, finally, that the idea of extending the CDG is precisely to make PA2 indispensable for the years to come. It is a form of "promotion" to trigger the need.
Yes, I totally agree with you, we have a PA but which at best allows us to have a presence at sea 40% of the time. So when it is immo and IPER if we need it, TINTIN and clench your buttocks.
but hey, we make do with what we have, let's hope that by 2030 it doesn't explode.
it's the same with frigates, we double the crew for more days at sea. in principle at the time it helps, but a frigate that is at sea more than two hundred days a year will wear out more quickly and will probably not last 40 years like the old ships. after that go and explain that to our decision-makers, half of them don't understand anything and the other half not much, so...