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Thinking About The Future: Dassault Rafale Best For Brazil
Author : ARTUR BOVE
THINKING ABOUT THE FUTURE: DASSAULT RAFALE BEST FOR BRAZIL
Brazil is experiencing a period of history that most Brazilians had not seen so far. The economy is growing, its industrial base is expanding, the vast mineral resources leading to a future of energy independence, and social advances are reaching more and more Brazilians. Brazil now participates in international forums.
Brazilian foreign policy is to have good relations with all countries and always in favor of diplomatic and peaceful solutions to international disputes. This does not mean that Brazil should not be equipped and prepared to defend its territory and interests (including the 200-mile territorial waters for economic exploitation).
With the exception of Venezuela, which has purchased military equipment of all kinds (from Russia), other countries in the continent have armed forces for their own defense. This is the situation today. No one knows what may come in the future, and Brazil must act now to make its armed forces as strong as its economy.
A process of modernizing armed forces takes years, as any process of arms procurement. What will be decided in the near future will be passed to future generations. This decision must be made soon and thinking on the future.
Of this process of modernization, we will comment and give our opinion on the fighters for the Brazilian Air Force, as the aerospace industry is where we have worked, specifically in engineering, for 35 years and in many countries.
PARTICIPANTS
From the aircraft initially proposed for the program (called FX-2), there are only three finalists. These competitors are the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the Dassault Rafale and Saab JAS-39 Gripen.
A brief description of these planes is presented here. At the end of the article, there are links to more details about their history and technical data.
Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
The Hornet is manufactured by Boeing and derives from the Northrop YF-17, which, after joint development between McDonnell Douglas (acquired by Boeing) and Northrop, was designated as F-18 Hornet. It was originally developed to operate on aircraft carriers. The aircraft produced today as the Super Hornet is almost a new project with the same original design concepts. It's bigger than the original series and incorporates improved aerodynamics. In a nutshell, the F-18 is a twin-engine aircraft with fighter / ground attack capabilities that performs multiple missions. Compared to other candidates for the Brazilian fighter, it is bigger and heavier, but a little slower and with less range. There is no doubt that it is a good airplane. While it may be carrier-based, it does not operate in small aircraft carriers as the Brazilian one. With two turbines is more reliable than single-engine fighters. Being an aircraft from the USA, export licenses must be approved by Congress, not just by the commitment of the executive.
Dassault Rafale
The Rafale is the answer of Dassault Aviation to the joint request of the French Air Force and the French Navy, issued on 1983, for a common platform that Could replace many dedicated aircraft (Jaguar, F-8 Crusader, Mirage F1, Mirage 200, Super Etendard and Etendart).
France was together with other European countries in the development of an European Fighter (now known as Eurofighter). As the French requirements were not the same of the other nations, France left the joint program and Dassault was assigned for the development of a platform according to the French needs. The design was oriented from the start with the dual role of land based and aircraft carrier operation, so,he two versions have large commonality. It operates in small aircraft carriers.With two turbo fans it is more reliable than single engine designs and has some stealth capabilities, including electronic jamming. Engines, radar, and electronic systems are French, not under export restrictions of the USA
Saab JAS-39 Gripen
Initial studies for the development of the Saab JAS-39 Gripen began in 1979 and the first flight was in 1988. Problems with the electronic flight control delayed development and it only entered service in 1997. It is a single-engine multi-role fighter. A carrier-based version is in this study, as India and Brazil are potential customers for an aircraft carrier variant. The Gripen has a high contend of U.S. electronics and also the engine of the new variant NG ( a GE F414). Although denied, it may have been a concern in the recent competition for the Indian Air Force, which now has limited his choice between the Dassault Rafale and the Eurofighter (citing technical reasons.). Being a smaller plane than its competitors, the Gripen has a lower cost of acquisition and maintenance and can operate on short runways. There is no doubt that it is a good project, but being a lightweight fighter, single-engine, it was not chosen so far by large countries. The largest country to operate the Gripen is South Africa.
WHAT IS BETTER FOR BRAZIL
All aircraft selected for the final are good projects. Opinions about what is the best are diverse, as has already been published by the press. The former Brazilian president is in favor of the Rafale. The Brazilian Air Force, again according to the press, prefers the Gripen. The president of Embraer, according to Wikileaks, is in favor of the F-18.
With a vision on future, since such aircraft should be operational for the next decades and considering that this contract may be an excellent opportunity to access the technology that Brazil will need in the future, our view is that the Dassault Rafale is the best choice. The Rafale is a project more recent than the F-18 and the Gripen is a light, single engine fighter. With only one type to be selected it's better to have a twin engine with newer design.
This view is based not only on the aircraft, but also considering the following:
• Brazil has operated Dassault Mirage for years and always had the support for the fleet. Dassault is less influenced by political events and supports their aircraft around the world, regardless of political changes.
• Production of parts of the Rafale in Brazil will represent an injection of manufacturing technology (hopefully not to be limited to only one or two aerospace companies). This is a good opportunity to expand the supplier base of aerospace assemblies and sub assemblies to compete internationally. Despite all the competitors promising the same, one can not think about possible future restrictions on so-called "sensitive technologies", whether for political or commercial reasons.
• The Rafale's electronic equipment, most of Thales (already established in Brazil), can be produced there, and with the technology transfer, Brazil may enter the small group of countries able to develop advanced radars, navigation and communication systems and all advanced electronic equipment present in the Rafale. This type of technology, for equipment manufactured in the U.S., is subject to export licenses that sometimes, even close allies have difficulty achieving.
• The Rafale's engine (Snecma) can be serviced in Brazil and again, with the technology transfer that the contract requires, Brazil may have access to aircraft engine technology that few countries dominate, especially in the so called "hot section". Once again the "sensitive technology" should be considered, especially if Brazil selects a fighter with an American turbine, like the F-18 or the Gripen.
The article on the author's article site has links to more information and to videos of these fighters.
No restrictions for non commercial use as long not altered and referencing the source.
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Author's Resource Box
The author is an Aeronautical Engineer and has been working in aerospace, wind turbine and motor sport for more than 30 years. The author has an engineering and an articles site
http://www.engineerstoolkit.com
http://www.engineerstoolkit.net
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Tags: Boeing, F-18, Hornet, Dassault, Rafale, Saab, Gripen, Brazil, fighter
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Submitted : 2011-09-27 Word Count : 1284 Popularity: 187 Times Viewed: 58
