Synopsis: The Amazing Arsenal of the DaFrance’s Dassault Rafale may be a 4.5-generation fighter, but it remains a formidable combat aircraft thanks to the depth and flexibility of its weapons loadout.
-With a 30mm GIAT cannon, 14 external hardpoints, and the ability to carry heavy fuel and ordnance, the Rafale can be configured for air-to-air, strike, and maritime missions.
Operated by Flottille 12F, Aeronavale, based at Landivisiau. Seen during a practice display routine at Zaragoza Air Base, Spain, during the 2016 NATO Tiger Meet (NTM).
Dassault Rafale. Image Credit: Industry Handout.
-Its air-to-air options include MICA, Meteor, and Magic II missiles, while its precision strike toolkit includes multiple Paveway-guided bombs.
-For naval warfare, the AM39 Exocet adds a serious anti-ship punch.
France’s Rafale Isn’t Stealth—But Its Weapons Make It Dangerous
Being a 4.5-generation fighter, the French-made Dassault Aviation Rafale isn’t as sophisticated as the fifth-generation stealth fighters already in the air—let alone upcoming sixth-generation fighters such as the F-47. Moreover, its reputation took a bit of a hit during Operation Sindoor when Indian Air Force Rafale pilots were embarrassed by their Pakistani Air Force adversaries, who reportedly shot down at least one and as many as three Rafales without losses of their own.
Nonetheless, the Rafale remains an extremely formidable flying & fighting platform, as it has demonstrated with air-to-ground strikes in places such as Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria. Any adversary who underestimates this warbird does so at his or her own peril.
A major reason the Rafale is so deadly is, of course, its amazing arsenal.
Dassault Rafale Basic Loadout Overview
30mm GIAT 30/M791 revolver cannon with 125 rounds of ammunition
14 external hardpoints with a carrying capacity of 9,500 kilograms of external fuel and ordnance, including (but not limited to):
Missile d’Interception, de Combat et d’Auto-défense (MICA), Meteor, and Magic II air-to-air missiles
Dassault Rafale. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Dassault Rafale F4 fighter being sold to the UAE. Image Credit: Rafale.
GBU-12 Paveway II, GBU-16 Paveway II, GBU-22 Paveway III, GBU-24 Paveway III, GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway II laser-guided bombs
MBDA AM 39-Exocet anti-ship missiles
Dassault Deeper Dive Part 1: The Rafale’s Gun
Unlike China’s fifth-generation Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-35, France’s Rafale does not omit a cannon. Although gun kills are uncommon in 21st-century air-to-air combat, they do happen. Hence the Rafale’s gun, the aforementioned 30-mm GIAT seven-barrelled autocannon. In service since the 1980s, the M791 version has a length of 2.4 meters and a mass of 120 kilograms, and the shells weigh from 244–270 grams.
The M791 spews out those shells at a muzzle velocity of 1,025 meters per second, at a rate of fire of either 1,500-2,500 rounds per minute in variable anti-aircraft mode, or 300-600 rpm in grounding mode.
Dassault Deeper Dive Part Deux: The Rafale’s Exocet Missile
This is one of the deadliest anti-ship missiles in the world, as 1980s veterans of the U.S. Navy and Britain’s Royal Navy can sadly attest.
–During the 1982 Falklands War, the Argentine Navy used its Exocets to sink the Type 42 guided missile destroyer HMS Sheffield and the roll-on/roll-off container ship SS Atlantic Conveyor. It also damaged the County-class destroyer HMS Glamorgan.
Total loss of life from these three incidents amounted to 46 British seaman, and Atlantic Conveyor in particular had the sad distinction of being the first British merchant vessel lost to enemy action since World War II.
The Argentines pulled off the first two strikes with Super Étendard warplanes (another Dassault product), and the third with an improvised launcher for land use.
Dassault Rafale Fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
–Although the United States supported Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq during the Tanker War phase of the Iran-Iraq War, that did not prevent an Iraqi Air Force pilot from inadvertently targeting the American Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate USS Stark (FFG-31) with his Exocet missiles.
Two struck the port side of the vessel near the bridge. Thirty-seven sailors were killed and 21 were wounded. Amazingly, the scrappy little warship didn’t sink, and was eventually repaired and returned to service.
More Weapons for the Rafale
The air-launched version of the Exocet, the AM39, began development in 1974 and entered service with the French Navy five years later. Currently manufactured by MBDA, the AM39 has a maximum range of approximately 70 kilometers and delivers its deadly 165-kg warhead at a velocity of Mach 0.93.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He is also the author of the newly published book “Five Decades of a Fabulous Firearm: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Beretta 92 Pistol Series.”
