France lays out Rafale upgrade path to 2070

摘要

France has laid out the upgrade path it intends to roll out for the Dassault Rafale to keep the multirole combat aircraft in air force and naval service through to about 2070, a senior service official said on 13 November. Speaking at the IQPC International Fighter conference in Berlin, Major General Frederic Parisot, Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Programmes, French Air Force (Armee de l'Air: AdlA), said that there will likely be a further four upgrade phases for the aircraft beyond the latest F3R configuration currently being rolled out and that it is the country's plan for the Rafale to serve as the force multiplier alongside the New Generation Fighter (NFG) currently being developed with Germany and Spain as part of the wider Future Combat Air System (FCAS)/Systeme de Combat Aerien Futur (SCAF).