While the French today are mocked for their surrender to Hitler’s Germany in World War II, Americans and others around the world make the mistake of underestimating this once great and proud nation with a rich history of martial prowess.

What’s more, France has a highly sophisticated and reliable defense export sector.

The Rafale: an enduring French legacy

One of the most enduring products of the French defense industrial base is the Dassault Rafale. In fact, it has been described to me at times by proud French defense experts as the “pinnacle of French aeronautical engineering.” It is, without a doubt, the most impressive indigenously produced French warplane. This bird has demonstrated a high degree of versatility, technological prowess, and combat effectiveness across multiple battlefields globally.

The Rafale began its storied existence in the 1980s, as the Europeans were feverishly trying to develop a European-produced next-generation fighter. As always, the French strategic vision diverged from those of the rest of Europe. Thus, much like their development of a nuclear weapons arsenal, the French independently created a delta-canard configured jet that emphasized stealth, agility, and versatility. It became a great system for air superiority and ground attack roles. This bird has a reduced cross-section, making it harder to spot on radar. While it isn’t a stealth plane. It is very effective at cutting down on its radar visibility.

An RBE2 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar comes with the Rafale that greatly improves target detection and tracking capabilities. More importantly, the Rafale uses the SPECTRA EW suite which gives the pilot 360-degree protection against radar and infrared threats, making it one of the most survivable aircraft in its class. All this, of course, merges into the aforementioned Thales Scorpion Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS) for greater pilot situational awareness and off-boresight targeting. 

The M88-2 engine developed originally by Snecma (now Safran Aircraft Engines) powers the Rafale. The M88-2 allows for the plane to enter a supercruise mode, meaning this bird can go supersonic without needing afterburners. This, in turn, conserves fuel for longer missions or increased combat persistence. When used in conjunction with the Rafale’s fly-by-wire control systems, the Rafale has incredible maneuverability.

As a multirole fighter, the Rafale can carry a wide range of weapons, from air-to-air missiles to air-to-ground attack systems and precision-guided munitions. It’s a truly adaptable warplane for nearly any kind of combat environment. The Rafale’s long service life, as well as its popularity as an export system for France, has allowed for it to see combat across a wide variety of regions. 

Fighting in places like Libya, Mali, Iraq, and Syria, the Rafale has been praised for its precision strike capabilities, its survivability in contested environments, and its role in coalition operations. The Rafale is a highly interoperable plane with other NATO and allied nations. 

That time a Rafale took on an F-22 and won

In fact, French pilots upstaged the United States Air Force during a training exercise in the Middle East when a Rafale supposedly destroyed an F-22A Raptor in combat. The Americans were understandably humiliated by this and issued a series of denunciations against their French allies. 

Yet, the French military maintains that its Rafales outperformed the F-22 in that instance. It remains a point of controversy between the two air forces today. Still, it showed the amazing capabilities that the older, cheaper fourth-generation French plane had when compared to even fifth-generation warplanes.

Rafale is a strategic asset for France

Thus, the Rafale is an astonishing plane that routinely protects French territory while projecting French power—and giving the French considerable leverage in the global arms industry. 

The French might not be the dominant world power they were a couple of centuries ago. That doesn’t mean they should be underestimated. 

Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, the Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is available for purchase wherever books are sold. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

Image: Arjan van de Logt / Shutterstock.com