France to Upgrade 144 Rafale Fighter Jets to F3-R Standard, Same as Export

Some 144 Dassault Rafale fighter jets in French service will be upgraded to the F3-R standard that brings major combat performance enhancements and on which exports to India, Qatar and Egypt are based.

The French Directorate General of Armament (DGA) recently approved the Rafale's new F3-R standard for French Air Force and Navy which has two key features: combination of the new Meteor long-range air-to-air missile and the RBE2 active electronic scanning radar; the new TALIOS pod that enhances day/night target detection, recognition and identification.

The F3-R upgrade project for all 144 Rafale aircraft currently in French service has been launched in October. The first ten Rafale F3-R aircraft will be used by the Air Force and the Navy to perfect their operational implementation, a DGA release said.

The new F3-R standard also takes into account operational lessons learned, notable for the Modular Air Ground Armament (AASM), as well as interoperability and regulatory requirements.

This new standard has already been implemented for export as the Rafale's first three international contracts (Egypt, Qatar and India) were concluded on the basis of the F3-R capability profile.