프랑스 닷소 라팔의 수출노력, Long Game for Dassault Rafale Exports...

 

프랑스 닷소사의 라팔 전투기 수출 관련 흥미로운 기사가 있어 소개합니다. 11월 중순 [2009 두바이 에어쇼] 기간 중, 닷소 관계자가

AIN 측과 인터뷰한 내용 입니다.

 

라팔의 초기 F1 모델부터 최신 F3 모델까지 무장 및 항전장비 그리고 엔진개량 계획에 대한 언급과, 수출 전망 등에 대해서 솔직하게

의견을 밝힌 기사로 생각됩니다.

 

과거 대한민국과 싱가포르에서의 수출 실패에 대한 섭섭함을 잊지 않고 언급한 부분이나, 수출 성사과정에서 최종 계약서에 사인을

하기 전에는 샴페인을 터트리지 말자는 뜻의 닷소 CEO 의 다짐으로 마무리되는 기사입니다.

 

다소 장문의 영문 기사입니다만, 이해를 돕기 위해 중간중간 (나름) 중요하다고 생각되는 부분들에 대해서 표시를 했습니다. 참조

바랍니다.

 

참고로 닷소 라팔 전투기에 대해서 간략히 설명드리자면, 3 가지 모델이 있습니다. 프랑스 공군이 운용하는 2인승 Rafale B 와 1인승

Rafale C, 그리고 프랑스 해군의 (함재기용) Rafale M 입니다. 당초 프랑스 공군과 해군은 총 294 기의 라팔을 도입할 계획이었으나,

2009년도 예산심의 과정에서 소폭 축소하여 286 기를 (공군 228, 해군 58) 최종 도입하는 것으로 결정한 바 있습니다.

 

11월초 프랑스 정부가 닷소 사와 60 기에 대한 구매 계약을 체결함으로써, 현재 180 기에 대한 도입 계약이 완료된 상태이며, 2009년말

기준으로 총 82 기가 (공군 54, 해군 28 / 사고로 인한 손실분 제외) 실전배치된 상태입니다.

 

한편, 2008년 1월 기준으로 라팔 개발사업에 들어간 총 사업비는 약 396억 유로에 이르며, 1 기당 조달 가격은 역시 2008년 1월 기준

공군용은 (B/C model) 약 6,400만 유로, 해군용은 (M model) 약 7,000만 유로로 알려져 있습니다. 이 가격은 프랑스 공군과 해군이

구입할 경우의 가격인데, 현재 브라질이 진행하고 있는 차기전투기사업에서 (FX) 최종 선정기종으로 라팔이 유력한 가운데, 프랑스

공군이 조달하는 가격과 브라질이 도입하게 될 가격과의 격차가 얼마만큼 좁혀 지느냐에 따라, 라팔의 최종 수출 결정이 이루어 질

것으로 보입니다.

 

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  Dassault Rafale B

 

France plays the long game for Dassault Rafale exports

By: Chris Pocock

November 15, 2009
AIN (Aviation International News)

 

The Dassault Rafale combat jet may yet prove to be an export winner, despite no such orders being placed to date. The OEM is negotiating a contract with the United Arab Emirates air force, and Kuwait has formally expressed interest in the aircraft. The all-French jet, marketed by the Rafale team, which is composed of engine-maker Snecma and electronics group Thales as well as Dassault itself, is a front-runner in current competitions in Brazil and Switzerland and is one of six contenders in India.

What are the attractions of the Rafale that make it such a strong contender? It is more operationally mature and versatile than its key European rival, the four-nation Eurofighter Typhoon. It is offered for export with fewer restrictions on the transfer and employment of its technology than its U.S. rivals–the F-15, F-16 or F/A-18–and, to meet French requirements alone, it now seems likely to remain in production far longer than any of those jets. Also, despite the low production rate to date, Team Rafale seems able to compete on price, thanks to a lean and experienced organization.

The Rafale was first deployed in support of NATO troops in Afghanistan in 2005. Those aircraft flew from the aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle, and among the small initial batch of F1 standard aircraft delivered to the French Navy in 2004 for air-superiority missions. The F2 standard quickly followed, introducing a more capable mission computer and air-ground capability, including the large MBDA Scalp air-to-surface missile. The French air force began dropping GBU-12 laser-guided bombs in close-air-support missions over Afghanistan in March 2007. one year later, the Rafale was back in theater with the new Safran (Sagem) AASM modular “smart” bomb.

“Some people in ISAF [the International Security Assistance Force] have described the AASM as ‘the magic bomb,’” said Jean-Marc Gasparini, the Rafale program director at Dassault Aviation. The AASM (air-to-ground modular weapon) is a 550-pound glide bomb that can be launched from high or low altitude at depression angles of more than 90 degrees, and can reach targets more than 30 miles from the launch platform. Initial production versions were guided by GPS/INS alone, but an infrared seeker is now being added to provide accuracy down to one meter. The AASM can also be equipped with a laser seeker, making it the only weapon of its kind.

F3 “Omnirole” Version

Gasparini told AIN that the next deployment of Rafales to Afghanistan will be to the F3 standard, which entered service in France last year. The F3 is the “omnirole” version, which by 2011 is to be additionally capable of firing AM-39 Exocet Block 2 anti-ship missiles and the ASMP-A nuclear strike missile. The Thales Damocles IR/laser navigation and targeting pod and the Thales Areos reconnaissance pod (previously known as Reco-NG) are also part of the F3 upgrade. All previously delivered French Rafales are being upgraded to the F3 standard, including the 10 Navy F1s, for which a contract is imminent, according to Gasparini.

The F3 standard also introduced improvements to the Rafale’s electronic warfare system called Spectra and designed jointly by MBDA and Thales. These improvements include the ability to cue the aircraft’s Front Sector Optronics (FSO) sensor to potential targets, thereby providing a fully passive means of detection. The full functionality of the Rafale’s Thales RBE2 fire-control radar system was also achieved with F3, including submeter resolution in the synthetic aperture model.

Gasparini noted that the F3 was originally the “ultimate” version of the Rafale, as far as the French government was concerned. But technology moves on, and France is now funding the development of an “F3-Plus” standard, which will include an active-array version of the RBE2; a new missile warning system from MBDA; further improvements to the FSO; integration of MBDA’s new Meteor air-to-air missile and the GBU-24 Paveway III “smart” bomb; and a new-generation version of the Snecma M88-2 powerplant that will deliver lower life-cycle costs. This new package of improvements is to be available from 2012.

Electronically Scanned Array

The RBE2 was designed from the outset with an electronically scanned array (ESA). For years, the Rafale team touted the technical advantages for a multirole combat jet of an ESA versus a mechanically scanned array, such as the ability to switch seamlessly between air-to-air and air-to-ground tasks. The French air force and navy were finally convinced. Team Rafale is now emphasizing to export customers the additional performance and redundancy offered by the active array and the relative ease of upgrading the RBE2 with the new technology.

The Rafale’s two M88-2 turbofans deliver a maximum 17,000 pounds of thrust each. Competitors have claimed that the Rafale is underpowered. But the French air force and navy are evidently happy with the aircraft’s performance and they have declined to fund development of an increase in the thrust of the M88. Instead, it seems that the UAE will pick up the tab, boosting the M88 to 20,000 pounds to improve the aircraft’s hot-and-high performance. However, Gasparini told AIN that the Rafale’s ability to take off with the existing powerplants in a “heavy” configuration comprising two Scalp anti-ship missiles and three fuel tanks had already been demonstrated in Abu Dhabi under the hottest conditions.

Interoperability is a key selling point for any modern combat jet. Does the Rafale’s French nationality confer a disadvantage here? Gasparini noted that the jet has already been equipped with Link 16 to receive and transmit tactical information, and the improved data modem to transmit images to the ground. The Rafale squadrons of the French air force and navy have fully participated in various NATO exercises, but the ability to downlink target video to U.S.-supplied Rover laptops held by forward air controllers has become the de facto standard in Afghanistan this year, he admitted. There is no problem adding this capability to the Rafale, but there were bureaucratic delays in achieving the necessary transatlantic agreement, Gasparini said. “Now that we have the ‘ticket’ for ROVER, we can quickly integrate,” he added.

Service Support

No one buys an expensive warplane these days without understanding how much more it might cost to support the jet in service. French warplanes have not enjoyed the best of reputations in this regard. Last June, however, Dassault announced the signing of an in-service support contract with the French defense ministry. It is a 10-year “by-the-hour” deal whereby the French air force and navy will pay for only the number of hours actually flown. However, the new style agreement covers only those aspects of the Rafale for which Dassault is responsible; the French government is still negotiating similar flat-rate deals for support of the Rafale with Snecma and Thales. Similar support contracts are on offer to export customers, Gasparini told AIN.

No one in the French camp expects the UAE to close a deal for the Rafale at this Dubai Airshow. Indeed, caution is the watchword in Paris after some previous disappointments. Dassault officials are convinced that the Rafale was a clear winner of the new fighter evaluations in both Korea and Singapore - until superpower politics intervened. Both countries selected the F-15 Strike Eagle instead. As Dassault chairman and CEO Charles Edelstenne noted at the last Paris Air Show: “Our teams are in discussion with a lot of countries, and enjoy the full support of the President of the Republic. However, we must be wary of crying victory too soon.”

 

 

  Dassault Rafale C 

 

  Dassault Rafale M 

 

  Dassault Rafale M