More Power for RAFALE

 

In an surprising move, SAFRAN announced a 20% thrust improvement to the M88 engines on Rafale Fighter Jet

As far as I remember, Dassault Jet's like Mirage III, Mirage F1, Mirage 2000 and Rafale have never seen an improvement of the engine thrust in there service live. Once installed, nothing will be made - never change an working system.

Until now - the French Doubledelta Fighter will receive new engines called M88 T-REX with 20% more thrust and maximum compatibility to the actual M88 engine. The upgraded engine will be implemented on Rafale Standard F5, beginning in 2030.

First user will be the French Navy, with 12 Rafale F5 Marine in the 6th command for delivery in between 2030-2034. India will receive there first Rafale M in 2028, actually it's not clear if it will also be F5 standard - expected is an integration as fast as possible. 

External changes to actual Rafales are expected on the air inlet. With the production of more electricity on the new engine, internal systems can be optimized and improvements on radar, electronic countermeasures and other systems are possible. The F5 version has a lot of internal improvements already, for example another wiring and more capable computers and systems. Rafales of the future will be the 'old' F4.1 and the new F5 type - the new engine can be used on the old version (possibility exists, but it's not planned for French Armed Forces yet) but some other modifications of the F5 standard are not possible.

The new engine will also be of interest for Gripen and Tejas - especially to cancel all US parts in those aircrafts.

Link: https://www.safran-group.com/pressroom/safran-unveils-higher-thrust-version-m88-future-rafale-upgrades-2025-06-17

Mission NKF - Saab Gripen NG cancelling the evaluation

Bad news for Switzerland - Saab has to cancel the evaluation.

The Swiss defence procurement agency, armasuisse, has formally recommended to Saab not to participate with Gripen E in the upcoming flight tests in Switzerland. The reason is that the flight tests have been designed to only evaluate aircraft that are operationally ready in 2019. The flight tests are part of the fighter evaluation process that foresees aircraft deliveries in 2025. Gripen E will enter into operational service years before Switzerland has scheduled deliveries and will meet all its defined capabilities. However, the Gripen E development plan does not match the Swiss plan to perform flight tests with aircraft that are operationally ready in 2019. Therefore, Saab has decided not to attend the Swiss flight tests in Payerne 24-28 June. 

Gripen E is currently being developed, tested and produced for Sweden and Brazil. It is the most modern and technologically advanced fighter aircraft being developed. The programme is running at a fast and successful speed, with customer deliveries starting later this year.

Upon an invitation from armasuisse, Saab submitted a proposal for Gripen E on 25 January 2019. Since the submission of the proposal in January, the armasuisse’ expectations on the flight tests have evolved to expect participation of operationally ready aircraft. As Gripen E is yet to become operational, Saab has presented solutions to perform the Swiss flight tests in 2019. An offer to complement the Gripen E test aircraft with an operational Gripen C aircraft for the flight tests in June 2019 has not been accepted by armasuisse. Competitors have showcased capabilities on existing platforms, which are different to the versions offered for delivery.

Throughout the Gripen E programme Saab has publicly communicated the status of the Gripen E’s development as key programme milestones have been passed. It can be assumed that armasuisse had the relevant knowledge when they invited Saab to participate in the tender process in 2018, of both the Gripen E development programme and the conditions under which Gripen E would be able to compete.

We believe that Gripen E is the best choice for Switzerland and the offer, as presented in January 2019, still stands. Saab is committed to deliver at least 40 Gripen E fighter aircraft on time, meeting requirements and within planned budget, including a comprehensive support concept with local contribution, guaranteeing the most affordable operating costs and the highest level of autonomy.

Background

Switzerland has a need to replace its fighter fleet of F/A-18 Hornet and F-5 E/F Tiger aircraft. In January 2019, Saab offered a proposal consisting of options for 30, and 40, new build Gripen E fighter aircraft to Switzerland. The Gripen E proposal satisfies all required capabilities for Switzerland and is based on the Swedish Air Force configuration as requested.

In the previous Swiss fighter aircraft procurement process, Saab offered Switzerland Gripen E in a joint procurement with Sweden. At the time, the Gripen E time plan was aligned to meet the Swiss requirement for IOC in 2021. When Switzerland decided to stop its acquisition of new fighters in 2014, the time plan was changed and adapted after Swedish and Brazilian requirements.

At the time of delivery, Gripen E will provide the Swiss Air Force with the very latest available technology integrated into a mature and robust platform that meets all the Swiss needs. Gripen E stands out among the contenders in the Swiss fighter procurement as the newest aircraft system.

The Gripen E programme is progressing according to plan, with production on-going and customer deliveries starting this year. The latest technologies are being incorporated to provide air forces with operational capabilities designed to defeat the threats of today but also the future. Key milestones achieved during the past six months include flights with IRIS-T and Meteor, as well as the third Gripen E aircraft’s first flight.

For further information, please contact:

Saab Press Centre,

+46 (0)734 180 018,

Presscentre@saabgroup.com

www.saabgroup.com

www.saabgroup.com/YouTube

Follow us on twitter: @saab 

Mission NKF - Saab Gripen NG

Last but not least - Saab sends in two aicraft for the evaluation. With production already prepared for brasil and sweden, the Gripen NG has some important moduifications.

Spotter- and Media-Days for each candidate - Swiss Air Force's evaluation of a new fighter aircraft

At your agendas - the dates of the visits and spotterdays in PAYERNE (LSMP) for the new fighters are known !

Source: https://www.vbs.admin.ch/content/vbs-internet/de/die-schweizer-armee/sicherheit-im-luftraum.detail.nsb.html/74152.html

Airbus, Eurofighter (Week 15/16):
Medienanlass (Medias): Fr, 12. April 2019 (Vormittag / morning)
Spotteranlass (Spotters): Fr, 12. April 2019 (Nachmittag / afternoon)
Anmeldung ab (inscription possible from): Di, 2. April 2019, 09.00 Uhr

Boeing, F/A-18 Super Hornet (Week 17/18):
Medienanlass: Di, 30. April 2019 (Vormittag)
Spotteranlass: Di, 30. April 2019 (Nachmittag)
Anmeldung ab: Do, 18. April 2019, 09.00 Uhr

Dassault, Rafale (Week 20/21):
Medienanlass: Di, 21. Mai 2019 (Vormittag)
Spotteranlass: Di, 21. Mai 2019 (Nachmittag)
Anmeldung ab: Do, 9. Mai 2019, 09.00 Uhr

Lockheed Martin, F-35A (Week 23/24):
Medienanlass: Fr, 7. Juni 2019 (Vormittag)
Spotteranlass: Fr, 7. Juni 2019 (Nachmittag)
Anmeldung ab: Di, 28. Mai 2019, 09.00 Uhr

Saab, Gripen E (Week 25/26):
Medienanlass: Di, 25. Juni 2019 (Vormittag)
Spotteranlass: Di, 25. Juni 2019 (Nachmittag)
Anmeldung ab: Do, 13. Juni 2019, 09.00 Uhr

Air2030: Request for new aircrafts to Government Offices of Fighter Aircraft Manufacturers submitted

Dassault's Rafale is one of the european competitors for Switzerland's new fighter aircraft

Bern, 06.07.2018 - The handover of the first offer request for new fighter aircraft to the government agencies of the producer countries has taken place. armasuisse expects the offers until the end of January 2019. Official link (german)

Saab Gripen and Eurofighter Typhoon are the other two european candidates. Offers for Boeing's Super Hornet and Lockheed's F-35 where also requested. All Types will be tested in Payerne Mai 'till July, 2019.

Requirements defined for the new combat aircraft and new ground-based air defence system

News about the new fighter aircraft (NKF) and ground-based air defence (BodLuv) today (pdf with full text)

- Evaluation of the new fighter aircraft: Germany (Airbus: Eurofighter), France (Dassault: Rafale), Sweden (Saab: Gripen E), USA (Boeing: F/A-18 Super Hornet; LockheedMartin: F-35A).

Operational requirements for the new combat aircraft (NKF):
a. The fleet as a whole must be capable of:
 - carrying out routine air policing tasks around the clock and enforcing restrictions on the use of Swiss airspace; 
 - in times of heightened tension, responding within minutes to airspace infringements by non-cooperative civilian aircraft, military transport aircraft, drones, and individual combat aircraft in the entirety of Swiss airspace;
 - in case of armed attack, in cooperation with the ground-based air defence systems, denying enemy air superiority for a limited period and simultaneously supporting the armed forces with operational firepower beyond the range of Swiss artillery and with air reconnaissance.

For maintenance (e.g. procurement and storage of spare parts) and training (e.g. use of airspace, air bases, firing ranges, and simulation infrastructure), there should be – to the extent compatible with Swiss neutrality – opportunities for cooperation with the producer states and/or other states that operate the same system.

- All candidates for the new combat aircraft must conduct at least part of their flight and ground testing in Switzerland (main base will be PAYERNE).
- Apart from minimal adjustments necessary (e.g. integration into Swiss command and control systems), there may be no "helvetisation", i.e. the systems (combat aircraft and ground-based air defence) shall be introduced to and operated by Switzerland in the same configuration as by the producer state and released for export.
- Switzerland seeks a one-type fleet for combat aircraft. Once all new combat aircraft have been delivered and introduced into service with the Swiss Air Force, the current F/A-18C/D aircraft will gradually be withdrawn from service. The F-5 Tiger aircraft will be decommissioned before the beginning of deliveries of the new combat aircraft. 


- Evaluation of the new air defence system: France (Eurosam: SAMP/T), Israel (Rafael: David's Sling), USA (Raytheon: Patriot).

Operational requirements for the ground-based air defence system (Bodluv):
a. The long-range ground-based air defence system has to be capable, either independently or in cooperation with combat aircraft, of protecting at least 15,000 km2 and, as a priority, engaging targets in the medium and upper airspace. The system shall be effective to altitudes beyond 12,000 m (vertical) and a distance beyond 50 km (horizontal).
b. The ground-based air defence system's sensors contribute to the recognized air picture.
c. A capability for ballistic missile defence is not a requirement.
d. The following data serve as a theoretical model to calculate the logistics package:
 - continuous operation as long as there is an assurance of a continuous crossborder flow of materiel;
 - when the cross-border flow of materiel is not assured, sustainability has to be at least six months.

Tiger F-5 will leave the Air Force in a hurry with the new combat aircraft arriving

Air2030 - new fighter jet for Switzerland and votation

Rafale - one of the proposed new fighter jets for Switerland

The Federal Council is proposing an opportunity to vote on the procurement of a new fighter jet (NKF, Neues KampfFlugzeug) and a new ground-based air defense system. But NOT about the type of the aircraft.

Multiple political parties wants to give the people the right for voting about the type, so an referendum is highly expected.

Air2030: Bundesrat will Volksabstimmung ermöglichen

Bern, 09.03.2018 - Der Bundesrat will der Schweizer Stimmbevölkerung die Möglichkeit geben, über die Beschaffung von neuen Kampfflugzeugen und eines neuen bodengestützten Systems zur Luftverteidigung abzustimmen. In seiner Sitzung vom 9. März 2018 hat er beschlossen, das Programm Air2030 in Form eines Planungsbeschlusses dem Parlament vorzulegen. Ein solcher Beschluss untersteht dem fakultativen Referendum.

Die heutigen Mittel zum Schutz des Schweizer Luftraums müssen ersetzt werden. Die Kampfflugzeuge des Typs F/A-18 erreichen 2030 das Ende ihrer Nutzungsdauer, und die noch verbleibenden Tiger F-5 sind bereits heute nur tagsüber und bei guten Sichtverhältnissen für den Luftpolizeidienst einsetzbar und wären gegen einen zeitgemässen Gegner chancenlos. Auch die Systeme der Luftverteidigung am Boden (Rapier, Stinger und Mittlere Flab) erreichen demnächst das Ende ihrer Nutzungsdauer.

Der Bundesrat hat deshalb im Herbst 2017 den Grundsatzentscheid getroffen, eine Erneuerung der Mittel zum Schutz des Luftraums mit einem maximalen Finanzvolumen von 8 Milliarden Franken zu planen. Dafür und für die ebenfalls anstehenden Investitionen in die Boden- und Führungssysteme soll das Armeebudget jährlich real in der Grössenordnung von 1,4 Prozent wachsen. Gemäss dem Grundsatzentscheid müssen die Hersteller 100 Prozent des Kaufpreises in der Schweiz kompensieren.

Fakultatives Referendum ermöglichen

Noch offen war, welches Vorgehen der Bundesrat für das Programm Air2030 wählt. Das VBS hat nun nach Konsultationen mit dem Bundesamt für Justiz und der Bundeskanzlei dem Bundesrat Varianten über mögliche Vorlagen unterbreitet. Da es sich bei der Erneuerung der Mittel zum Schutz des Luftraums um ein grundlegendes sicherheitspolitisches Anliegen handelt und die beiden letzten Beschaffungsvorlagen für Kampfflugzeuge dem Volk zur Abstimmung vorgelegt wurden, will der Bundesrat, dass die Schweizer Stimmbevölkerung darüber befinden kann. So kommt er dem demokratischen Empfinden der Schweiz und auch Forderungen aus dem Parlament entgegen.

Deshalb hat er beschlossen, die Erneuerung der Mittel zum Schutz des Luftraums als sogenannten Planungsbeschluss grosser Tragweite vorzulegen (Art. 28 Abs. 3 Parlamentsgesetz). Wenn das Parlament diesen Beschluss verabschiedet, untersteht er dem fakultativen Referendum, das heisst die Bevölkerung hat die Möglichkeit, die nötige Anzahl Unterschriften zu sammeln und eine Volksabstimmung herbeizuführen.

Grundlegende Bedeutung für die Sicherheit der Schweiz

Planungsbeschlüsse sind gemäss Parlamentsgesetz Vorentscheidungen, die festlegen, dass bestimmte Ziele anzustreben sind. Wenn sie von grosser Tragweite sind, unterstehen sie dem Referendum. Die grosse Tragweite begründet sich damit, dass der Schutz und die Verteidigung des Luftraums von grundlegender Bedeutung für die Sicherheit der Schweiz sind und dass der finanzielle Aufwand für die Erneuerung der Mittel zum Schutz des Luftraums erheblich ist; die neuen Kampfflugzeuge und ein neues bodengestütztes System sollen zur Luftverteidigung als Paket vorgelegt werden. Zudem waren bereits die Beschaffung des F/A-18 (1993) und die versuchte Beschaffung des Gripen (2014) Gegenstand von Volksabstimmungen.

Der Bundesrat hat das VBS beauftragt, den Entwurf eines Planungsbeschlusses gemäss den Grundsatzentscheiden vom Herbst 2017 auszuarbeiten. Der nächste Schritt ist die Eröffnung einer Vernehmlassung durch den Bundesrat. Der weitere Zeitplan sieht vor, dass eine Referendumsabstimmung so früh wie möglich stattfinden kann, spätestens im Jahr 2020, das heisst noch bevor sich der Bundesrat für einen Flugzeugtyp entscheidet. So kann früh Gewissheit geschaffen und unnütze Planungsarbeiten vermieden werden. Danach könnte der Bundesrat die Beschaffung voraussichtlich mit der Armeebotschaft 2022 dem Parlament beantragen.

Verworfene Varianten

Eine andere Möglichkeit, eine Volksabstimmung herbeizuführen, wäre eine Revision eines des Militärgesetzes oder eines anderen Gesetzes, das inhaltlich mit dem Schutz des Luftraums in einem Zusammenhang steht. Dieses Vorgehen hat der Bundesrat verworfen. Die Frage, wie die Luftwaffe ausgerüstet sein muss, ist wegen der Entwicklung der Bedrohungen und der Technologie einem stetigen Wandel unterworfen. Eine Festlegung im Gesetz müsste dauernd revidiert werden. Ebenfalls verworfen hat der Bundesrat das normale Vorgehen für Rüstungsbeschaffungen im Rahmen der Armeebotschaft und ohne vorhergehenden Grundsatzbeschluss, der dem Referendum untersteht. Bei diesem Vorgehen könnte die Stimmbevölkerung darüber nicht befinden. Der Bundesrat will aber die Möglichkeit einer Volkabstimmung schaffen.

Programm Air2030
Das VBS plant die Erneuerung der Mittel zum Schutz des Luftraums als Gesamtpaket «Programm Air2030». Dessen Hauptbestandteil sind die neuen Kampfflugzeuge und ein neues System zur bodengestützten Luftverteidigung; das Finanzvolumen von maximal 8 Milliarden Franken bezieht sich auf diese beiden Projekte. Daneben gehören auch Erneuerungen und Modernisierungen beim System zur Führung und Luftraumüberwachung (Florako) dazu. Zwischen den Projekten bestehen zahlreiche Schnittstellen und Abhängigkeiten in technischer, operationeller, zeitlicher und finanzieller Hinsicht.

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Adresse für Rückfragen

Lorenz Frischknecht
Sprecher VBS
+41 58 484 26 17

Saab Gripen and Eurofighter Typhoon are the two other european candidats for a new fighter jet