The DGA (French defenceprocurement agency) has officially taken delivery of the Rafale C137, the first production Rafale equipped with the Thales RBE2 AESA* radar, at Dassault Aviation’s Mérignac establishment near Bordeaux.

The Rafale is the first European combat aircraft in operational service equipped with this type of radar.

The RBE2 AESA brings the Rafale a number of key operational benefits:

•   extended range capabilities supporting low-observable target detection and full use of new weapon systems such as the Meteor air-to-air missile;
  

  Archive: Rafale French AF

•   higher reliability for reduced maintenance and lower through-life support costs;
•   greater waveform agility for SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) imaging and improved resistance to jamming.

Dassault Aviation and Thales are proud to equip French forces with this advanced radar technology, which is now entering operational service on a European combat aircraft for the first time. The project was completed on time and on budget, and owes its success to exemplary cooperation with the DGA and all the companies involved in the RBE2 AESA programme.

Export versions of the Rafale also incorporate AESA radar technology.

*Active Electronically Scanned Array

Thales press release, Photo: M. van Leeuwen Z.A.P.P.