AeroTime
• Clement Charpentreau
France has ordered early development work for five Rafale F5 systems, including the RBE2-XG radar, SPECTRA F5 electronic-warfare suite and M88 T-REX engine. The activity establishes the core technology package ahead of the next-generation Rafale standard’s launch.
Dassault Aviation
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France has ordered early development work for five Rafale F5 systems, including the RBE2-XG radar, SPECTRA F5 electronic-warfare suite and M88 T-REX engine. The activity establishes the core technology package ahead of the next-generation Rafale standard’s launch.
High activity
Avio’s Vega C successfully launched the Copernicus Sentinel-3C and Earth Explorer FLEX Earth-observation satellites from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The mission, conducted for the European Space Agency and European Commission, marks Vega C’s second successful flight of 2026 and adds two platforms to Europe’s climate-monitoring capabilities.
France has begun Rafale F5 development with contracts for Dassault Aviation, Thales, MBDA France and Safran, targeting qualification around 2033. In parallel, Pegase 2026 is deploying Rafale fighters alongside A330 MRTT Phénix tankers and A400M transports to Alaska via the Arctic.
Four French Air and Space Force Rafale fighters have begun a 40-day global flight, traveling from the Arctic through the Indo-Pacific. The Pegase 2026 mission is intended to demonstrate France’s military reach while strengthening cooperation with international partners.
Dassault Aviation is developing the Rafale F5 without a foreign industrial partner, CEO Eric Trappier said. The company expects to offer the upgraded “super Rafale” on international markets from 2035, setting a long-term export horizon for the fighter program and its industrial base.
Chinese J-16 fighter jets engaged French-made Rafale fighters during the Eagles of Civilization 2026 drills in Egypt, marking the first reported exercise encounter between the two aircraft types. The event brings Chinese and French combat aviation into direct training contact in an important regional setting.
India has begun efforts to join France’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS), following the collapse of the French-German partnership behind the sixth-generation fighter program. The move could reshape FCAS participation and deepen defense-industrial ties between India and France as Paris reassesses the program’s international partnerships.
Indian Air Force Rafale fighters have made their first appearance at Exercise Pitch Black, Australia’s premier multinational air combat exercise. During a five-hour sortie over the Northern Territory, an Australian KC-30A tanker refueled the Rafales for the first time, underscoring the exercise’s operational integration focus.
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