France - Navy Military Single & Two Seat Dassault Rafale M Aircraft in three ship formation. SCO 9123 .
The Rafale was developed as a modern jet fighter with a very high level of agility; Dassault chose to combine a delta wing with active close-coupled canard to maximize maneuverability, the aircraft is capable of withstanding 9 g or − g. The Rafale is an aerodynamically unstable aircraft, thus digital fly-by-wire flight controls are employed to artificially enforce and maintain stability The aircraft's canards also act to reduce the minimum landing speed to 115 knots (213 km/h; 132 mph), while in flight, airspeeds as low as 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) have been observed during training missions. According to simulations by Dassault, the Rafale's has sufficient low speed performance to operate from STOBAR-configured aircraft carriers, and can take off using a ski-jump with no modifications. The Rafale's glass cockpit was designed around the principle of data fusion – a central computer intelligently selects and prioritises information to display to pilots for simpler command and control. The primary flight controls are arranged in a hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS)-compatible configuration, with a right-handed side-stick controller and a left-handed throttle. The seats is inclined rearwards at an angle of 29° to improve g-force tolerance during maneouvering and to provide a less restricted external pilot view. An intelligent flight suit worn by the pilot is automatically controlled by the aircraft to counteract in response to calculated g-forces. The cockpit features a wide-angle holographic head-up display (HUD) system. The Rafale is fitted with a life-support Martin-Baker Mark 16F "zero-zero” ejection seat. Air to air refuelling probe.
Size: 5618px × 4356px
Location: RAF Leuchars. St Andrews, Fife. Scotland. United Kingdom.
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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