MMRCA 2.0 - Updates and Discussions

[RationalGuy]

If we are getting jets from 2030 onwards or later, i don't see any reasons why can't we get F5 versions from the initial batches

By 2035 if we have Rafale F5, Tejas Mk2, Tejas Mk1A, Su30 MLU, and hopefully AMCA Mk1 either in advanced testing stages or LSP we will be in a very good position. Most importantly we can arm our fighters with Gandivas and Astra Mk2s en masse.

Absolutely! It took me just 3 days to add DSP and AI accelarator core to RISCV in RTL. Just 3 days. And I tested it on FPGA. It wroks. With claude code, I can do it in just 3 days.

I have no doubt that with modern AI tools, one can have an entire ASIC low level design ready in weeks not years. Even mask design. You just need a e-writer to make the mask.

Wanna blow your mind? I can make few chips entirely without ANY kind of fab. How you say? Well, just an electron microsope of right kind. I tried something similar using my wife's university lab that has an electron microsope. I can etch a working chip with it. I do not have packaging capabilities but etching chips is not an issue.

If I can do it, what stops DRDO from buying 100-200 electron microsope and convert them into low volume e-beam writing solutions for making low volume chips for military purpose? You do not need chips in even 10s of thousands. Only few thousands for military purpose like fighter jets. You can hve that yield from e-beam setups in few months. Its slow as hell but it works.

JESUS. I heard of Warp and Amp which give very good SystemVerilog code. Now with RISC V we can make the design ready but problem is software maturity of the MCU,like everyone goes for STM cuz of their software maturity. Luckily as a country we are somewhat good at software so maybe even with RISC V we can design and make a mass deployable industrial grade MCU with decent software stack and not give money to the yellow toothed brits via Arm licensing lol. So we need fables companies making at least 65 nm MCUs for industrial and defence use. We have Mindgrove but they seem to be focusing on SoCs and not necessarily MCUs for industrial use.

You know imo India should focus on making fabless champions to kick out STM and Ti from our industrial sector as compared to the flashy things everyone is talking about like GPUs which are also important but imo need to be a secondary focus. Then we can focus on 28 nm FPGAs.

 

[Saaho]

JESUS. I heard of Warp and Amp which give very good SystemVerilog code. Now with RISC V we can make the design ready but problem is software maturity of the MCU,like everyone goes for STM cuz of their software maturity. Luckily as a country we are somewhat good at software so maybe even with RISC V we can design and make a mass deployable industrial grade MCU with decent software stack and not give money to the yellow toothed brits via Arm licensing lol. So we need fables companies making at least 65 nm MCUs for industrial and defence use. We have Mindgrove but they seem to be focusing on SoCs and not necessarily MCUs for industrial use.

Synthesizable RTL is very much possible from modern day LLMs. For this christmas, I wanted to make extensions to RISCV to support ReLU/Softmax speedup, matrix multiplication speed up on GitHub - SpinalHDL/VexRiscv: A FPGA friendly 32 bit RISC-V CPU implementation . It took me 3 days -- including writing assembly code for library to test speed up-- with Codex.

This is a JV with PSMC, hence there will patents in manufacturing technology.

This is a fabrication unit minus design lab, I am talking about designing which means going beyond nm in future. You have IITM and one in Chandigarh who have designed 2nm chip but there is lack of funds and also production technology to manufacture them in serial production.

You do not need 2nm in avionics. You need more like 180-65nm mostly. and mixed signal chip and power electonics.

 

[Picdelamirand-oil]

Yea this would've made the most sense if we actually put effort and money into Kaveri starting from 2010 by now likely it would be ready for at least LSP to fly on Tejas. Wtr to Rafales the Indian gobermint still has PTSD of Bofors and submarine scandal which caused Rajiv to lose his seat which causes them to prioritize lumbering deals and passing on the buck rather than doing it quickly. Opposition and media make everything sensational in this country even allegations.

Well in that case send your engineers to network Meteor with our AWACS and ground radars data links for better guidance. If that happens perhaps there is no need at all to integrate Astra on Rafales and we won't have to change the FCS.

Rafale is B-net capable as part of ISE (shhh...)

 

[jmaxwell_]

The US in 1978:

The Electronics Committee, headed by Vikram Sarabhai, wanted IBM to end its business practice of bringing in old machines to India, refurbishing and leasing them out at inflated rates to government departments. IBM justified selling outmoded equipment saying it wanted India to grow step-by-step in computer technology.

France in 2026:

We can let you use this critical software, but not right away. I assure you it's for your own good.

 

[Saaho]

The defence budget ain't increasing significantly, we yet to cross 100$ billion Mark, modi ain't increasing the defence budget, to sustain these purchase we need 125-130$ billions annually,

Its not that hard. Put an additional tax on cigs and alcohols.

The US in 1978:



France in 2026:

I don't even mind that part too. We are buying Rafale towards very end. I am sure Pakistan will be flying J-35s before we see any of these new Rafales. Not to mention, my worry is we will have this weird situation where our most modern weapons will not be available on our top of the line jet.

Israel's Sky Sting and Gandeev come to mind. This deal in 2008-12 would have been absolute killer. In 2032 when these fighters will start arriving, it is not.

And for that I blame South Block for being a bunch of idiots.

 

[Ginvincible]

To be fair this the worst of all options,

How are they going to procure netra mk2, Tejas mk2, AMCA, cats warrior, Ghatak, LUH, IMRH, from where the money will come, are we going to fight with rafale only,

I don't expect the mk2, AMCA, ORCA, TEDBF, etc programs to materialize into anything significant over the next 20 years. Rather, they will be dragged out slowly and painfully. A squadron or two of the mk2 by 2040 if we are lucky. Others can be afforded as needed. The majority of fighting will be done with missile anyways, Rafales just gives a modern platform with an ally that is continuing to work on and develop it.

The defence budget ain't increasing significantly, we yet to cross 100$ billion Mark, modi ain't increasing the defence budget, to sustain these purchase we need 125-130$ billions annually,
When the 8th pay commission comes it will eat more money, where the fund's for R&D will come, theres also multiple SAM projects,

There are other needs for the state. India is massive and suffers from crippling poverty, unemployment, inclement weather, malnourishment, etc. There are so many priorities that the Indian government needs to address. They cannot fund everything and the Rafale offers most of the capability required by the IAF in one package.

36$ billion is too much for 4.5th gen without source code and with 30% IC, we gonna spend 51 billions on rafale only

It is the Rafale or nothing. $51B spent on this ecosystem is a small price to pay for minimum credible defense.

If Rafales aren't networked fully to IACCS and if Netra can't even guide Meteor then even J10C can shoot it down like we saw in May. A networked Tejas Mk1A with Astra Mk2 guided by Netra AWACS and ground radars will be more deadly lol. Both are not ready yet but you're high if you think they won't be ready by 2030 in numbers.

I am doubtful either will be ready in numbers by 2030. I am not high, I am just going by track record and timelines for the GE engines. It is way more delusional to expect these programs will magically come together. Rafales getting networked is another discussion that I am sure our French partners would discuss.

This silver bullet isn't going to save India.

It is just one bullet out of many, but the IAF needs platforms in numbers yesterday. Hard and expensive choices will have to be made to correct the past 20 years of procurement paralysis.

Yea no. I think deep inside you believe India is always destined to be some third rate power hence it's fine if it confines to keep buying or iterating some foreign design. India may not have the capability now, does not mean it will not in the future. If others had this despicably retarded level thinking India wouldn't have ballistic missiles, SSBNs, ISRO etc. We are not destined to be a third rate power and to not be a third rate power we need our own weapons. Now we need Rafales but more than that we need domestic capability in aerospace design and production which must be pursued by hook or by crook.

It's not like I want India to always be a third-rate power, but you have to accept that the India of today largely is a third-rate power.

India needs domestic capability, but they lack the institutions to commit to developing advanced technologies. Such large undertakings require time and investment that does not mesh well with the usual Indian governance, corruption surely plays a role too. All of this is even more true if what is required can be bought off the shelf. The amount of resources required to develop a jet engine are just never going to come as long as the option of purchasing one exists. Indians individually are smart, which is why you see the ballistic missiles, ssbns, isro, etc. but also, these are things you cannot easily purchase. Helicopters and trucks surprised me but imports of those still occur too.

I firmly believe most of India's advancements have happened not because of the Indian government, but in spite of it. The times where the Indian government accidently achieves things are flukes that should not be relied upon. I also don't think that importing is bad, at the end of the day the IAF needs the capability and domestic sources cannot provide it.

Lastly, is being a third-rate power so bad if life for the common man is good?

 

[Saaho]

I get the impression that you don't understand that it's not just planes we're selling you, but an entire industry. And when you make planes, you have to be extremely rigorous, otherwise accidents will cause deaths. I'm not saying that Indians aren't rigorous, but there are things we've learned in over fifteen years of experimentation that you'll have to learn in two or three years. Let me give you an example: you want to put an indigenous weapon on the Rafale, and you say to yourself, we do it on the SU-30 MKI, so why not on the Rafale?

But you know that on the Rafale there is an instability that is managed by the FCS, and it's critical software with a critical architecture, so the separation of your new weapon and the Rafale is also managed because we use the canards to modify the center of gravity and load asymmetries. so the FCS must be configured to take into account the characteristics of your weapon, i.e., modify the software to take into account all possible mixed configurations with other weapons and fuel tanks already integrated and perform all tests with all configurations in all authorized flight areas.

But that's not all. You also have to go into an anechoic chamber to measure the Rafale's signature for all the configurations it is likely to encounter during its operational life and enter this into Spectra so that it can work with your weapon as it does with the others that have been integrated by Dassault.

We can let you use this critical software, but not right away. I assure you it's for your own good.

My bigger concern is that India will never be able to integrate its best weapons on its best platform. By the time it will happen (in late 2030s), it will be useless because all our adversories will have fifth gen fighters ironed out by China.

 

[Picdelamirand-oil]

My bigger concern is that India will never be able to integrate its best weapons on its best platform. By the time it will happen (in late 2030s), it will be useless because all our adversories will have fifth gen fighters ironed out by China.

But we agreed that even for the first 36 Rafales, you could integrate weapons yourself, but we are training those who will do so.

 

[Hydra]

If there is Any UPSIDE , it is the 120 KN Engine deal

There was a Simple Equation

Give A Deal for 114 Rafales to GET ENGINE TECHNOLOGY

Engine deal is a seperate thing, its a seperate deal involving few billions. It has nothing to do this deal.

Personally i want RR to win the engine contract, not the french firm. Because RRbis giving the same leverage & ipr what French side is offering but the RR engine perfomance is better in paper.

Dude. France will operate about 234-285 rafale jets in all. India about 176 if this deal goes through. Beyond france, we will be largest foreign operator of Rafale. If we can not integrate the weapons we need at will... it is massive shame.

Compare this with Su30MKI. We can integrate any weapon we want by ourself at our leisure.

It will be way beyond 114. We will order further 90 plus F5 version for sure.

 

[RationalGuy]

I don't expect the mk2, AMCA, ORCA, TEDBF, etc programs to materialize into anything significant over the next 20 years. Rather, they will be dragged out slowly and painfully. A squadron or two of the mk2 by 2040 if we are lucky. Others can be afforded as needed. The majority of fighting will be done with missile anyways, Rafales just gives a modern platform with an ally that is continuing to work on and develop it.


There are other needs for the state. India is massive and suffers from crippling poverty, unemployment, inclement weather, malnourishment, etc. There are so many priorities that the Indian government needs to address. They cannot fund everything and the Rafale offers most of the capability required by the IAF in one package.


It is the Rafale or nothing. $51B spent on this ecosystem is a small price to pay for minimum credible defense.


I am doubtful either will be ready in numbers by 2030. I am not high, I am just going by track record and timelines for the GE engines. It is way more delusional to expect these programs will magically come together. Rafales getting networked is another discussion that I am sure our French partners would discuss.


It is just one bullet out of many, but the IAF needs platforms in numbers yesterday. Hard and expensive choices will have to be made to correct the past 20 years of procurement paralysis.


It's not like I want India to always be a third-rate power, but you have to accept that the India of today largely is a third-rate power.

India needs domestic capability, but they lack the institutions to commit to developing advanced technologies. Such large undertakings require time and investment that does not mesh well with the usual Indian governance, corruption surely plays a role too. All of this is even more true if what is required can be bought off the shelf. The amount of resources required to develop a jet engine are just never going to come as long as the option of purchasing one exists. Indians individually are smart, which is why you see the ballistic missiles, ssbns, isro, etc. but also, these are things you cannot easily purchase. Helicopters and trucks surprised me but imports of those still occur too.

I firmly believe most of India's advancements have happened not because of the Indian government, but in spite of it. The times where the Indian government accidently achieves things are flukes that should not be relied upon. I also don't think that importing is bad, at the end of the day the IAF needs the capability and domestic sources cannot provide it.

Lastly, is being a third-rate power so bad if life for the common man is good?

You can't make an SSBN by just having le SmArT people and once cant make an SSBN through fluke. It requires huge investment and organization. We spent no less than $10 billion on the Arihant program. Now the government will money and intent is there for Tejas Mk1A Mk2 and AMCA programs and they will happen. The only difficult point is the engine. We need GE404 and GE414. The Chinese had to rely on Russian engines until no earlier than 2015 by when they had J10 J20 J16 J15 all working mostly on Russian engines for a very long time. So importing engines for our indigenous jets is not a bad thing while we work with the French for the 120 kN class engine. The US deliberately screwing up Indian capabilities against China by doing fishy stuff with engine supplies is unlikely. GE404 likely genuinely has supply chain problems cuz the entire production was shut down and our ppl were smart enough to pick it even then lol.

I don't expect the mk2, AMCA, ORCA, TEDBF, etc programs to materialize into anything significant over the next 20 years. Rather, they will be dragged out slowly and painfully. A squadron or two of the mk2 by 2040 if we are lucky. Others can be afforded as needed. The majority of fighting will be done with missile anyways, Rafales just gives a modern platform with an ally that is continuing to work on and develop it.


There are other needs for the state. India is massive and suffers from crippling poverty, unemployment, inclement weather, malnourishment, etc. There are so many priorities that the Indian government needs to address. They cannot fund everything and the Rafale offers most of the capability required by the IAF in one package.


It is the Rafale or nothing. $51B spent on this ecosystem is a small price to pay for minimum credible defense.


I am doubtful either will be ready in numbers by 2030. I am not high, I am just going by track record and timelines for the GE engines. It is way more delusional to expect these programs will magically come together. Rafales getting networked is another discussion that I am sure our French partners would discuss.


It is just one bullet out of many, but the IAF needs platforms in numbers yesterday. Hard and expensive choices will have to be made to correct the past 20 years of procurement paralysis.


It's not like I want India to always be a third-rate power, but you have to accept that the India of today largely is a third-rate power.

India needs domestic capability, but they lack the institutions to commit to developing advanced technologies. Such large undertakings require time and investment that does not mesh well with the usual Indian governance, corruption surely plays a role too. All of this is even more true if what is required can be bought off the shelf. The amount of resources required to develop a jet engine are just never going to come as long as the option of purchasing one exists. Indians individually are smart, which is why you see the ballistic missiles, ssbns, isro, etc. but also, these are things you cannot easily purchase. Helicopters and trucks surprised me but imports of those still occur too.

I firmly believe most of India's advancements have happened not because of the Indian government, but in spite of it. The times where the Indian government accidently achieves things are flukes that should not be relied upon. I also don't think that importing is bad, at the end of the day the IAF needs the capability and domestic sources cannot provide it.

Lastly, is being a third-rate power so bad if life for the common man is good?

Btw Astra Mk2 is already in advanced stages and tests have already been done. To think it wont be in production by 2030 is an extraordinary claim to say the least heck if Gandiva gets into testing mode by 2027 it may see LSP in 2030. Astra Mk2 is technically more sophisticated than Meteor when it comes to guidance.

Its not that hard. Put an additional tax on cigs and alcohols.

Or tell the states to stop using their *censored*inf money to subsidize bus rides for women. Karnataka alone spent $3 billion on this shit.

 

[Saaho]

ultimately it is a good deal. The Rafale is combat proven and it can carry modern munitions. It is the only way to reliably challenge the more advanced/numerous opponents surrounding India's skies. IAF needs to replenish it's squadron strength and cannot do it by relying on Tejas alone. We don't even know if we'll get all Tejas delivered in the next 10-15 years!

People wanting full domestic are naive, India is not at the stage where it can domestically mass produce jets on the level of Rafale. Investing in France is good for the long term too since eventually India will have to move up the tech tree. Use this deal to talk about submarines, FCAS, next gen carrier, etc.

There are two things.
- Rafale is an excellent fighter with top of the line european armaments.
- This is a over delayed, over engineered, stupid deal which is too little too late. Had it been in 2008-2012 it would have been exceptional.

 

[STEPHEN COHEN]

There are two things.
- Rafale is an excellent fighter with top of the line european armaments.
- This is a over delayed, over engineered, stupid deal which is too little too late. Had it been in 2008-2012 it would have been exceptional.



Absolutely!
Laadli Choot Laaddo Gaand Ladale Mumme. *censored* all of them.

There is nothing in the world that pisses me off more than gibs by gender.

These Freebies are the REASON, of our GDP growth

Otherwise who will consume the Goods and Services , and that will lead to mass unemployment and Revival of The Opposition

Any way all this is Off topic

Meanwhile Be Happy with this NEW TARAMMA RADAR

https://twitter.com/x/status/2011107642488569911

 

[spice]

Re sharing.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1895859153287234035

 

[spice]

Le "super contrat" Rafale F4/F5 signé avec l'Inde le mois prochain. — avionslegendaires.net

Le 11 janvier 2026, par Arnaud. Il y a cinq semaines nous vous révélions que les Indiens se tournaient vers la version la plus évoluée du chasseur français. Aujourd'hui nous sommes en Aéronefs Militaires

www.avionslegendaires.net

Five weeks ago we revealed that the Indians were turning to the most advanced version of the French hunter. Today we are in a position to announce that (in all likelihood) the contract will be signed in mid-February, in... five weeks. It is on the occasion of Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India that Indians and French will formalize the biggest order ever placed by Dassault Aviation Rafale with 114 firm copies. Part of it will be industrialized on site, as part of the make-in India programme.

As we had previously explained to you the Franco-Indian agreement provides in the short and medium term for the delivery of a batch of ninety new Rafale F4s, built between our two countries. The current thirty-five Rafale F3 in endowment within the Indian Air Force will be in parallel modernized to the F4 standard, as is the case with us for the Air and Space Army and the National Navy with the F3-R standard aircraft. That is what we could call phase one of the contract. Because the phase two, short to medium and long term around a lot of twenty-four Rafale F5s that will all be produced in France at Dassault Aviation.

It seems that the only remaining sticking point between the parties to the contract concerns the possibility of India adapting its own newly delivered Rafale F4s to the F5 standard. It is currently unknown whether the former Rafale F3s, soon to be upgraded to F4s, can be converted to F5s. At this stage, it remains somewhat unclear.

In mid-February, President Emmanuel Macron will travel to New Delhi at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the AI Impact Summit . This summit is scheduled to take place from Monday, February 16th to Friday, February 20th, 2026. It is known that Mr. Macron and Mr. Modi want France and India to jointly influence artificial intelligence. It is at this AI summit that the Rafale contract will be signed by the two countries for an as-yet-undisclosed sum, but which alone is expected to boost our GDP by a few tenths of a point.

This upcoming agreement should silence those who take perverse pleasure in denigrating France and its fighter jets. The pilots of the Indian Air Force have already experienced this and they're eager for more!

To be continued

 

[RationalGuy]

These Freebies are the REASON, of our GDP growth

Otherwise who will consume the Goods and Services , and that will lead to mass unemployment and Revival of The Opposition

Any way all this is Off topic

Meanwhile Be Happy with this NEW TARAMMA RADAR

https://twitter.com/x/status/2011107642488569911

Giving free bus rides to women isn't going to lead to fuqin unemployment. Separate buses for women ok fine but FREE bus rides wtf. $3 billion could have funded an entire Arihant class SSBN!!!!!!! Or imagine what ISRO or any other non dehati non low iq infested organization in thus country could have done with that money.

Le "super contrat" Rafale F4/F5 signé avec l'Inde le mois prochain. — avionslegendaires.net

Le 11 janvier 2026, par Arnaud. Il y a cinq semaines nous vous révélions que les Indiens se tournaient vers la version la plus évoluée du chasseur français. Aujourd'hui nous sommes en Aéronefs Militaires

www.avionslegendaires.net

Five weeks ago we revealed that the Indians were turning to the most advanced version of the French hunter. Today we are in a position to announce that (in all likelihood) the contract will be signed in mid-February, in... five weeks. It is on the occasion of Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India that Indians and French will formalize the biggest order ever placed by Dassault Aviation Rafale with 114 firm copies. Part of it will be industrialized on site, as part of the make-in India programme.

As we had previously explained to you the Franco-Indian agreement provides in the short and medium term for the delivery of a batch of ninety new Rafale F4s, built between our two countries. The current thirty-five Rafale F3 in endowment within the Indian Air Force will be in parallel modernized to the F4 standard, as is the case with us for the Air and Space Army and the National Navy with the F3-R standard aircraft. That is what we could call phase one of the contract. Because the phase two, short to medium and long term around a lot of twenty-four Rafale F5s that will all be produced in France at Dassault Aviation.

It seems that the only remaining sticking point between the parties to the contract concerns the possibility of India adapting its own newly delivered Rafale F4s to the F5 standard. It is currently unknown whether the former Rafale F3s, soon to be upgraded to F4s, can be converted to F5s. At this stage, it remains somewhat unclear.

In mid-February, President Emmanuel Macron will travel to New Delhi at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the AI Impact Summit . This summit is scheduled to take place from Monday, February 16th to Friday, February 20th, 2026. It is known that Mr. Macron and Mr. Modi want France and India to jointly influence artificial intelligence. It is at this AI summit that the Rafale contract will be signed by the two countries for an as-yet-undisclosed sum, but which alone is expected to boost our GDP by a few tenths of a point.

This upcoming agreement should silence those who take perverse pleasure in denigrating France and its fighter jets. The pilots of the Indian Air Force have already experienced this and they're eager for more!

To be continued

They better be F5s for the price we are paying.

 

[Picdelamirand-oil]

Rafale F5: details of France's future fighter jet

Published on 13 January 2026 at 11:33 a.m. • Written by Paul Crauchet

The Rafale F5, the new version of the French fighter jet, promises to be a major advance by 2035. Here are the main innovations.

The Rafale is about to reach a milestone. By 2030, the French army expects the arrival of the F5 standard, presented as a technological breakthrough. Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces in 2025, spoke of a revolution comparable to the transition from the Mirage 2000-N to the first Rafale. The objective is clear: to stay one step ahead in the skies.

Timeline and expanded ambitions for the French army

The first orders were placed before October 2024, with a budget of €318 million dedicated to mitigating risks on key technologies. Industrial launch is scheduled for September 2025. The draft finance bill for 2026 allocates €1.5 billion for the development of the F4 and F5 standards. The French target has risen to 285 Rafales by 2035, up from 225 previously. The F5 is scheduled to enter service in two stages: initial operational capability in 2033 and full capability in 2035. A sixth production tranche is to be announced in 2029, with 45 aircraft, including 12 for the Navy. Production will start in 2026, with the first delivery in 2033.

The Rafale becomes a hub for connected combat

Connectivity is at the heart of the transformation. The Rafale F5 will be the first French ‘second-generation connected’ fighter, capable of communicating in real time with other sensors or effectors on the ground, in flight or in orbit. The targeted interoperability includes the British, Japanese and Italian GCAP programmes, as well as the Gripen and F-35.

The stated ambition is to ensure a transition to the future SCAF. The on-board artificial intelligence, developed by Dassault and Thales, will be used for multi-sensor data fusion, alarm management and drone control. It is set to transform the Rafale into a digital co-pilot, without replacing the human pilot.

Another pillar of the F5 standard is the arrival of a stealth combat drone, derived from the nEUROn demonstrator, the size of a Mirage 2000 and equipped with the M88 engine. It will fly ahead of the Rafale, guided from the cockpit, with on-board AI for reconnaissance and combat. The first flight is planned for before 2033.

New-generation sensors and mass processing

On the sensor side, the RBE2 XG radar will use gallium nitride to offer a 50-70% increase in detection range, 70% higher resolution, and better resistance to jamming. It will also enable electronic attacks in the X, Ku and K bands, restoring the Rafale's SEAD/DEAD capabilities lost with the end of the AS-37 MARTEL missile.

The SPECTRA electronic warfare system will switch to fully digital detection, with machine learning and optimised information retrieval thanks to AI. The computers will have to process up to 1 terabyte of data per second. The front sector optronics (OSF), in its ‘Silent Killer’ version, will have a range of over 100 km, sufficient to engage a target with the Mica-NG missile without activating the radar, and capable of tracking stealth aircraft.

A more powerful and hotter M88 T-REX engine

The M88 engine will also be upgraded. The T-REX, in development at Safran since June 2025, will aim for a thrust of 9 tonnes with afterburner (+20%). Work is focusing on a redesigned low-pressure compressor, a high-pressure turbine made of superalloys, a new-generation cooling system and an aerodynamically optimised nozzle. Safran is testing these components in Saclay, with a thermal target of 2,100 Kelvin. A production decision is expected at the end of 2025.

Range will be increased by two compliant tanks of 1,150 litres each (CFT), positioned above the rear fuselage. These would increase fuel capacity to 6 tonnes without pendulum payload, compared to 4.7 tonnes currently, with minimal impact on radar signature. Tests conducted in the 2000s on the B01 prototype are being re-evaluated, and a production decision is also expected by the end of 2025.

A new generation of very long-range missiles
Weaponry is entering a new era. The ASN4G missile will succeed the ASMPA: a hypersonic nuclear missile, Mach 6 to 7, equipped with a scramjet and capable of complex manoeuvres to penetrate advanced defences. With a range of over 1,000 km and a 300-kiloton TNA nuclear warhead, it is scheduled to enter service in 2035. For SEAD/DEAD missions, the RJ10, an anti-radar version of the Smart Cruiser, will target speeds between Mach 3 and Mach 5 by 2035. The AASF programme has €41.9 million available between 2024 and 2027.
The Rafale F5 will be able to carry up to 18 Smart Cruiser missiles in three hexalaunchers for swarm strikes. The AASM XLR, a very long-range guided bomb (150 km+), will benefit from the F5's connectivity for adaptive guidance in flight.

India emerges as a key customer for the Rafale

India is accelerating its exports. In September 2025, New Delhi recommended the purchase of 114 Rafale F4s for €18.9 billion, with 60% of production taking place locally in Nagpur. At the end of November, the Ministry of Defence confirmed India's interest in 24 Rafale F5s, with a signing expected in January 2026. Ultimately, with the 36 Rafales already delivered, the 26 Rafale Marines ordered in April 2025 and these new orders, India could become the world's leading user of the Rafale outside France with 176 aircraft.

 

[screambowl]

You do not need 2nm in avionics. You need more like 180-65nm mostly. and mixed signal chip and power electonics.

Not today, but down the lane in next 20 25 years you will need them for better DSP and AI processing. Currently you can't use them either because the certification is not there. But in coming decade they will undergo rigorous testing and will be hardened for space electronics and avionics. And India is not in this domain at all.

For example, the 6th gen and beyond, aircraft engines will be an intelligent system there you would need more powerful chips.

And hypersonic flights need require hertz communication, and in coming decade to increase the accuracy of any guided system and to make them jam proof the chip will be in use.

Making the chip ready for such application is itself a part of research. Because you need new technologies to make them rugged so that they can withstand -55 to 150 deg Celsius temperature, radiation and other harsh conditions.

 

[STEPHEN COHEN]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2011291225811460257

 

[STEPHEN COHEN]

420 CHAIR BORNE DIVISION

https://twitter.com/x/status/2011311810574430305

 

[Bon Plan]

When are these jets going to arrive if the deal gets signed this FY? By 2033-34?

Also my question is how will this impact our other projects? Although personally I think the impact will be minimal.

India has so many jets to replace.... There remain deep spaces for Tejas, AMCA....

And you will be far stronger in engine technology.