Tri-Service

Meet The French Fighter With Islamic State In Its Sights

Meet the backbone of France's contribution to the air war against Islamic State - the fearsome Rafale.

The French Air Force has just launched its largest set of airstrikes in Syria to date, following Friday's large-scale terrorist attacks in Paris.

Rafales have been used to drop 20 bombs in training camps and ammunition facilities in Raqqa, ISIS' de-facto capital, with a French defence official quoted by Associated Press as saying the strikes were “massive” and had destroyed two terrorist sites in the city.

A French Ministry of Defence statement said:

“The raid ... including 10 fighter jets, was launched simultaneously from the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. 20 bombs were dropped.”

A multirole fighter, the Rafale is equipped with a wide range of weapons and intended to perform missions ranging from air supremacy, interdiction and aerial reconnaissance to nuclear strike.

The French began using the aircraft from September 2014 to target Islamic State targets, as part of the United States-led coalition against the group.

That month the French Air Force carried out their first airstrike using two Rafale jets, which dropped four laser-guided Paveway bombs on an ISIS depot in Mosul, completely destroying it and killing 75 fighters.

Earlier this year the aircraft were flying from carrier Charles de Gaulle in a task force also comprising HMS Kent.

In September, meanwhile, French Rafales began flying sorties against Islamic State in Syria from a base in the Persian Gulf.

Fact File:

Crew: 1–2

Maximum Speed - High Altitude: Mach 1.8 (1,190 mph)

Maximum Speed - Low Altitude: Mach 1.1 (863 mph)

Range: 2,000+ nautical miles

Combat radius: 1,000+ nautical miles on penetration mission

Rate of climb: 60,000+ ft/min (304.8+ m/s)

Guns: 1× 30 mm (1.18 in) autocannon with 125 rounds

Missiles: Air-to-air, air-to-ground, air-to-surface (including anti-ship), nuclear,

Other: Laser targeting pod, reconnaissance pod, up to five auxiliary fuel tanks, buddy-buddy refuelling pod, radar, electronic warfare system, infra-red search and track (IRST) system, direct voice input.