France’s New F5 ‘Super Rafale’ Fighter Doesn’t Care About Your Stealth F-22, F-35, or Even F-47 NGAD

Automatically curated summary from 19FortyFive.

Following the termination of the joint French-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program, France is pursuing the modernization of its air force independently. Paris plans to upgrade its fleet with the Dassault Rafale F5 'Super Rafale,' which will incorporate upgraded avionics, hypersonic nuclear missile capability, and AI-driven manned-unmanned teaming. Additionally, France aims to develop its own sixth-generation fighter, the Avion de Combat du Futur (ACF). However, reports note that the ACF program faces financial uncertainty without international partners, forcing long-term reliance on the Rafale platform.

Context and limitations

Program timelines for the ACF demonstrator (2027) and operational deployment (2029) reflect reported projections, and funding remains uncertain without foreign partners.