I thought this migh well be interesting for you guys...
ACX programme:
http://img148.echo.cx/img148/3039/acx017uw.jpg
First, the one nicknamed "John Player Special" by the British...
As Chirac once said, they (Eurofighter) lost an opportunity to stay quiet... and take notice.
http://img236.echo.cx/img236/8686/acx028aj.jpg
It turned into this one. The aerodynamics of the combination nose cone/recessed air intakes allowed for a Mach 2.0 aircraft with no mobile parts. Thanks to Dassault aerodynamic advances, it better its requiered specs of M1.8.
http://www.snecma.com/en/group/history/1975.php
"In February 1990, the M88-2 made its first flight on the Rafale A demonstrator built by Dassault Aviation. It showed exemplary performance throughout its test flights. During the first flight, it hit Mach 2 and almost 15,000 meters (almost 50,000 feets), without using its afterburner."
http://www.snecma.com/en/group/history/1975.php
Note: The procedure doesn't allow for the afterburner to be used during the first flight, but the F-404 afterburner must have been used....
"The engine offered startling takeoff acceleration, from idle to full throttle with reheat in less than 3 seconds. By November, the 12 preproduction M88-2 engines had already logged some 1,250 hours of operation."
http://img63.echo.cx/img63/7735/RAFALEA_01.jpg
http://img83.echo.cx/img83/2669/Rafales_profiles.jpg
http://img40.echo.cx/img40/4053/Tri-NationalACA.jpg
This is the ACA, the tri-national "Eurofighter" configuration and one of the reasons why Dassault left the programme.
http://img40.echo.cx/img40/7396/TKF-90.jpg
TFK90 by MBB, the German configuration, non-navalizable and high risks of double-flame out. The main reason for Dassault leaving the programme.
http://img236.echo.cx/img236/5301/acx033sj.jpg
http://img140.echo.cx/img140/3046/acx041hw.jpg
The LAVI was lobbied by the US but was considerably better than the F-16 in all aspects.
http://img135.echo.cx/img135/2497/acx052yy.jpg
This also beats any block of F-16.
http://img234.echo.cx/img234/5302/acx067ah.jpg
Interesting aerodynamic study here...
http://img223.echo.cx/img223/513/atf012xx.jpg
Note that the US manufacturers actually never really developed the configuration, sticking to what theyknow best, a conventional one.
The closest they came to do it was with the HIMAT and some ATF projects.
For Rafale, ONERA tested its aerodynamics very thoughroghly, even to the point of simulating the "Cobra" manoeuvre previous to 1991 when it was flown past 100* AOA and and negative speed without loss of control.
http://www.onera.fr/cahierdelabo/french/amil4.htm
The link above will allow you to access the video of the simulation and wind tunel cobra amnoeuvre for Rafale.
2Widger
Thaks for the Infos.
The anti-French sentiment is now looking like envy to me.
About the French you forgot to include, they kick their politician @rses after having made heroes of them (De Gaulle, Chirac both on a referendum), They don't take the mickey with the customers with an over agressivve sale strategy while having a well developed taste for real service, they charge themself for the use of their motorways. LOL
I'm used to the anti-French bulls, it sweet from most of the lines i read about us, for example there is no way anyone would admit Rafale to be better than Typhoon and even more so F-35, but there is some stuff coming for the aircraft which is designed to defeat stealth in the long term, in a view to counter it on the market.
The use of Aircratf carriers, i think France was one of the pionners so we just borrowed the angle deck and steam catapult idea from Britain, a fair trade for the Harrier side-exhaust design to which the British designers just added the vectoring bit...
2Human Factor
You're right, the French aerospace industry recovered from its hashes after the war to become the No2 worldwide. Partly thanks to Dassault but also a few other manufacturers, i love the Breguet design for the Jaguar...
In fact i, wish the British politicians had had as much respect for theirs than we have, there would be a collaborative competitor to JSJ and X-45/47 by now.