Dassault Rafale vs Eurofighter Typhoon
Overall rating table
| CATEGORY | DASSAULT RAFALE |
EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON |
| BVR Rating |
90% |
90% |
| Armament | 7.8/10 | 8.0/10 |
| Technology | 7.7/10 | 8.8/10 |
| Avionics | 8.0/10 | 8.6/10 |
| Maneuverability | 9.5/10 | 9.7/10 |
| Rate of Climb | max. 300 m/s – 6ok ft/min |
max. 315 m/s – 65k ft/min |
| Thrust/Weight | 1.13 | 1.15 |
| Service Ceiling |
17 km – 55k ft | 20 km – 65k ft |
| Speed | 2.00 Mach | 2.35 Mach |
| Fuel Economy | 0.27 km/l – 0.63 NM/gallon | 0.68 km/l – 1.60 NM/gallon |
| Unit Cost | 90.000.000 USD | 125.000.000 USD |
| Overall Rating | very good | excellent |
BVR Armament Comparison
| CATEGORY | DASSAULT RAFALE | EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON |
| BVR AAM missile | MBDA Meteor | MBDA Meteor |
| Nation | NATO | NATO |
| Year | in 2013 | in 2013 |
| Range (mile) | 62 | 62 |
| Range (km/h) | 100 | 100 |
| Range (NM) | 54 | 54 |
| Speed (mph) | 2640 | 2640 |
| Speed (km/h) | 4248 | 4248 |
| Speed (Mach) | 4 | 4 |
| Weight (lb) | 407 | 407 |
| Weight (kg) | 185 | 185 |
| Unit Cost | $1.600.000 | $1.600.000 |
| BVR Rating | 90% | 90% |
Dogfight (armament: only cannon)
| CATEGORY | DASSAULT RAFALE |
EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON |
| Cannon | GIAT 30M/719B | Mauser BK-27 |
| Caliber (mm) |
30 mm | 27 mm |
| Rate of Fire (rpm) | 2500 rpm | 1700 rpm |
| Muzzle Velocity (m/s) |
1025 m/s | 1025 m/s |
| Size Point (10% to 30%) | NO | NO |
| Maneuverability (x/10) |
9,5 | 9,7 |
| Thrust/Weight Ratio |
1,13 | 1,15 |
| Total Points |
50 | 41 |
| Probability of winning |
55% | 45% |
General data table
| CATEGORY | DASSAULT RAFALE |
EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON |
| Length | 15.27 m – 50 ft 1 in | 15.95 m – 52 ft 4 in |
| Wingspan | 10.80 m – 35 ft 4 in | 10.95 m – 35 ft 9 in |
| Height | 5.30 m – 17 ft 3 in | 5.30 m – 17 ft 3 in |
| Weight | 10,100 kg – 22,6k lb | 11,150 kg – 24,6k lb |
| Power | 2 x 75 kN – 17k lbf | 2 x 89 kN 20k lbf |
Armament
| DASSAULT RAFALE |
EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON |
| 14 HARDPOINTS |
13 HARDPOINTS |
| 1 × 30 mm GIAT 30/719B cannon (125 rounds) | 1 × 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon (150 rounds) |
| MBDA MICA IR/EM (AAM missile) | AIM-9 Sidewinder (AAM missile) |
| Magic II (AAM missile) | AIM-132 ASRAAM (AAM missile) |
| MBDA Meteor (AAM missile) | AIM-120 AMRAAM (AAM missile) |
| MBDA Apache (AGM missile) | IRIS-T (AAM missile) |
| SCALP EG (AGM missile) | MBDA Meteor (AAM missile) |
| AASM (AGM missile) | AGM-65 Maverick (AGM missile) |
| AM 39 Exocet (AGM missile) | AGM-88 HARM (AGM missile) |
| ASMP-A (nuclear AGM missile) | Storm Shadow (AGM missile) |
| Paveway II (bomb) | Brimstone (AGM missile) |
| Taurus KEPD 350 (AGM missile) | |
| Penguin (AGM missile) | |
| AGM Armiger (AGM missile) | |
| 500lb Paveway IV (bomb) | |
| Paveway II/III/Enhanced Paveway (bomb) |
Airplanes Comparison – Dassault Rafale versus Eurofighter Typhoon
| Dassault Rafale is cheaper airplane. | |
| Eurofighter Typhoon is more economical than Dassault Rafale. | |
| Eurofighter Typhoon is faster airplane. | |
| Eurofighter Typhoon is better armed airplane. | |
| No significant differences in BVR rating of these airplanes. |
|
| Dassault Rafale is better dogfighter than Eurofighter Typhoon. | |
| No significant differences in size of these airplanes. |
4 comments
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kikl
August 11, 2012 at 12:42 pm (UTC 0) Link to this comment
“Dassault Rafale is better dogfighter than Eurofighter Typhoon.”
That is definitely wrong. These are the reasons:
1. Energy:
Additional kinetik and potential energy is an important advantage in a dog fight. The Typhoon can fly higher and faster than the Rafale.
2. In order to gain the energy advantage one must climb as high and as fast as possible at the beginning of a dogfight. The Typhoon climbs faster than the Rafale.
3. In order to outmaneuver the opponent one must accelerate and turn faster. The typhoon has a higher thrust/weight ratio, meaning it can accelerate faster. The Typhoon has a lower wing load 310 kg/m² vs. 322 kg/m². Additionally, the Typhoon is aeronautically more unstable than the Rafale. This means that the point of lift is further in front than the centre of mass. The plane is going to turn (pitch) faster than the Rafale. In order to counter this tendency, the canards are much further away from the centre of mass, in order to have a larger lever for pushing down the nose of the Typhoon in straight flight.
The effect is that the Typhoon can permanently pull 9G turns supersonically, whereas the Rafale cannot. The only advantage of the Rafales canard configuration is that it can fly slower before stalling. But, this has little relevance in a dogfight, where you don’t want to be a sitting duck. This Rafale’s canard configuration was implemented, since a slow landing speed facilitates adapting the airplane to an aircraft carrier. But, it compromises the agility of the plane at high speeds.
nd
November 24, 2012 at 11:44 pm (UTC 0) Link to this comment
On the paper these to plane are quite similar.
But in the reality, Rafale is much more superior to Typhoon. (see ATLC in UAE in 2009)
dist
January 18, 2013 at 12:01 am (UTC 0) Link to this comment
@kiki
actually, to cut/paste an article you may easily find on the net : “The former Red Arrows team leader – Peter Collins – stated Rafale as a “war-fighter par excellence”. He added that he deemed the Rafale to be the best and most complete combat aircraft that he had ever flown. He concluded in saying that if he had to go into combat, on any mission, against anyone, he would, without question, choose the Rafale.”
And it mentions also how rafale is superior in dogfighting (far superior actually)….
FYI
sean
January 30, 2013 at 5:32 pm (UTC 0) Link to this comment
The lenghthy rebuttal ended with Eurofighter asserting that “throughout the exercise Typhoon was always carrying a greater payload than Rafale, Typhoon always came into the fight above Rafale and Typhoon take off performance was always more stunning than Rafale – all fully as expected.”
Typhoon is more manoeuvrable, more technologically advance and faster. Therefore will be a better dogfighter. Rafale is however a better bomber. Check your sources first.