Unlike its Eurofighter counterpart, the front canards on the Rafale are a lot closer to the delta wing. Dassault says its research with fluid dynamics shows that keeping the canards closer to the wing allows for a wide range of center-of-gravity positions, allowing for extreme aerobatics across all flying disciplines. Its agility remains unaffected even in extreme angle-of-attack scenarios with a full load of armament.
The Rafale is largely built with composite materials. This makes it extremely lightweight in comparison to full aluminum and titanium airframe aircraft. Despite its lightweight, the airframe is extremely strong. Its load limit is up to nine positive Gs and -3.2 G. It has a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 and a service ceiling of 50,000 feet.
The Rafale also has an advanced radar system that has both look-up and look-down detection with multi-target tracking. It also has real-time 3D map generation for blind conditions and is currently the only fighter aircraft with this function. Finally, it has an advanced helmet-mounted display system that projects data directly in front of the pilot and weapons operator’s eyes.
