When France withdrew from what was then the FEFA programme (now Eurofighter
2000; see below) in 1985, Dassault went ahead with a very similar multirole
fighter of its own, named Rafale (squall).  In the first few years there
were half-hearted attempts to bring in foreign partners, but nothing came
of this.  The first prototype Rafale A flew on 4 July 1986.

The Armée de l'Air (French AF) has ordered the "Rafale D", a generic name
covering the two-seat Rafale B and single-seat Rafale C; the first
pre-production Rafale C flew on 19 May 1991.  The original plan was for a
force consisting mainly of single-seat aircraft, but the Armée de l'Air now
appears to like the idea of two-seat combat aircraft, and it is expected
that most, possibly all, of the Rafales for the Armée de l'Air will be the
Rafale B version.  The Armée de l'Air is expected to order 235 Rafales,
entering service in 2000, or possibly 2002.

The Aéronavale (French Navy air arm) has ordered the Rafale M, a single
seat carrier-borne fighter; the first Rafale M flew on 12 December 1991,
and made its first carrier landing on the _Foch_ on 19 April 1993.  The
Aéronavale intends to purchase 86 Rafales, probably entering service in
1999.

Vital statistics (Rafale B):  length 15.30 m, span 10.90 m, empty weight
9550 kg, max weight 19500 kg, max speed 2124 km/h (Mach 2.0), ferry range
3706 km; power plant:  two 72.90 kN Snecma M88-2 augmented turbofans;
armament:  30mm cannon, AAM rail on each wingtip, 14 hardpoints; max
external load 8000 kg.