The Dassault Rafale (French for squall) is a French twin-engine delta-wing multirole fighter aircraft. Construction of the Rafale began in 1980 by Dassault as an experimental combat aircraft - the ACX. It was to replace the French Air Force Jaguar and French Navy Vouhgt F-8E and Dassault Super Etendard tactical combat aircraft. The Rafale A, powered by two General Electric F104 turbofan engines, rolled off the assembly line on December 14, 1985, and exceeded the speed of sound on its maiden flight on July 4, 1986. In April 1987, this aircraft made several approaches on the aircraft carrier Clemenceau to mark an operation from the deck. In April 1989, the new SNECMA M88-2 engine was introduced, which became the basic power unit. The flight of the aircraft in this configuration took place on February 27, 1990. The plane was purchased by India in 2012, but so far (2013) countries other than India and France have not acquired the plane. Technical data: length: 15.27 m, wingspan: 10.8 m, height: 5.34 m, maximum speed: 2130 km / h, rate of climb: 305 m / s, practical ceiling: 16 800 m, maximum range : over 3700 km, armament: fixed - 1 cannon GIAT 30, cal.30 mm, mounted - up to 9500 kg of cargo.