The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is bitterly complaining that the country cannot intercept Russian ballistic missiles because Kyiv has not been receiving advance launch warnings from its partners for over a week.

On October 19, Zelenskyy wrote on platform X: “Another Russian ballistic missile attack came in several waves overnight, and once again, there was no early warning from our partners.”

Earlier, explaining the criticality of early missile warning, Zelenskyy said on October 13, “A Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv. Once again, no early warning from our partners… Our systems detected these missiles only when they were already virtually on approach to Kyiv. … And this is absolutely unjust: when they are destroying our energy infrastructure, and Ukraine is not even receiving early warnings about ballistic missile launches.”

Along with Patriot missile interceptors, Zelenskyy has described ‘missile early warning’ as absolutely vital to intercept Russian ballistic and cruise missiles.

“I spoke with Marco Rubio… First, ballistic missile interceptors, which are needed to protect lives. Second, early warning of Russian ballistic missile attacks, which is vital,” he said on October 20.

Zelenskyy has so far avoided blaming the US for failure to provide advance early warning of missiles; rather, he is blaming Ukrainian “partners” as a whole for this failure.

However, Ukraine’s European partners have absolutely no role in this, as they themselves are entirely dependent on the US for the space-based early missile-warning system.

Along with Starlink and Starshield, a space-based early missile-warning system is another critical area where Europe currently has no comparable system, and if Washington withdraws its support to Kyiv, Europe will be simply incapable of filling the gap.

While Europe has invested in ground-based radars and Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, long-range radars that can track a missile in its mid- and terminal phases, Europe has no space-based early missile-warning system that can detect a missile launch in its boost phase and provide warnings to ground and airborne radars for tracking and intercepting the missiles.

This is critical for successfully intercepting ballistic and cruise missiles, as it gives ground-based and airborne radars more time to track and intercept them.

Space-Based Missile Early Warning System: How Does It Work?

The US has a series of space-based satellites fitted with sensors that can detect, track, and identify missile launches from anywhere in the world, a Cold-War-era system that has been perfected and upgraded over the decades.

The US currently has six Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) around Earth to provide 24/7 global strategic missile-warning capability.

Launched between 2011 and 2022, these satellites are known as SBIRS (Space-Based Infrared System). The satellites carry high-power infrared sensors that monitor Earth’s surface nonstop to detect heat signatures from missile launches.

SBIRS satellites can scan large swaths of territory to detect missile activity and also focus on areas of interest for smaller-scale activities, including tactical ballistic missile launches.

These sensors are independently tasked, meaning the satellite can scan a wide territory while also focusing on a specific area of concern.

For instance, currently, the US SBIRS satellites would naturally scan Iran and Russia more than any other region.

During the missile’s initial boost phase, its exhaust plume releases intense heat. These intense heat signatures stand out in infrared sensors against the cooler Earth background.

Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) sensors on satellites spot this signature within seconds of ignition, even through clouds or darkness, and provide ground-based stations and radars with the first warning of a missile launch.

These powerful sensors can detect any missile launch within seconds, from small, unsophisticated missiles such as the Iraqi Scuds, which were detected, tracked, and intercepted during the First Gulf War, to Russia’s large intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and everything in between, such as the short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and even cruise and hypersonic missiles.

These sensors can not only detect missile launches, but also identify them. Missile rocket motors produce exhaust gases at different temperatures based on their fuel, chemical composition, and other design features, helping these sensors identify distinct missile signatures.

However, infrared sensors on the six GEO satellites are not the US’s only space-based assets that help it detect missile launches in their boost phases.

The space segment of the SBIRS program also includes Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) sensors riding on host satellites and legacy Defense Support Program (DSP) satellites.

HEO sensors improve coverage of high-latitude and polar regions that are harder to monitor effectively from GEO alone.

The DSP program was launched in the 1970s, after the experimental Missile Defense Alarm System (MIDAS) of the 1960s proved the concept of detecting ICBM launches from space.

Under the DSP program, the US launched over 20 satellites with spinning IR sensors into geosynchronous orbit between 1970 and 2007.

DSP provided continuous strategic warning during the Cold War. It was this system that detected Iraqi Scud missiles during the First Gulf War.

The SBIRS program succeeded DSP, with significantly higher sensitivity, dual sensors, multi-spectral capability, better resolution, and improved ground processing.

Together, GEO, HEO, and DSP satellites provide 24/7 monitoring of Earth’s surface and can detect a missile launch from anywhere on Earth.

These satellites downlink data to ground stations (Air Force Space Command in Colorado), which analyze it to characterize the event, launch time and location, missile type, possible trajectory, and likely point of impact, then relay the information to NORAD, US Strategic Command, combatant commands, and missile defense systems.

This early missile warning is crucial to successful missile interception because it gives ground-based and airborne radars more time to track and intercept the missile, and Europe currently lacks a corresponding system.

Why Europe Is Dependent On The US For Early Missile Warning

SBIRS collects data and processes it at ground stations, then shares it with European allies through NATO’s Shared Early Warning System (SEWS).

This data is complemented by Europe’s ground-based and airborne radars, as well as by the US AN/FPS-132 Upgraded Early Warning Radar at RAF Fylingdales in the UK.

However, Europe has no comparable space-based early missile-warning system. It has some space situational awareness, but nothing equivalent to a persistent space-based infrared constellation for detecting missile launches.

Therefore, not only Ukraine but Europe itself depends on the US for early warning of ballistic or hypersonic missile threats.

Europe therefore cannot fill the gap if Washington decides not to share these missile-launch warnings with Kyiv.

Europe has pursued this capability for years; however, its programs have not progressed beyond the technology-demonstrator stage.

For instance, in 2009, France launched SPIRALE, a spaceborne early warning demonstrator program. It successfully collected infrared data on missile launches; however, the program ended in 2011 and France is yet to launch a full-scale follow-up program.

European countries also launched another technology demonstrator program, TWISTER, in 2019.

In October last year, France and Germany signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to launch two complementary, interoperable geostationary (GEO) satellites with infrared sensors, under the JEWEL (Joint Early Warning for a European Lookout) program.

However, Europe currently has no sovereign, operational, space-based missile early-warning system.

Europe recognizes its vulnerability and has demonstrated its technological capability, but building a space-based, IR-sensor-equipped satellite constellation that provides nonstop coverage of every part of Earth’s surface would take at least a decade more.

Meanwhile, both Ukraine and Europe remain critically dependent on the US.

• Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from The University of Sheffield, UK. 
• He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com

The post Europe “Blind in Space”: Why Only U.S. Can See Russian Missiles as Ukraine Begs For American Help? appeared first on EURASIAN TIMES.

UK will deploy its Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets to Saudi Arabia to help defend the embattled country against increasing attacks from the Houthis.

This would not be the first time the RAF would use its Typhoon jets against the Houthis.

For instance, in January 2024, as part of joint US-UK operations to protect shipping lanes in the Red Sea, RAF Typhoons operating from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus struck Houthi military targets in Yemen with Paveway IV precision-guided bombs.

On the night of 11–12 January, the jets targeted a drone-related facility at Bani in northwestern Yemen and an airfield at Abbs used to launch cruise missiles and drones. Later, follow-up strikes hit targets near the Sanaa airfield.

No Offensive Strikes: UK

Meanwhile, the British Ministry of Defense said the deployment was part of “additional defensive military support” to Riyadh.

“The UK will fly defensive counter-air missions to support the protection of Saudi cities and critical national infrastructure against aerial attack, using RAF Typhoon fighter jets,” the Ministry of Defense said. “These aircraft will operate in a defensive role and will not conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis.”

The UK will also deploy a military transport aircraft “to support the movement of defense material within Saudi Arabia alongside UK military advisers to support Saudi staff officers”, the statement added.

“The continuing attacks from the Houthis on our ally Saudi Arabia are absolutely despicable,” said defense secretary Wes Streeting.

“The targeting of the airport in Riyadh in particular shows the lengths the Houthis are going to (to) escalate the situation in the region,” Streeting added.

A surge in Houthi attacks has led Saudi Arabia to postpone a major investment conference, undermining its efforts to draw greater foreign investment and reduce reliance on oil.

While the UK has asserted that the Typhoons will strictly be in a defensive role, the RAF has previously used its jets to attack Houthis in Yemen on several occasions.

In the defensive role, the RAF Typhoons are expected to intercept incoming Houthi aerial threats—essentially drones and cruise missiles—before they reach Saudi cities, airports, or other critical infrastructure.

The RAF is likely to employ the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4, the most advanced version in its fleet and one of the most sophisticated Typhoon variants.

Equipped with the CAPTOR radar and PIRATE infrared search-and-track system, the jet can detect and track low-flying, small-signature targets such as drones and cruise missiles at reasonable ranges. Its Praetorian Defensive Aids Subsystem further improves survivability against enemy air defenses or electronic threats.

For these intercepts, the Typhoons are armed with beyond-visual-range Meteor missiles, with a large, approximately 60 km No Escape Zone.

Then there is the Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM), which offers a high-agility option for close-range engagements against drones or missiles that penetrate closer to protected areas. It also has an internal 27-mm Mauser cannon that can serve as a last-resort weapon against very close threats, though missile intercepts are the main method.

The Typhoon FGR4 can also carry air-to-ground weapons such as Enhanced Paveway II and Paveway IV bombs, Storm Shadow cruise missiles, and Brimstone, but these are not relevant to this deployment’s purely defensive role.

In earlier operations, the RAF used Paveway IV laser/GPS-guided bombs against Houthi targets in Yemen; those strikes, however, were offensive while the UK describes the current mission as defensive.

Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 

The Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 is a multi-role variant used by the Royal Air Force.

The FGR4 designation applies to the RAF’s single-seat Typhoons upgraded to Block 5 or later capabilities across Tranches 1, 2, and 3. This single-seat fighter is optimized for air-to-air combat, precision air-to-ground missions, reconnaissance, and swing-role operations.

In May 2026, the RAF began using Eurofighter Typhoons equipped with the AGR-20A APKWS (Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System) for air-defense missions in the Middle East.

“Now in operational use by 9 Squadron, the APKWS enhances Typhoon’s versatility and enables the aircraft to respond more flexibly to evolving threats. The system strengthens the RAF’s ability to maintain persistent air defense while managing costs and resources more effectively,” the RAF said in an official statement.

• By ET Online Desk with AFP Inputs
• Mail us at: editor (at) eurasiantimes.com

The post British Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4s to Fly Defensive Intercepts Over Saudi Arabia. UK Rules Out Offensive Strikes appeared first on EURASIAN TIMES.

Russia’s Tupolev Tu-160M, the world’s largest, heaviest, and fastest strategic bomber, has become even more formidable.

Its manufacturer, United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), says it has modernized roughly 80% of the aircraft’s onboard systems and equipment, keeping the nuclear-capable bomber relevant amid rapidly evolving battlefield demands.

The upgraded onboard systems include modern avionics, navigation technology, weapons-control systems, and a complete renewal of onboard radio-electronic equipment and upgrades to the aircraft-control system.

The company has also changed the strategic bomber’s propulsion system, introducing the new NK-32-02 engines, also described as the NK-32 Series 02.

The upgrades provide Russia with a modernized long-range strike platform, capable of delivering nuclear warheads as well as conventional military missions.

The Tu-160M ‘White Swan’ is also a key part of Russia’s nuclear triad, alongside land-based and submarine-launched missiles.

However, although the company has modernized and upgraded 80% of the onboard systems and equipment, it has not tinkered with the aircraft’s airframe, which remains unchanged. This means that the Tu-160M, known by its NATO reporting name Blackjack, retains the distinctive variable-sweep wings and overall appearance of the original Tu-160.

The Tu-160M’s variable-sweep wings can adjust from about 20° fully forward to 65° fully swept back for high-speed flight.

The forward-swept wings maximize lift and wingspan, allowing the massive aircraft to take off with its heavy payload, while the fully swept wings sharply reduce drag, enabling the Tu-160M to reach about Mach 2.05 and making it the fastest operational strategic bomber.

In short, variable-sweep wings let a large strategic bomber combine heavy-lift capability, long endurance, and genuine supersonic performance, a combination fixed-wing designs struggle to match.

More importantly, Russia has rebuilt the engineering and industrial capacity to produce a strategic, nuclear-capable, long-range bomber nearly three decades after Moscow lost this crucial capability.

Tupolev head Yuri Abrosimov discussed the Tu-160M’s modernization efforts in an article published by the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), which includes Tupolev.

Highlighting the Tu-160’s unique characteristics, Abrosimov said, “The Tu-160 strategic missile carrier is still the best supersonic aircraft in the world, surpassing in its characteristics a similar aircraft complex available in the United States.”

“46 official world records have been set on the Tu-160, including the record for flight duration and range. The resumption of mass production of the legendary ‘White Swan’ is the development of unique competencies and industrial and technological sovereignty of our country,” he added.

Abrosimov underlined that, in addition to modernizing 80% of the onboard systems, including a new powerplant, the company has refurbished several assembly lines from scratch using modern technologies.

The company has also upgraded workshop equipment and its flight-test facilities, and introduced electron-beam welding and vacuum annealing systems for titanium assemblies.

Tupolev has also rebuilt supply lines for producing the upgraded Tu-160M bombers.

“One of the main difficulties we are facing is the restoration of production cooperation, starting with suppliers of materials and semi-finished products. We have actually rebuilt the technological chains for a number of units, taking into account the use of modern technologies,” Abrosimov said.

He also highlighted the difficulties Russia faced in restarting Tu-160M production, and the use of modern digital technologies in the process.

“The implementation of the Tu-160 reproduction program required the creation of a fundamentally new unified digital environment for working on the project. The design bureaus of Sukhoi, Mikoyan, and Ilyushin participated in the preparation of digital documentation.”

He further said that the upgradation of onboard systems was done in a way that newer systems can be integrated without requiring modernization of the entire complex.

“When upgrading on-board systems, modern approaches have been applied, which make it possible, if necessary, to further increase the functionality of the systems and the aircraft as a whole, as an aviation complex, without significant improvements.”

“The approaches used in building the architecture of the avionics complex will allow installing new systems to replace those that become obsolete over time, without modernizing the entire complex. This makes it possible to constantly provide a response to the emerging demands of time,” he said.

Notably, Russia has localized the upgrade of the Tu-160M bomber and refurbished its assembly units while under crippling Western sanctions that specifically target the Russian military-industrial and aerospace complex, including the UAC, Rostec, Tupolev, and the Kazan manufacturing plant that produces the Tu-160.

Earlier, the UAC disclosed that it digitized the complete design documentation for the Tu-160M and modernized over 40% of equipment at the Kazan Aviation Plant to restart bomber production.

In the 1980s, during the Soviet era, the Kazan Aircraft Production Plant produced the Tu-160.

Production continued until 1992, when Russian President Boris Yeltsin ordered an end to serial production after the Soviet Union dissolved in December 1991.

During this time, the Kazan plant built nearly 35 Tu-160M bombers.

Notably, when the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991, 19 of the nearly 35 Tu-160M bombers were in Ukraine, which announced their integration into the Ukrainian Air Force.

However, in the following years, Ukraine transferred eight Tu-160 bombers to Russia under a debt-relief program and dismantled the remaining bombers under a Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program with the US.

Russia decided to restart Tu-160M production in 2016 and again chose the same plant, the Kazan Aviation Plant (KAZ), for the job.

The facility required substantial modernization, including new equipment, rebuilding workshops, and restoring titanium-welding capability.

However, sanctions slowed the program. The first round of sanctions was imposed on Russia in 2014, following the occupation of Crimea.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, much stronger sanctions were imposed on Russia, especially on its military-industrial complex.

In June 2024, UAC announced it had completed modernization at three workshops for producing new Tu-160 bombers. Overall, from 2016 to 2024, Russia modernized about 10 production facilities for the strategic bomber.

Despite crippling sanctions, Russia restarted production of the Tu-160M bomber and even achieved 80% modernization of its onboard systems, no small feat.

However, the 80% figure comes from internal company claims and has not been independently verified.

Russia has signed a contract to produce 10 Tu-160M bombers.

The first newly built Tu-160M2 made its maiden flight in Kazan on January 12, 2022, becoming the first new Tu-160 built since 1992.

However, the program has missed repeated deadlines.

Russia was supposed to receive four Tu-160M bombers by 2023: two newly built Tu-160M2 and two upgraded Tu-160Ms.

The deadline was then extended first to 2024, and then to 2025.

By the end of 2025, Russia had received only two Tu-160M strategic bombers. It remains unclear whether the two are new or upgraded.

Still, restarting Tu-160 production, digitizing its engineering design documentation, and upgrading 80% of its onboard systems, including a new engine, despite crippling Western sanctions, remain major achievements for Russian military aviation.

The Tu-160M is not only a nuclear delivery platform but also a strategic conventional military platform, and it has been used in both the Syrian War and the Ukraine War.

It remains the largest combat aircraft in the world; it could carry 45,000 kg of ordnance across its two internal bays, or up to twelve nuclear-armed cruise missiles, and fly 14,000 km without refueling. Its supersonic speed of 2,300 km/h and variable-sweep wings made it a standout in aviation history.

Russia is slowly restarting production and upgrading its Tu-160M bomber, while the US and China are already working on next-generation strategic bombers, the B-21 Raider and H-20.

The Northrop Grumman B-21 stealth bomber remains on track to enter operational service in 2027, and China’s Xi’an H-20 is also in production, though its current status is unknown.

While the Tu-160 is unmatched in payload capacity and can exceed Mach 2, it isn’t stealthy, unlike the B-2 Spirit or the under-development B-21 Raider, which can penetrate contested airspace.

• Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from The University of Sheffield, UK. 
• He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com

The post Russia’s Nuclear Blackjack Returns: Tupolev Says 80% of Systems Renewed on Tu-160M Bomber appeared first on EURASIAN TIMES.

As EurAsian Times recently reported, France hinted it would prefer more F4 Rafale fighter jets rather than waiting for the new, advanced F5 variant.

The Chief of Staff of the French Air and Space Force, General Jérôme Bellanger, told senators that the military needs more Rafales well before the fighter’s next standard, the F5, becomes available.

Bellanger’s comments made sense as the Rafale F5 variant is far from ready and even faced a setback when the UAE pulled out of the co-development of the “Super Rafale.”

After the Emirati setback, France has decided to go solo with F5 development.

As per reports in the French newspaper La Tribune, the UAE was set to contribute up to €3.5 billion ($3.9 billion) toward the remaining development cost of the Rafale F5, estimated at around €5 billion ($5.6 billion).

However, negotiations between Paris and Abu Dhabi collapsed in December 2025 during President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the UAE, where he met President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed.

The Emiratis were reportedly unhappy with the limited technology transfer France offered. They wanted a bigger role in the program and gain access to key technologies, including advanced optronics, which France refused to share, the reports said.

According to French La Tribune: “After several months of deadlock in 2025 regarding the financing of the Rafale F5 fighter jet, Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Abu Dhabi was intended to clarify the two countries’ expectations for the development of this cutting-edge technology-enhanced program. This was a point of great interest to the Emiratis, who are avid adopters of new technologies.”

According to reports, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed was “furious” about the French proposals and the meeting “went very badly.”

Abu Dhabi wanted to be “as closely involved as possible” in the development in return for its financing, but France was not prepared to share the program’s secrets, “notably in the optronics.”

Macron was reportedly irritated by the outcome and directed his frustration at the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) and the French Chief of Staff.

A source from EDGE Group told EurAsian Times on the condition of anonymity: “EDGE Group, which is owned directly by the Government of Abu Dhabi, is emerging as a highly ambitious, American-style corporate firm. Unlike many other UAE state-owned companies, EDGE operates under tremendous pressure and aggressive targets. The UAE hoped for technology transfer that would give EDGE a genuine edge in the defense sector. But I think they probably demanded more than what they could chew”.

Advanced Optronics

Advanced optronics systems have become important on modern fighter jets. They help pilots find, track, and attack targets without depending only on radar. Unlike radar, which sends out signals that can be detected, optronics systems are mostly passive.

They detect heat and light from aircraft engines, the airframe, missiles, or targets on the ground. Because they don’t emit signals, they are useful when a jet needs to stay quiet or when facing stealthy aircraft that are hard to see on radar but still give off heat.

France’s Rafale fighter uses the Thales Front Sector Optronics (FSO) system. It combines a long-range infrared sensor, a high-resolution camera, and a laser rangefinder. The jet can also carry the TALIOS targeting pod, which is being upgraded with artificial intelligence to help automatically detect and identify targets and reduce the pilot’s workload.

Jet makers and pilots focus on combining different sensors. Optronics systems combine heat and light data with radar, electronic warfare sensors, and information from other sources. This gives the pilot one clear, combined picture of what’s happening. Artificial intelligence increasingly spots targets automatically, decides which ones matter most, and keeps tracking them.

This helps pilots handle a lot of information at once in dangerous situations. Steady camera mounts, better heat-detecting materials, and faster computers also help. They let the systems see farther and produce clearer images, even while the jet is turning and moving hard.

Denied access, the UAE pulled out, and France had to absorb the full cost through its updated military programming law.

Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier later confirmed the approach, stating in August that “there is no co-development with foreign countries today” on the F5 and that the aircraft would be offered for export from 2035.

Meanwhile, Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin described the UAE as a “major customer” of the future F5 standard, hinting that although the UAE is not a development partner, the country could acquire the much more advanced Rafale F5 jets.

In 2021, the UAE ordered 80 Rafale F4 jets and 12 military helicopters in a deal worth nearly $19 billion ($21 billion), making it the largest-ever export order for Dassault Rafale jets. The deliveries are slated to begin at the end of 2026.

Rafale F5 

France’s Rafale F5 is expected to carry ASN4G hypersonic nuclear missiles and could be powered by a high-thrust T-REX engine.

France’s defense procurement agency, the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), notified MBDA on June 2, 2026, of a framework agreement to implement and develop the ASN4G (Air-Sol Nucléaire de 4ème Génération), the country’s nuclear-armed hypersonic cruise missile.

The DGA has set a 2035 deadline for the missile’s induction, and it will arm both Air Force and Naval (Rafale-M) jets.

Standard M88 engines power the current Rafale jets. The Rafale F5 is expected to carry the Safran-developed M88 T-REX, an advanced, higher-thrust military turbofan engine that was unveiled at the Paris Air Show in June 2025.

In early 2019, the French Ministry of Defense announced it had signed the development contract for the new Rafale F4 standard. According to Dassault Aviation, it is part of an ongoing process to enhance the aircraft to meet operational requirements continuously, and engineers are now working on the F5 variant, which will further boost Rafale’s operational capabilities.

Over the next decade, powerful artificial intelligence algorithms will further help Rafale pilots control the collaborative combat sphere on increasingly complex missions, amid ever more elusive threats. As a result, Dassault says the future Rafale F5 will have robust offensive and defensive capabilities beyond 2060.

The Rafale F5 will also be optimized to work with the UCAS that Dassault Aviation is developing. This UCAS will complement the Rafale and be suited to collaborative combat. It will incorporate stealth technologies, autonomous control, internal payload capacity, and more. It will be highly versatile and designed to evolve in line with future threats.

The UCAS is meant to act as an extension of the Rafale—a remote sensor and effector that can fly ahead of the crewed fighter.

Typical missions include reconnaissance and forward sensing, contributing to a shared targeting picture, electronic warfare, strike, and suppression/destruction of enemy air defenses (SEAD/DEAD).

By absorbing higher risk in contested airspace, it lets the Rafale stay back and focus on command and control. French officials have described it as a “cornerstone” for dealing with advanced air-defense networks.

The new loyal wingman will likely build on the nEUROn program, which demonstrated Europe’s first stealth UCAV, but Trappier said it will likely be more than twice as large.

“We will go to more than double that to carry weapons and get a certain range. It’s going to be a big one,” Trappier had said last year.

Earlier, the French Ministry of Armed Forces said that the combat drone “will allow it to act with discretion as an extension of the Rafale F5 to produce decisive network effects” and that “with these characteristics,” this device “should be a cornerstone of processing modern medium and long-range anti-aircraft systems.”

• Mail EurAsian Times at: editor (at) eurasiantimes.com

The post Why UAE Pulled Out Of Rafale F5 Co-Development? Did EDGE Group Demand More Than It Could Chew? appeared first on EURASIAN TIMES.