A French Air Force Dassault Rafale takes off from Leeuwarden Air Base, Netherlands, during the “Ramstein Flag” multinational military exercises in April 2025. France is expected to produce a newer variant of the Rafale as a stepping stone to a purpose-built sixth-generation fighter jet, with first flight expected in 2031. (Shutterstock/spotters addiction)

France Could Use ‘Super Rafale’ as Bridge to Sixth-Gen Fighter

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France hopes to have 230 fighter jets in its inventory by 2035—up from 170 this year, though it is still unclear which aircraft will fill the gap.

French aviation giant Dassault may be gearing up to announce a new version of its Rafale fighter jet in December, with the prospective aircraft serving as a bridge to a future sixth-generation French manned fighter. The reports come four months after the Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program collapsed, following months of internal disputes over the sharing of the workload and intellectual property.

Germany and fellow FCAS member Spain are expected to join the competing British-led Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), but Paris is going it alone, and is now putting its efforts into supercruise to get there. French Air and Space Force Chief of Staff General Jérôme Bellanger told Les Echos that France would allocate funding in its 2027 defense budget towards the development of a sixth-generation fighter under the........

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