The odd couple: Rafale refuels A400M in flight!
November 28, 2024
The DGA recently conducted slow speed refuelling of the Safran Aerosystems NARANG (nacelle de ravitaillement nouvelle generation or new generation refuelling pod), with a Rafale M carrying the pod and an Airbus A400M acting as the receiver.
There is, of course no pressing military need to clear the A400M to refuel from a Rafale, and in the recent tests, the A400M was standing in for the E-2D Hawkeye, which will soon enter service with the French Navy, and which will serve alongside the Rafale on board the carrier Charles de Gaulle. The E-2C now in use does not have the ability to be refuelled in flight.
The tests explored the use of the new NARANG pod at speeds that were representative of those that the E-2D would refuel at.
NARANG was developed by Safran Aerosystems at its Roche-la- Molière and Plaisir facilities in France and equipped the Rafale F3-R standard which entered service in March 2021, and replaced a first generation pod used by the Etendard, Super Etendard and Rafale. The original pod could deliver fuel at a rate of 530 litres/minute, while the new generation system increases this to 750 to 1,000 litres/minute.
The new system incorporates comprehensive built-in test equipment for troubleshooting.
The tests were carried out by the DGA Essais en vols (DGAEV) Flight Testing and Test Centre.
