Terrain-following autopilot capability eyed for Rafale fighters

French Air Force and Navy authorities are jointly working to develop an autopilot terrain-following capability for its single-seat Rafale fighters.

The terrain-following capability, which is to undergo flight trials by the Air Force's Centre d'Expériences Aériennes Militaires, or military aircraft test center, and the French Navy's Détachement du Centre d'Expérimentations Pratiques de l'Aéronautique Navale, or Naval Aviation Flight Trials Detachment, would allow single-seat Rafales to perform fire support missions as well as intercept unidentified aircraft flying at very low altitude, even through low cloud cover.

Integrated into the aircraft, this flight control mode allows it to fly at high speed and low level over the ground or sea, the French Air Force said.

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