From The Archives: A New Rafale - Thirty-five Years Ago In Aviation Week

The 1991 Paris Air Show may have seemed anticlimactic to some following the Persian Gulf War coalition air operations earlier that year, which one industry observer called "the real air show." However, several platforms still made notable debuts at Le Bourget. 

These included the U.S. Air Force/Lockheed F-117A stealth fighter, Soviet Mikoyan MiG-31 interceptor, Eurocopter Tiger combat helicopter prototype, and Dassault Aviation Rafale C01 preproduction combat aircraft. 

The Rafale was featured on the cover of Aviation Week & Space Technology's  June 17, 1991, issue.

The result of Dassault’s efforts to incorporate advanced aerodynamics, low-observable technologies, and fly-by-wire flight controls into a new- generation combat aircraft, the Rafale C01, made two flights during the lead-in to the Paris show, including one for French President Francois Mitterrand. 

The flight routine was designed to show that the CO1 retained the same maneuverability and handling characteristics as the larger Rafale A demonstrator. 

(Photo by Dassault Aviation/Aviaplan.)

Read the full issue dated June 17 1991 | Aviation Week