Spectra - A Shield Against all threats

SPECTRA is a fully internal electronic warfare system that leaves all the stores points available for weapons, fuel tanks or pods.

Jamming of radar, laser and missile threats and decoying with chaff and flares, are performed according to the latest intelligence available at mission launch time.

Spectra is fully integrated into the mission system, providing threat geo-location and identification data to the data fusion process.

Jointly developed by THALES and MBDA, the SPECTRA internal “Electronic Warfare” (EW) system is the cornerstone of the RAFALE’s outstanding survivability against the latest airborne and ground threats.

It is fully integrated with other systems in the Aircraft, and it provides a multi-spectral threat warning capability against hostile radars, missiles and lasers.

The SPECTRA system carries out reliable long-range detection, identification and localisation of threats, allowing the pilot to instantly select the most effective defensive measures based on combinations of radar jamming, infrared or radar decoying and evasive manoeuvres.

The angular localisation performance of the SPECTRA sensors makes it possible to accurately locate ground threats in order to avoid them, or to target them for destruction with precision guided munitions.

The outstanding capability of SPECTRA regarding airborne threat localisation is one of the keys of the RAFALE’s superior situational awareness.

Also instrumental in SPECTRA'S performance is a threat library that can be easily defined, integrated and updated on short notice by users in their own country, and in full autonomy.