Was looking for another quote, but came across this one by chance.RetroSicotte wrote: Rafale having 9,500kg was always one of its big draws over the Typhoons previous reveal of 7,500kg.
Seems the Tiffy had more grunt than we knew.
Probs the reason for the "divorce" between France and the other (original) Eurofighter partners:
The canards on Rafale only provide extra lift (to maximise payload/ weapon load) whereas the canards on Tiffie can operate independently, to maximise the manoeuvreability, especially at supersonic speeds.
- France needed a carrier-based strike a/c; the other partners did not