The ''Optronique Secteur Frontal'' (OSF)
iterally: Frontal Sector Optronicsis a long-range
optoelectronics system, developed for the French
Dassault Rafale
The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", or "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French Twinjet, twin-engine, Canard (aeronautics), canard delta wing, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft designed and ...
combat aircraft.
It allows target tracking through IRST (
infrared search and track
An Infrared Search and Track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters.Mahu ...
) and visual sensors. On the left, the main IR detector can be used as
forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sending a video signal to the pilot, or to detect air targets at ranges up to 100 km and ground or sea targets up to 6 km. On the right, a TV/IR sensor is used for target identification within a 40 km range including a
laser rangefinder.
Visible waveband capability is included to identify targets in situations where visual identification is required by the
rules of engagement.
[Dassault Aviatio]
Smart and discrete sensors
/ref>
The benefits of OFS in air-to-air scenarios are passive long-range detection and target identification before engagement.
References
Military sensor technology
{{mil-aviation-stub