The Rafale means Gust of Wind or Gust of Fire. This aircraft is a twin-engine, canard delta wing, and a multirole fighter. With the varied payload available and electronics the Rafale is capable of carrying out any type of mission. After a disagreement with the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain concerning the Future European Fighter Aircraft work sharing Dassault decided to go it alone and began developing the Rafale. In July 1986 the prototype made its first flight. After lengthy delays the Rafale went into production in 2001.