Optronique secteur frontal

The Optronique Secteur Frontal (OSF) [literally: Frontal Sector Optronics] is a long-range optoelectronics system, developed for the French Dassault Rafale combat aircraft.

The front hemisphere of the OSF is visible above the nose cone, beside the refuelling probe.

It allows target tracking through IRST (infrared search and track) 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.^[1]

Visible waveband capability is included to identify targets in situations where visual identification is required by the rules of engagement.^[2]

The benefits of OFS in air-to-air scenarios are passive long-range detection and target identification before engagement.