There are some milestones in aircraft add-on development that screenshots simply can’t capture. The startup sequence is one of them. It’s where all the individual systems, the electrical, the hydraulics, the avionics, finally have to talk to each other, and it either works or it doesn’t. This week, AzurPoly shared exactly that: a full cold-and-dark to ready-for-flight startup video for their upcoming Dassault Rafale, and it’s the most revealing thing they’ve shown yet.
We’ve been following this project for over a year now, through the initial announcement, the Paris Air Show trailer, livery and loadout progress, the first proper video preview, and most recently the weapons module reveal. Each update has raised the bar a little, and this one raises it a bit more.
The video walks through a typical autonomous startup sequence, covering APU and engine startup, inertial navigation system alignment, flight control system checks, and avionics initialization, among other steps. According to AzurPoly, many of these systems interact with each other during the procedure, and this is the first time the team has shown them all working together in a complete, sequential context. Previous updates revealed individual features in isolation. Here, you’re watching the aircraft actually wake up.
Sound is also front and center in this preview. The custom audio package, developed in collaboration with Echo19, gets a proper showcase during the startup sequence.
As for where the project stands, AzurPoly says several major areas are now considered complete pending final testing and refinement, including the 3D model, textures, flight model, fly-by-wire system, and performance tuning. The remaining development effort is focused on the depth of the onboard systems and avionics. The team says they are currently fine-tuning the autopilot and its various modes, working on flight plan management, and completing the last remaining pages of the lateral displays.
Crucially, AzurPoly is now aiming for a public release during the summer, which is the first concrete target the team has put out since they stepped back from their original late 2025 window. They’re careful to frame it as something they are working toward rather than a firm commitment.
The Rafale is an officially licensed product developed by AzurPoly in cooperation with JFEXP, under license from Dassault Aviation.
