The Dassault Mirage 5 is a French supersonic attack aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the 1960s and manufactured in France and a number of other countries. It was derived from Dassault's popular Mirage III fighter and spawned several variants of its own, including the IAI Kfir. In Pakistan's service, the Mirage 5s are modified and are capable of nuclear weapons delivery.[1]
The Mirage 5 grew out of a request to Dassault from the Israeli Air Force. Since the weather over the Middle East is clear and sunny most of the time, the Israelis suggested removing the air intercept radar and its avionics,[2] normally located behind the cockpit, from the standard Mirage IIIE to reduce cost and maintenance, and replacing them with more fuel storage for attack missions.[3] In September 1966, the Israelis placed an order for 50 of the new aircraft. Due to customer pressure some variants of the Mirage 5 were radar-equipped.[4]
Mirage 5
French Air Force Mirage 5F
The first Mirage 5 flew on 19 May 1967.[5] It looked much like the Mirage III, except that it had a long slender nose that extended the aircraft's length by about half a metre. A pitot tube was distinctively moved from the tip of the nose to below the nose in the majority of Mirage 5 variants.
The Mirage 5 retained the IIIE's twin DEFA guns, but added two additional pylons, for a total of seven. Maximum warload was 4,000kg (8,800lb). Provision for the SEPR rocket engine was deleted.
Rising tensions in the Middle East led French President Charles de Gaulle to embargo the Israeli Mirage 5s on 3 June 1967. The Mirages continued to roll off the production line, even though they were embargoed, and by 1968 the batch was complete and the Israelis had provided final payments.[6]
In late 1969, the Israelis, who had pilots in France testing the aircraft, requested that the aircraft be transferred to Corsica, in theory to allow them to continue flight training during the winter. The French government became suspicious when the Israelis also tried to obtain long-range fuel tanks and cancelled the move.[citation needed] The Israelis finally gave up trying to acquire the aircraft and accepted a refund.[7]
Israeli Nesher over the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War
Some sources claim that cooperation with France resumed outside the public's eye and Israel received 50 Mirage 5s in crates from the French Air Force, while the French took over the 50 aircraft originally intended for Israel, as Mirage 5Fs.[8][9][10] Officially, Israel claimed to have built the aircraft after obtaining complete blueprints, naming them IAI Nesher.[11][12]
Like the Mirage IIIE, the Mirage 5 was popular with export customers, with different export variants fitted with a wide range of different avionics. While the Mirage 5 had been originally oriented to the clear-weather attack role, with some avionic fits it was refocused to the air-combat mission. As electronic systems became more compact and powerful, it was possible to provide the Mirage 5 with increased capability, even though the rear avionics bay had been deleted, therefore in some sub-versions, the result was a "reinvented" Mirage IIIE.
Reconnaissance and two-seat versions of the Mirage 5 were sold, with the designation Mirage 5R, and Mirage 5D respectively.
Argentine Air Force Mirage 5PA MARA, November 2005
In 1978 and 1980, Israel sold a total of 35 of their Neshers plus 4 Nesher trainer aircraft (Nesher Ts) to Argentina, where they were locally known first as Daggers and after their upgrade as Fingers.[14] The Argentines lost two Mirage IIIEAs and twelve Daggers during the Falklands War in 1982.[15] As a measure of solidarity, the Peruvians transferred ten of their Mirage 5Ps to Argentina, under the name Mirage Mara, to help alleviate its losses.[16]
South Africa purchased five Nesher trainers for trials during its own Atlas Cheetah fighter programme. All the aircraft were eventually upgraded to Cheetah D standard.[17]
In 1968, the Belgian government ordered 106 Mirage 5s from Dassault to re-equip No 3 Wing at Bierset air base. All aircraft but the first one were to be license-built by SABCA in Belgium. Component production at the SABCA Haren plant near Brussels was followed by assembly at the SABCA plant at Gosselies airfield, near Charleroi. The ATAR engines were produced by FN Moteurs at this company's Liège plant.[18] SABCA production included three versions: Mirage 5BA for the ground-attack role, Mirage 5BR for the reconnaissance role and Mirage 5BD for training and conversion.
By the end of the 1980s, a MIRage Safety Improvement Program (MIRSIP) was agreed to by parliament, calling for 20 low-time Mirages (15 Mirage 5BAs and 5 Mirage 5BDs) to be upgraded. Initial plans included a new more powerful engine, but this idea was abandoned to limit cost. The upgrade eventually included a more modern cockpit, a new ejection seat, a laser rangefinder, and canards to improve takeoff performance and overall maneuverability. A new government canceled the MIRSIP but SABCA was allowed to carry out the update, in order to sell the aircraft on the export market.[19] After completion, the Belgian government sold all 20 aircraft to Chile, together with 4 non-upgraded Mirage 5BRs, and one non-upgraded Mirage 5BD.[20]
The development and subsequent installation of the new Atar 09K-50 engine led to the next Mirage variant, the Mirage 50, during the 1970s. The uprated engine gave the Mirage 50 better takeoff and climb characteristics than its predecessors. The Mirage 50 also incorporated new avionics, such as a Cyrano IV radar system. However, despite these upgrades, it did not prove popular in export sales as the Mirage 5 itself was becoming obsolete.
Chile ordered a quantity of Mirage 50s, receiving both new production as well as updated Armée de l'Air Mirage 5s. The Chilean aircraft were later modernised along the lines of the IAI Kfir and were called the ENAER Pantera. The Pantera incorporates fixed canards and other aerodynamic improvements, as well as advanced avionics. These aircraft have an extended nose to accommodate some of the new systems.
In the early 1990s, Dassault upgraded a batch of Venezuelan Mirage IIIEVs and 5s to Mirage 50 standards.
In the 1990s, the PAF launched a Mid-life update (MLU) program, codenamed as Project ROSE (Retrofit Of Strike Element), to its aging Mirage III and Mirage 5 aircraft with modern avionics provided by French, Italian, and Pakistani software conglomerates. The PAF acquired blueprint drawings of the aircraft from France, redeveloping and redesigning it at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.
In the first phase of the project, the PAF acquired 33 former Royal Australian Air ForceMirage III fighters which were upgraded and designated ROSE I. The PAF then procured surplus Mirage 5F fighters in the late 1990s from the French Air Force in two batches. Around 20 fighters from the first batch were upgraded with new cockpits, navigation/attack suites, defensive aids systems and a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor under the aircraft's nose/cockpit, being designated ROSE II. The cockpits included new MFDs, HUDs, HOTAS controls, radar altimeters and RWRs.
Additionally, 14 Mirage 5F fighters from the second batch were similarly upgraded but with newer systems and designated ROSE III. The FLIR sensors allow the Mirage 5 ROSE fighters to specialise in the night-time attack role.
Mirage 5AD: Export version of Mirage 5 for Abu Dhabi, UAE; 12 built.[24]
Mirage 5EAD: Single-seat radar-equipped fighter-bomber version for Abu Dhabi, UAE. 14 built.[25]
Mirage 5BA: Single-seat version of the Mirage 5 for Belgium, fitted with mainly US avionics; 63 built, 62 under license by SABCA.[24]
Mirage 5COA: Export version of the Mirage 5 for Colombia. 14 built.[24] Remaining aircraft upgraded by IAI with canards and new avionics.[26]
Mirage 5D: Export single-seat ground-attack aircraft of the Mirage 5 for Libya; 53 built.[24]
Mirage 5DE: Single-seat radar-equipped fighter-bomber version for Libya; 32 built. 31 survivors upgraded with radar warning receivers starting in 1975.[27]
Mirage 5F: Single-seat ground-attack fighter aircraft for the French Air Force. 50 ex-Israeli Mirage 5Js.[28] Eight aircraft withdrawn for conversion to Mirage 50C for Chile, with eight new-build 5Fs built as replacements.[29]
Mirage 5G: Export version of the Mirage 5 for Gabon. Three built.[24]
Mirage 5G2: Four aircraft for Gabon, with provision for a laser rangefinder under the nose; two new-build and two undelivered ex-Zaire 5M.[30]
Mirage 5J: 50 aircraft were ordered by Israel, but the order was later embargoed by the French government. They were delivered instead to the French Air Force as the Mirage 5F.[28]
Mirage 5M: Export version of the Mirage 5 for Zaire;[24] 14 built, of which only 11 delivered owing to funding shortages.[31]
Mirage 5MA Elkan: Upgraded Mirage 5BA aircraft sold to Chile.
Mirage 5P: Export version of the Mirage 5 for Peru; 22 built.[32]
Mirage 5P Mara: Upgraded Mirage 5P for Argentina; 10 aircraft sold by Peru.[16]
Mirage 5PA2: New-build aircraft for Pakistan, fitted with the Agave radar; 18 built.[36]
Mirage 5PA3: New-build anti-shipping aircraft for Pakistan, also fitted with the Agave radar and compatible with the Exocetanti-ship missile. 12 built.[37]
Mirage 5SDE: Single-seat radar-equipped fighter-bomber version for Egypt, equivalent to Mirage IIIE; 54 built.[38]
Mirage 5E2: Upgraded radarless attack version for Egypt, with a navigation and attack system identical to the one found on the Alpha Jet MS2. 16 built.[39]
Mirage 5V: Single-seat ground attack aircraft 5 for Venezuela; six built. 2 survivors rebuilt to Mirage 50EV standard, and 1 to Mirage 50DV.[40]
Mirage 5R: Single-seat reconnaissance aircraft.
Mirage 5BR: Reconnaissance version of 5BA for Belgium; 27 built, 23 in Belgium.[41]
Mirage 5COR: Export version of the Mirage 5R for Colombia;[41] two built.[42]
Mirage 5DR: Export version of the Mirage 5R for Libya; ten built.[43][44]
Mirage 5RAD: Export version of the Mirage 5R for Abu Dhabi, UAE; three built.[25]
Mirage 5SDR: Export version of the Mirage 5R for Egypt; six built.[38]
Mirage 5Dx: Two-seat training version.
Mirage 5BD: Two-seat trainer version of 5BA for Belgium; 16 built, 15 built locally.[45]
Mirage 5COD: Two-seat trainer for Colombia. Two built.[45] Upgraded with canards and new avionics.[26]
Mirage 5DAD: Two-seat trainer for Abu Dhabi, UAE. Three built.[45]
Mirage 5DD: Two-seat trainer for Libya; 15 built.[45]
Mirage 5DG: Two-seat trainer for Gabon; two delivered in 1978.[30]
Mirage 5DG2: Two-seat trainer for Gabon; two built, delivered in 1984 and 1985 respectively.[30]
Mirage 5DM: Two-seat trainer for Zaire; three built, all of which were delivered.[46]
Mirage 5DP: Two-seat trainer for Peru; four delivered.[32]
Mirage 5DP3: Upgraded trainer for Peru, with the same improvements as on the Mirage 5P3; one built.[47]
Mirage 5DP4: Upgraded trainer for Peru, with the same improvements as on the Mirage 5P4, except the in-flight refueling probe; one new-build plus upgraded older aircraft.[47]
Mirage 5DPA2: Two-seat trainer version for Pakistan; two built.[37]
Mirage 5DV: Two-seat trainer for Venezuela; three built. One survivor rebuilt to Mirage 50DV standard.[40]
Mirage 5MD Elkan: Upgraded Mirage 5BD aircraft sold to Chile.
Mirage 5SDD: Two-seat trainer for Egypt; six built.[38]
Mirage 50: multi-role fighter-bomber, ground-attack aircraft, powered by more powerful 49.2kN (11,055lbf) dry, 70.6kN (15,870lbf) with reheat Atar 9K-50 engine. Available with or without radar.
Mirage 50C: New-build radar-equipped Mirage 50 for Chile; six built.[48]
Mirage 50FC: Eight re-engined Mirage 5F aircraft sold to Chile.[48]
Mirage 50DC: Two-seat training version for Chile. Three built, two with lower powered Atar 9C-3 engine.[48]
Mirage 50CN Pantera: Mirage 50C and 50FC aircraft upgraded by ENAER with help from the Israeli company IAI for Chile with canards, revised, Kfir style nose and new avionics; 13 50C and FC upgraded plus two 50DC trainers.[49]
Mirage 50DV: Two-seat training version for Venezuela. Similar standard to 50EV, save for the radar, and the refueling probe that can only be used for training (no fuel transfer possible). One new build plus two upgrades (one Mirage 5V and one Mirage 5DV).[50] This variant is also in service with the Ecuadorian Air Force.[51]
Operators
Current (blue) and former (red) operators of the Mirage 5. Former operators of the closely related IAI Nesher are denoted in orange.
The Dassault Mirage III is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizontal flight, a feat which was achieved on 24 October 1958.
The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French supersonic jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. It is still in service with the Indian Air Force.
The Dassault Mirage F1 is a French fighter and attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was developed as a successor to the Mirage III family.
The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, delta wing, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force. The Mirage 2000 evolved into a multirole aircraft with several variants developed, with sales to a number of nations. It was later developed into the Mirage 2000N and 2000D strike variants, the improved Mirage 2000-5, and several export variants. Over 600 aircraft were built and it has been in service with nine nations.
The Atlas Cheetah is a South African fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aviation company Atlas Aircraft Corporation. It was developed at the behest of, and principally operated by, the South African Air Force (SAAF).
The Israel Aircraft Industries Kfir is an Israeli all-weather multirole combat aircraft based on the French Dassault Mirage 5, with Israeli avionics and an Israeli-built version of the General Electric J79 turbojet engine.
The Israel Aircraft Industries Nesher was the Israeli version of the French Dassault Mirage 5 multirole fighter.
The DEFA cannon is a family of widely used French-made aircraft revolver cannon firing 30 mm caliber NATO standard rounds.
Israel Aerospace Industries, is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both military and civilian usage. It has 14,000 employees as of 2021. IAI is state-owned by the government of Israel.
The R.550 Magic is a short-range air-to-air missile designed in 1965 by French company Matra to compete with the American AIM-9 Sidewinder, and it was made backwards compatible with the Sidewinder launch hardware.
Mirage is a name given to several types of jet aircraft designed by the French company Dassault Aviation, some of which were produced in different variants. Most were supersonic fighters with delta wings. The most successful was the Mirage III in its many variants and derivatives, which were widely produced and modified both by Dassault and by other companies. Some variants were given other names, while some otherwise unrelated types were given the Mirage name.
Hatzor Airbase, also titled Kanaf 4 is an Israeli Air Force (IAF) base, located in central Israel near kibbutz Hatzor after which it is named. However, there have been no fighter jets stationed there since 2021, only patrol aircraft, UAVs and defense missiles.
The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) is a major defense contractor and an aerospace manufacturer that is headquartered in Kamra, Punjab, Pakistan.
Project ROSE was a program by the Pakistan Air Force to upgrade the avionics of its ageing Dassault Mirage III and Mirage 5 fighter jets,. These had originally been built either by Dassault Aviation in France, or by the Government Aircraft Factories (GAF) in Australia. The program, based at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, focused on upgrading the military avionics and onboard computer systems, with equipment supplied variously by Pakistani Margella Electronics, French SAGEM and Italian SELEX consortia.
The AS-30 was an air-to-ground missile built by Nord Aviation. It was a precision attack weapon designed to be used against high-value targets such as bridges and bunkers. The AS-30 was essentially a larger version of the earlier AS-20 design, and initially used that weapon's guidance system, which required pilots to track the weapon visually and correct its path using a small joystick, while also flying their own aircraft. All such MCLOS systems proved very difficult to use in practice. The updated AS-30L replaced this system with a semi-active laser homing system, which allows the missile to fly to the target without operator intervention. About 60 AS-30Ls were launched during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Deliberate Force with great success.
The Matra R.530 is a French medium to short range air-to-air missile. It was available in infrared homing and semi active radar homing as the main armament of the Mirage III which was able to carry a single missile in the centerline, the Mirage F1, which carried two under the wings, and the F-8 Crusader, also carrying two on the sides of the fuselage in French Navy service.
The IAI Nammer was a fighter aircraft developed in the Israeli aerospace manufacturing Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The programme was pursued as a private venture and the resultant aircraft was intended for the export market.
Dassault Mirage III Australian procurement was a transaction between the French and Australian governments which led to the procurement of the French designed fixed wing jet aircraft, the Mirage III, for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). In the late 1950s the Australian government announced its intention to modernize its air force with state of the art technology and the French manufacturing company Dassault won the bid over the American Lockheed when the Australian government agreed to buy over 100 Mirages at an estimated cost of AUS$193.7 million in the early 1960s.
The Grifo radar is a family of airborne radars developed by Italian firm Leonardo S.p.A. for fighter aircraft and attack aircraft, and this family of radars includes several series.
↑ Rabinovich, Abraham. The Boats of Cherbourg: The Secret Israeli Operation That Revolutionized Naval Warfare Seaver Books, New York ISBN978-0-8050-0680-3
↑ Kolodziej, Edward A. "Making and Marketing Arms: The French Experience and Its Implications for the International System." Princeton University Press, 2014. ISBN1-40085-877-1. pp 347–350.
Breffort, Dominique and Andre Jouineau. "The Mirage III, 5, 50 and derivatives from 1955 to 2000." Planes and Pilots 6. Paris: Histoire et Collections, 2004. ISBN2-913903-92-4.
Carbonel, Jean-Christophe. French Secret Projects 1: Post War Fighters. Manchester, UK: Crecy Publishing, 2016. ISBN978-1-91080-900-6
"Cheetah: Fighter Technologies". Archimedes 12, June 1987.
Chenel, Bernard; Liébert, Michel; Moreau, Eric (2014). Mirage III/5/50 en service à l'étranger. Le Vigen, France: Editions LELA Presse. ISBN978-2-914017-76-3.
Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark Books, 1994, ISBN0-8317-3939-8.
Jackson, Paul. Modern Combat Aircraft 23: Mirage. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan, 1985. ISBN0-7110-1512-0.
Jackson, Paul. "Mirage III/5/50 Variant Briefing: Part 1: Dassault's Delta". World Air Power Journal Volume 14, Autumn/Fall 1993, pp.112–137. London: Aerospace Publishing. ISBN1-874023-32-8.
Jackson, Paul. "Mirage III/5/50 Variant Briefing: Part 2: Fives, Fifties, Foreigners and Facelifts". World Air Power Journal Volume 15, Winter 1993, pp.100–119. London:Aerospace Publishing. ISBN1-874023-34-4.
Jackson, Paul. "Mirage III/5/50 Variant Briefing: Part 3: The Operators". World Air Power Journal Volume 16, Spring 1994, pp.90–119. London: Aerospace Publishing. ISBN1-874023-36-0.
Lake, Jon. "Atlas Cheetah". World Air Power Journal 27, Winter 1966. pp.42–53.
Pérez, San Emeterio Carlos. Mirage: Espejismo de la técnica y de la política. Madrid: Armas 30. Editorial San Martin, 1978. ISBN84-7140-158-4.
Rogers, Mike. VTOL Military Research Aircraft. London: Foulis, 1989. ISBN0-85429-675-1.
Taylor, John W.R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. ISBN0-354-00538-3.
Núñez Padin, Jorge Felix; Cicalesi, Juan Carlos; Rivas, Santiago. Núñez Padin, Jorge Felix (ed.). Dagger, Finger & Mara. Serie Fuerza Aérea (in Spanish). Vol.19. Bahía Blanca, Argentina: Fuerzas Aeronavales. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
Rivas, Santiago; Cicalesi, Juan Carlos (2010). Latin American Mirages - Mirage III/5/F.1/2000 in Service with South American Air Arms. Houston, TX, USA: Harpia Publishing. ISBN978-0-9825539-4-7.
Dildy, Douglas; Calcaterra, Pablo (2017). Sea Harrier FRS 1 vs Mirage III/Dagger - South Atlantic 1982. Duel. Vol.81. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN978-1-4728-1889-8.
Arróspide Rivera, Julio (15 February 2022). Mirages Fuerza Aérea de Chile. Aviones en Colores (in Spanish). Vol.1. Chile: Aviation Art & History. ISBN9-798798-675364. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
