military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) (02/06/91)
From: ihlpm!jfb (Joseph F Baugher +1 708 713 4548)
Number 35 in the series--France's Mirage 2000 fighter, which has seen
service in Saudi Arabia as fighter cover for French Jaguar strike aircraft.
Dassault-Breguet Mirage 2000C:
Powerplant:
One SNECMA M53-P2 turbofan, 21,400 lb. st. with AB
Some earlier Mirage 2000s are equipped with the less powerful
SNECMA M53-5.
Performance:
Maximum Speed: Mach 2.35 (1550 mph) above
36,000 feet (short dash)
Maximum Speed: Mach 2.2 (1450 mph) above
36,000 feet (continuous)
Maximum speed: Mach 0.91 (690 mph) at sea level without
afterburner and with 8 500-lb bombs
Initial climb rate: 56,000 feet/min.
Service Ceiling: 59,000 feet.
Range: 920 miles (with 2200-lb weapons load).
Combat radius: 435 miles (intercept mission with two drop
tanks and four AAMs)
Wing area: 441 sq. ft.
Weights:
Empty Weight: 16,500 pounds
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 37,500 lb.
Armament:
2 x 30mm DEFA 554 cannon in fuselage.
Four underwing weapons pylons. Four underfuselage pylons and
one centerline pylon. Centerline pylon and inboard underwing
pylons are plumbed for drop tanks.
2 Matra Super 530D semiactive radar homing missiles on inboard
inboard pylons and 2 Matra R.550 Magic infrared homing missiles
on outboard underwing pylon (long-range interceptor role).
In close-range air-to-air combat role, usually carries four
Magic infrared homers underwing.
In close support role, can carry up to 13,890 lbs of ordinance
on five fuselage and four wing stations. Optional weapons
loads include AS-39 Exocet antiship missiles, SAMP smart bombs,
Durandal antirunway weapons, various unguided rocket launchers,
plus a wide variety of iron bombs and external contermeasures
and reconnaissance pods.
Electronics:
Thomson-CSF RDI pulse-Doppler radar. Some earlier versions
are equipped with the RDM multi-mode pulse Doppler radar based
on the Cyrano IV fitted to the Mirage F1.
RDI radar can supposedly detect fighter targets at a range of
55 miles.
SAGEM Uliss 52 instrument navigation system with two ESD
computers linked by a digital bus used to perform system-
management and attack ccomputations.
Thomson-CSF Serval radar warning system, with receivers mounted
in wingtip housings and in a housing mounted high on the rear
fin.
Large color multi-function display screen in center of the
instrument panel.
Fly-by-wire flight controls with instant response to pilot
input.
Heads-up cockpit display.
Remarks:
Low-set delta wing with 58 degrees of sweep on the cambered
leading edge.
Two-section, full span leading edge flaps.
Small strakes mounted on the engine intake inlets to improve
high angle of attack performance.
Martin-Baker F10Q zero-zero ejector set.
A detachable inflight refueling probe can be fitted ahead of
the cockpit.
Matra R.550 Magic is an infrared homer with a range of up to
6 miles and a maximum speed of about Mach 3.
Matra Super R530D is a semi-active radar homer with a range
of up to 35 miles and a maximum speed of Mach 4.6.
Development began in 1973 as a replacement for the Mirage III,
Mirage F1, and SEPECAT Jaguar in French service.
First flight of prototype on March 10, 1976.
The RDI radar system planned for the Mirage 2000 suffered
from numerous teething troubles, and the early production
versions were fitted with the less-advanced RDM radar based
on the Cyrano IV fitted to the Mirage F1.
2000B is a two-seat trainer version. It retains the full
operational capability of the single-seat version, but the
internal cannon armament is deleted.
2000N is a two seat low-altitude penetration version.
Strengthened for low-level flight. Fitted with a comprehensive
attack-optimized electronics suite. Antelope V ground-mapping
radar, twin SAGEM Uliss 52 inertial platforms, and a new
radar altimeter which permits automatic terrain-following
flight at speed as high as 690 feet at heights as low as 200
feet. There are two versions of the 2000N, one equipped with
an ASMP ramjet-powered supersonic cruise missile carrying a
150-kiloton nuclear warhead, and the other carrying conventional
weapons. However, the choice of a delta-winged aircraft design
for a high-speed, low-altitude strike aircraft is a curious one,
since the low wing-loading of the delta wing makes for a rather
bumpy ride at low altitudes.
Mirage 2000 has been ordered by Abd Dhabi, Egypt, Greece, India,
and Peru. Each of these export versions are given separate
designations as follows:
Mirage 2000BGM: Version of Mirage 2000B for Greece
Mirage 2000EGM: Version of Mirage 2000C for Greece
Mirage 2000EM: Version of Mirage 2000C for Egypt.
Mirage 2000BM: Version of Mirage 2000B for Egypt.
Mirage 2000P: Version of Mirage 2000C for Peru.
Mirage 2000DP: Version of Mirage 2000B for Peru.
Mirage 2000DAD: Version of Mirage 2000B for Abu Dhabi.
Mirage 2000EAD: Version of Mirage 2000C for Abu Dhabi.
Mirage 2000RAD: Reconnaissance version of Mirage
2000EAD for Abu Dhabi.
Mirage 2000H: Version of Mirage 2000C for India.
Mirage 2000TH: Version of 2000B for India.
The Abu Dhabi Mirage 2000RAD can carry a COR 2 pod or a Harold
AA-3-38 long-range photographic pod on the centerline station.
Sources:
Various issues of Aviation Week
Various issues of Defense Electronics
The Observer's Book of Aircraft, William Green.
The World's Great Interceptor Aircraft, Gallery Books
Modern Air Combat, Bill Gunston, Mike Spick
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft Armament, Bill Gunston
Joe Baugher *************************************
AT&T Bell Laboratories * "You may spare the pleasantries. *
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ihlpm!jfb
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