Mirage is a name given to several types of jet aircraft designed by the French company
Dassault Aviation
Dassault Aviation SA () is a French Aerospace manufacturer, manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets.
It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Dassault, Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch or "MB". After World War II, Marc ...
(formerly Avions Marcel Dassault), some of which were produced in different variants. Most were
supersonic
Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound ( Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
fighters
Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to:
Combat and warfare
* Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict
* Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...
with
delta wing
A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (Δ).
Although long studied, it did not find significant applications until the Jet Age, when it proved suitabl ...
s. The most successful was the
Mirage III
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 horizonta ...
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.
Early prototypes
* MD550 Mystère Delta, the original Dassault experimental delta jet, which provided the baseline for the main Mirage series. Two were built, later renamed Mirage I and II respectively:
**
Mirage I, being the MD550-01 renamed.
**
Mirage II, being the MD550-02 renamed.
Mirage III/5/50 series
![Two Mirage III of the Royal Australian Air Force 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Two_Mirage_III_of_the_Royal_Australian_Air_Force_1.JPEG)
The most successful line of Mirages were a family of supersonic delta-winged fighters, all sharing the same basic airframe but differing in powerplant, equipment and minor details. Early examples were tailless, while many later variants had
canard foreplanes added.
France
The main production variants include:
*
Mirage III
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 horizonta ...
, definitive production type which established the series.
*
Mirage 5
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 sever ...
, developed from the Mirage III.
*
Mirage 50
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 ...
, developed from the Mirage 5.
Minor projects and prototypes include:
*
Balzac,
Mirage IIIT and
Mirage IIIV: Prototypes researching supersonic
VTOL
A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-win ...
design.
[q-zon-fighterplanes.com] The Balzac and Mirage IIIV both had VTOL capability.
*
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
: a Mirage III example, modified with retractable foreplanes or "moustaches".
*
Mirage IIING, developed from the Mirage 50 along with fixed canard foreplanes similar to the preceding Milan (see above). Like the Milan, only one airframe was converted.
Israel
Israel produced several progressive developments of the Mirage 5:
*
IAI Nesher
The Israel Aircraft Industries Nesher (Hebrew: נשר, 'griffon vulture', often mistranslated as 'eagle') was the Israeli version of the French Dassault Mirage 5 multirole fighter.Gupta 1997, p. 105.
Having sustained aircraft losses during the S ...
, a standard Mirage 5 with revised avionics.
*
IAI Kfir
, abbreviated , is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.Christensen, Karen and Allen Guttmann et.al (2001) ''International Encyclopedia of Women and Sports ...
, re-engined with further revised avionics and canard foreplane.
*
IAI Nammer
, abbreviated , is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.Christensen, Karen and Allen Guttmann et.al (2001) ''International Encyclopedia of Women and Sports ...
, again re-engined with further revised avionics and canard foreplane. Prototype only.
South Africa
South Africa upgraded its fleet of Mirage IIIs to meet local requirements:
*
Atlas Cheetah
The Atlas Cheetah is a South African fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aviation company Atlas Aircraft Corporation (later Denel Aeronautics). It was developed at the behest of, and principally operated by, the South African Air F ...
, a Mirage III upgrade based on the IAI Kfir.
Chile
Chile upgraded its fleet of Mirage 50s to meet local requirements:
*
ENAER Pantera
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 ...
(Mirage 50CN and 50DC), a Mirage 50 upgrade based on the IAI Kfir.
Other Mirage types
Production models
*
Mirage IV
The Dassault Mirage IV was a French supersonic strategic bomber and deep-reconnaissance aircraft. Developed by Dassault Aviation, the aircraft entered service with the French Air Force in October 1964. For many years it was a vital part of the ...
: Delta-winged tailless supersonic nuclear bomber. Largest of all the Mirages.
[Munson, K. ''Bombers'', Pocket Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, Blandford, 1966.]
*
Mirage F1
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 popular Mirage III family.
During the 1960s, Dassault commenced development of what would b ...
and MF2000: Conventional-configuration supersonic fighter.
*
Mirage 2000
The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, 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 (''Arm ...
supersonic tailless delta-winged successor to the Mirage 50, with an all-new airframe.
Prototypes
*
Mirage F2 and
Mirage G: Strike fighters, larger than the basic Mirage III airframe. The Mirage G prototypes were variable-geometry "swing wing" aircraft derived from the F2 fixed-wing design project.
[Green and Swanborough (1994)]
*
Mirage 4000 or Super Mirage 4000: Prototype larger version of the Mirage 2000 design.
References
Citations
Bibliography
* Garcia, Miguel, and Waseb Al-Qisuini. ''Iraqi Mirages in Combat: The Story of the F. I EQ in Iraq.'' Monee, Illinois, 2018.
* Green, W. and Swanborough, G.; ''The Complete Book of Fighters'', Salamander, 1994.
France (III) q-zon-fighterplanes.com (retrieved 11:54, 2 October 2015 (UTC))
* Rivas, Santiago, and Juan Carlos Cicalesi. ''Latin American Mirages: Mirage III / 5 / F.1 / 2000 in Service with South American Air Arms.'' Houston, TX: Harpia Publishing, 2010.
{{Authority control
Mirage
A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...