Despite attempts to simplify and reduce the cost of the strike "Mirage" 5, it remained too expensive, complex and vulnerable to use it as a massive low-altitude strike aircraft designed to provide air support for ground forces.
In 1964, the headquarters of the French Air Force formulated the tactical and technical requirements for a cheap and simple in design supersonic aircraft, designed to perform tasks for tactical support.
Taking into account economic feasibility, the governments of France and Great Britain signed an agreement on the joint construction of an aircraft on May 17, 1965, which would meet the requirements of both countries.
The development of the airframe design was entrusted to Breguet Aviation and British Aircraft, and the creation of the engine - to Rolls-Royce and Turbomeca. For operational requirements and safety considerations, a two-engine scheme was adopted using engines of joint Anglo-French production of the Adour type.
During the construction of the aircraft, the cooperating companies formed the SEPECAT association. After 18 months from the date of signing the agreement, the construction of the first prototype was started.
The French Air Force needed two-seater Jaguars more than single-seaters. It is for this reason that the first serial French Jaguar was the E spark, which first flew on November 2, 1971, while the first serial A fighter-bomber made its maiden flight only on April 20, 1972.
The aircraft with a normal take-off weight of 11,000 kg, accelerated at the ground up to 1,350 km / h, at an altitude of 1593 km / h. Combat radius along the "high-low-high" profile with PTB: 1315 km, without PTB: 815 km.
Jaguar A is a French single-seat modification of a fighter-bomber. Starting from the 18th built aircraft, it is equipped with refueling rods, which allow refueling at altitudes up to 12,000 m with a fuel transfer rate of 700-1000 l / min. Duration of refueling is 3-5 minutes. Compared to the British Jaguar, it differs in simpler equipment and DEFA 553 cannons with an ammunition capacity of 150 rounds.
Jaguar E is a two-seat modification for the French Air Force. Starting with the 27th production prototype, a refueling bar was installed in the nose of the fuselage instead of LDPE, which later appeared on some of the earlier "twin" squadrons of the EC11 squadron to perform flights to "overseas" territories. In total, the French Air Force received 40 two-seat Jaguar E aircraft.
Soon, new warning devices and electronic warfare devices, as well as Marconi Avionics LRMTS laser rangefinder-designators, were tested on the Jaguar E. First, a characteristic flat EW container appeared on the keel, then a wedge-shaped LRMTS window appeared under the shortened LDPE. In this form, the plane went into series. By 1980, the Adour Mk.102 engines were replaced by the Mk.104, which had been run in on export aircraft. Fighter-bombers "Jaguar A" in the French Air Force were delivered 160 pieces, the latter was transferred on December 14, 1981.
All modifications, with the exception of Jaguar B, have stationary armament in the form of two cannons (caliber 30 mm) with a stock of 150 rounds. for each. French aircraft are equipped with DEFA cannons, British ones with Aiden cannons (modification B is equipped with one cannon). The aircraft has five external suspension locks (two under the wing consoles and one under the fuselage) with a total payload of 4500 kg. On the underwing locks (carrying capacity 1000 kg and 500 kg), bombs, NURS SNEB containers or Majik air-to-air missiles from the Matra company can be suspended. The ventral lock (1000 kg) is adapted for the suspension of bombs and guided air-to-surface missiles (tactical nuclear weapons).
Jaguar Indian Air Force
Jaguars were exported to Ecuador, Oman and Nigeria. In India, licensed production was organized, serial production was slow and continued until 1992 (more than 100 aircraft were built under license). A distinctive feature of the Indian Jaguars was their adaptability to work with concrete-piercing bombs "Durendal".
For the first time, French Jaguars were used in hostilities in late 1977 - early 1978, during Operation Manatee, directed against the Polissario soldiers of the North-West African Liberation Front who settled in Senegal. Several sorties "Jaguars" carried out on objects located on the territory of Mauritania, in the former Spanish Sahara. The rebels were well armed. Three Jaguars were shot down by air defense systems.
In the same 1978, they were used in Chad. Paris provided aid to its recent colony. During Operation Takyu, in which the Jaguars arrived in Chad, four of them were lost. Operation Takyu was unsuccessful, and by 1980 the pro-Livonian forces controlled most of Chad's territory. Paris had to withdraw its troops from Chad, although a limited French military presence in this African country remained.
The Jaguars reappeared over Chad in 1983. For almost a year, the planes carried out unimpeded patrol flights, until in January 1984 one Jaguar was shot down by a successful burst fired from a 23-mm anti-aircraft cannon during an attack by a convoy of rebel vehicles.
In Chad, the French used AS-37 Martel anti-radar missiles from Jaguars to suppress Libyan radar stations. So on January 7, 1987, during the next raid on Kuadi Dum, ten AS-37 Martel missiles were fired. The raid on Kuadi Dum was the last Jaguar to be used in combat in Africa.
The Jaguars reached their peak of fame in 1991, taking part in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Jaguars were used only during the day, mainly in simple weather conditions. The first combat sortie of the French Jaguars took place on January 17, 1991, on the first day of the war. Twelve aircraft attacked SCAD missile positions at Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base. The planes dropped Beluga containers from a height of 30 meters and fired several AS-30L missiles. Over the target, the planes met heavy anti-aircraft artillery fire, as a result of which four aircraft were damaged. On one of them an anti-aircraft projectile hit the right engine, another plane received a Strela MANPADS missile in the left engine. The engine caught fire, however, the pilot managed to maintain control of the aircraft and performed an emergency landing. On another Jaguar, an anti-aircraft projectile pierced through the cockpit canopy, along with the pilot's helmet inside the canopy. The pilot's head, surprisingly, was not damaged.
However, with the massive suppression of control, radar and anti-aircraft missile systems of Iraqi air defense, almost no special means were used to prevent active actions of canned anti-aircraft artillery, as a result of which paired and quadruple Soviet-made installations inflicted serious damage to the aviation of the multinational forces.
Under these conditions, light Jaguars performed anti-aircraft maneuvers more successfully and suffered less losses. The plane itself, when receiving combat damage, turned out to be very tenacious.
Subsequently, to prevent losses, it was decided to abandon low-altitude flights and switch to strikes using guided aerial bombs.
"Jaguar" has earned the reputation of a simple and reliable aircraft, unpretentious to operating conditions, with excellent combat survivability. In the joint Red Flag exercises with the United States, which were extremely close to the combat situation, the fighter pilots of the "defending" side considered the Jaguar the most "difficult to kill" strike aircraft. In France, its operation was discontinued in 2005.
Later, regret was expressed about this in the French press. According to some experts, the Jaguar was decommissioned too hastily. This aircraft was sorely lacking for the French contingent in Afghanistan. Instead, the more expensive and vulnerable Mirage 2000 was used.
In the early 1960s, work began to determine the appearance of the aircraft, which was to replace the Mirage III.
After a series of experiments with a variable geometry wing, lift-sustainer and bypass engines, the Dassault company opted for the classic fighter layout. The decisive advantage of this scheme over the tailless one was the ability to develop much higher lift coefficients with a balanced aircraft, which is very important for improving maneuverability and takeoff and landing qualities.
The prototype "Mirage" F1-01, equipped with the SNECMA TRDF "Atar" 09K with a thrust of 7000 kgf, took to the air for the first time on December 23, 1966. The aircraft favorably differed from the "Mirage" IIIE in its increased range, greater combat load, lower landing speed and shorter take-off run and mileage. The time on duty in the air has tripled. The combat radius has doubled when striking ground targets.
The first and most massive modification of the Mirage F1 for the French Air Force was an all-weather air defense fighter built in two versions. The first of them - "Mirage" F1C was delivered to the customer from March 1973 to April 1977. In production, it was replaced by the Mirage F1C-200, the deliveries of which ended in December 1983. The main difference of the later version was the availability of equipment for refueling in the air.
The basis of the fire control system was the monopulse radar "Cyrano" IV with a target detection range of the "fighter" type up to 60 km, and tracking - up to 45 km.
The aircraft's armament consisted of two built-in 30-mm Defa cannons, traditional for French fighters. The outer nodes housed a medium-range air-to-air missile system R.530 with a semi-active radar or infrared seeker and a close-range R.550 "Mazhik" S IR-seeker. A typical payload option included two R.530 missiles at the underwing nodes and two R.550 missiles at the wingtips. Subsequently, the armament structure was expanded due to new missile modifications - "Super" R.530F / D and "Mazhik" 2. The capabilities of striking ground targets were initially limited to the use of only unguided weapons - NAR and free-fall bombs. Later, the Mirage F1 arsenal included AS.37 Martel air-to-ground missiles, Exocet anti-ship missiles and guided bombs.
The first foreign buyer of Mirage F1 fighters was the Republic of South Africa. Following South Africa, "Mirages" F1 was ordered by Spain, which became the largest European operator of such aircraft after France. Later they were shipped to Greece, Libya, Morocco, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait and Ecuador.
Taking into account export orders, the number of F1 Mirages built exceeded 350 units. To repeat the success of the "bestseller" "Mirage" III did not work. By that time, the 4th generation fighters had already appeared, which had the best characteristics.
The aircraft participated in the war in Western Sahara, the war in Angola, the Ecuadorian-Peruvian conflict, the Chadian-Libyan conflict, the Iranian-Iraqi war, the Persian Gulf war, the Turkish-Greek conflict, and the civil war in Libya.
The French aircraft of the 4th generation was the Mirage 2000, which took off for the first time on March 10, 1978. It was assumed that the aircraft would combine the speed and acceleration characteristics of the Mirage F.1 fighter-interceptor with the ability of the Mirage III aircraft to conduct short-range maneuverable air combat. When developing the fighter, the Dassault company again returned to its well-mastered tailless scheme, which proved to be excellent on Mirage III fighters. From its predecessors, the Mirage 2000 inherited a large wing area and a glider with significant internal volumes for fuel and onboard equipment. It used a fly-by-wire control system, and the aircraft became unstable along the pitch channel. In addition, the combined use of automatic slats and ailerons gave the wing a variable curvature, which further improved flight performance and control at low speeds. The fighter was created as light as possible in order to provide a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1 when using one SNECMA M53-5 turbofan engine.
The aircraft is equipped with a Martin-Baker F10Q ejection seat, manufactured under license from Hispano-Suiza and providing rescue of the pilot at zero speed and altitude.
The basis of the aircraft's avionics is the RD-I multifunctional pulse-Doppler radar, which provides the search for air targets against the background of the underlying surface and in free space.
On the two-seat modifications of the Mirage 2000D and N, the Antelope radar 5 is installed instead, which provides an overview of the earth's surface in the front hemisphere and the aircraft flight in the terrain bend mode. The aircraft is also equipped with equipment for the TAKAN radio navigation system, radar identification systems, warning of enemy radar irradiation, and electronic countermeasures.
The stationary armament of the aircraft consists of two 30 mm DEFA cannons located in the lower part of the fuselage between the air intakes. On nine external locks, the aircraft can carry bombs and missiles and a total weight of 5000 kg. Typical interception load 2000С includes two UR Matra "Super" 530D or 530F on the inner underwing units and two UR Matra 550 "Mazhik" or "Mazhik" 2 on the outer underwing units. In the strike configuration, the aircraft can carry up to 18 bombs with a caliber of 250 kg or concrete-piercing bombs VAR 100; up to 16 Durendal concrete-piercing bombs; one or two BGL 1000 kg bombs with laser guidance system; five or six Beluga cluster bombs; two AS30L missiles with laser guidance, anti-radar UR Matra ARMAT or anti-ship AM39 "Exocet"; four containers with NAR (18x68 mm). The Mirage 2000N is armed with an ASMP missile with a 150 kt nuclear warhead.
The first serial fighter-interceptor "Mirage" 2000C made its maiden flight in November 1982, and the first squadron of the French Air Force, equipped with new aircraft, began combat duty in the summer of 1984. The French Air Force delivered 121 Mirage 2000C aircraft. The total volume of purchased and ordered Mirage 2000 aircraft (together with two-seat percussion modifications) is 547 units.
A further development of the single-seat fighter was aircraft with a more powerful M53-P2 turbojet engine, intended for export deliveries. The fighters were equipped with an RDM radar with a radar illumination system for an air-to-air medium-range "Super" 530D missile launcher. Aircraft of this type were supplied to the UAE (22 Mirages 2000EAD), Egypt (16 Mirages 2000EM), India (42 Mirages 2000N) and Peru (10 Mirages 2000R).
In October 1990, flight tests of the Mirage 2000-5 multipurpose fighter began, equipped with new avionics and weapons, as well as a more powerful M88-R20 engine. In 1994, work began on the conversion of 5 parts of the latest Mirage 2000S fighter-interceptors into the Mirage 2000 version.
"Mirage" 2000 different modifications have repeatedly participated in international exercises, where they conducted training air battles with fighters produced outside France.
Satellite image of Google Earth: "Mirage" 2000 at the US Navy airbase Jacksonville
As a result of these battles, the American military came to the conclusion that all modifications of the Mirage 2000, without exception, do not have superiority over the fighters of the US Navy and Air Force.
Mirage 2000 French Air Force during Red Flag exercise, US Air Force Base Nellis, August 2006
At the same time, it was noted that in a number of cases, the pilots of the Mirages were able to detect fighters of the imaginary enemy using the on-board radar earlier. When conducting close maneuvering combat at low speeds, American fighters could not always perform aerobatics available to Mirages with a delta wing, built according to the tailless scheme.
At the same time, the pilots of the Mirages expressed a desire to be armed with a missile similar in its characteristics to the AIM-120 AMRAAM of the latest modifications.
As part of the French Air Force, he took part in hostilities against Iraq in 1991. Used in hostilities in Bosnia and aggression against Serbia. The French Mirage 2000, which are part of the international forces in Afghanistan, were based at the Kabul airport.
Wreckage of the French Mirage 2000, lost in Afghanistan
The fighter is in service with the Air Forces of France, Egypt, India, Peru, UAE, Greece, Jordan and Taiwan.
On July 4, 1986, a new fourth-generation multi-role fighter "Rafale" (French Shkval), developed by the French company Dassault Aviation, took off for the first time.
It was created as part of a fairly ambitious project. "One aircraft for all missions" - this was the motto of the designers of "Dassault" when creating "Raphael", intended to replace six specialized types at once: "Crusader" and "Super Entandar" - in the fleet, "Mirage F1", "Jaguar" and two versions of "Mirage 2000" - in the Air Force. In the versatility of the new fighter, the French, first of all, see a means of long-term reduction in defense costs. According to many experts, the Rafale will become the last combat aircraft in Europe (after the Swedish Gripen) created entirely in one country.
The Rafal's aerodynamic layout is based on the 40-year experience of the Dassault company in improving the Mirage fighters. It is based on a traditional delta wing of a large area, and as a new element, a small forward horizontal tail is used. Most likely, the installation of the PGO is aimed at overcoming the disadvantages characteristic of the Mirages, associated with the inability to develop large lift coefficients on the wing due to the lack of feathering that could balance them. PGO in combination with the traditionally low wing loading and statically unstable longitudinal layout is designed to significantly increase the maneuverability of the fighter, although super-maneuverability is out of the question. In addition, a large wing area allows an unprecedentedly large combat load to be lifted into the air - 9 tons, with an empty mass of about 10 tons. The designers of Dassault Aviation managed to create a relatively simple fighter with unregulated air intakes and without air brake flaps, thus, maintenance.
Rafale is controlled by a digital fly-by-wire system (EDSU), which provides balancing and controllability of a statically unstable aircraft.
The Rafala is equipped with an RBE2 radar jointly developed by Thomson-CSF and Dassault Electronique. It is the first mass-produced western fighter radar with a phased array antenna. As stated in the advertising information on the aircraft, in air combat RBE2 can track up to 40 targets, prioritize eight of them, simultaneously attack four.
TRDDF M88-2 installed on serial versions of "Raphael" is distinguished by its low weight (about 900 kg), compactness (diameter 0.69 m) and high fuel efficiency. It has a takeoff thrust of 5100 kgf, which increases to 7650 kgf during afterburner. It uses a digital control system, with the help of which, within 3 seconds, the engine can switch from the "low throttle" mode to the maximum afterburner.
The aircraft is equipped with a 30-mm Nexter DEFA 791B cannon, 125 rounds of ammunition.
There are 14 suspension nodes to accommodate weapons. The main air-to-air weapon on the Rafala is the Mika missile. She can hit targets in melee and beyond visual range. There are two variants of the rocket: "Mika" EM with an active radar guidance system and "Mika" IR with a thermal imaging seeker. It is possible to use the promising long-range missile MBDA Meteor, intended for the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter. In addition to air-to-air weapons, the armament includes a wide range of guided and unguided ammunition for engaging ground and surface targets.
At the moment, there are the following serial versions of "Raphael":
Rafale B - Double, ground based.
Rafale D - Single, ground-based.
Rafale M - Single, carrier-based.
Rafale BM - Two-seater, carrier-based.
As of September 2013, 121 Rafale were produced. In January 2012, Rafale won the MRCA tender for the supply of 126 multirole fighters for the Indian Air Force, which secured a large export order and saved the aircraft from discontinuance. The aircraft took part in hostilities in Afghanistan and Libya.
The global tendencies of the globalization of the world economy have not bypassed the French aviation industry. Since the beginning of the 70s, a significant part of the programs for the creation of new models of aircraft were carried out within the framework of international consortia.
Although all these consortia worked on the same programs, financial and technical disagreements often arose between the countries from which the contractors participated in these programs.
To prevent this and better coordination in the struggle for sales markets, the pan-European aerospace concern EADS was formed in 2000. It includes almost all European aircraft consortia as joint stock companies. Since then, the French aviation industry has largely lost its national boundaries. Almost all leading French firms are involved
to one degree or another in the pan-European programs for the development of aviation technology.
Despite this, the state control over this industry is very great. The French government tightly controls and prevents foreigners from gaining access to the assets and technologies of the national aviation industry.
The basis of the modern aviation industry in France is made up of state-owned or state-controlled firms. The aviation industry has a significant scientific and experimental base that meets modern standards. France is one of the few countries capable of creating integrated weapons systems, a major exporter of fighters, missiles and helicopters.
Combat aircraft created in France fully met the requirements of their time, possessing good flight data, they bear the stamp of a unique French design and grace.
