Dassault Mirage 4000

The Dassault Mirage 4000 (sometimes called the Super Mirage 4000) was a French prototype twinjet fighter aircraft developed by Dassault-Breguet from their Mirage 2000.

Mirage 4000
Mirage 4000 prototype
Role Prototype fighter aircraft
National origin France
Manufacturer Dassault-Breguet
First flight 9 March 1979
Status Program cancelled in 1988
Primary user French Air Force (intended)
Number built 1
Developed from Dassault Mirage 2000
Mirage 4000 prototype displayed at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace at Le Bourget, France

Design and development

The Mirage 4000 was noticeably larger and heavier than the single-engined Mirage 2000, the 4000 having two SNECMA M53-2 turbofans.[1] It also featured small canards above the engine air intakes and a true bubble canopy, compared to the Mirage 2000 and previous Mirages. Despite the changes, the two aircraft remained similar, sharing the delta wing design, semi-conical Oswatitsch-type air intakes, and general configuration.

The Mirage 4000 first flew on 9 March 1979.[1] It was financed as a private venture by Dassault.[1] The Mirage 4000 was comparable in size to the United States F-15 Eagle, and was designed to be both a long-range interceptor and a capable fighter-bomber.

In the early 1980s, Dassault ended the program shortly after the Saudis chose the Tornado (see Al-Yamamah arms deal) as their preferred aircraft. Iran had been lost as a potential customer after the coup against the Shah in 1979.[2] The French Air Force preferred to concentrate on the Mirage 2000, leaving Dassault with no customers. Some of the expertise thus gained would later influence the Dassault Rafale.[3]

The prototype made a total of 336 flights, the last taking place on January 8, 1988.[4]

The only prototype moved to its final residence at the Musée de l'air et de l'espace (Paris Air and Space Museum) in november 1992.[5]

Specifications (Mirage 4000)

Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1984–85,[6] Dassault Aviation[7]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 18.7 m (61 ft 4 in)
  • Wingspan: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
  • Height: 5.8 m (19 ft 0 in)
  • Wing area: 73 m2 (790 sq ft)
  • Gross weight: 16,100 kg (35,494 lb) combat weight
  • Fuel capacity: approx 11,000 L (2,900 US gal; 2,400 imp gal) internal fuel
  • Powerplant: 2 × SNECMA M53-2 afterburning turbofan engines, 64.3 kN (14,500 lbf) thrust each dry, 95.1 kN (21,400 lbf) with afterburner

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 2,445 km/h (1,519 mph, 1,320 kn) max level speed
  • Maximum speed: Mach 2.3
  • Maximum sustained speed: M2.2
  • Approach speed: 260 km/h (160 mph; 140 kn)
  • Range: 2,000 km (1,200 mi, 1,100 nmi)
  • Combat range: 1,850 km (1,150 mi, 1,000 nmi) plus, with external tanks and recce pod
  • Service ceiling: 20,000 m (66,000 ft)
  • Rate of climb: 305 m/s (60,000 ft/min)
  • Time to altitude: 15,000 m (49,213 ft) (M2) 3 minutes
  • Wing loading: 220 kg/m2 (45 lb/sq ft) at combat weight

Armament

  • Guns:
  • Hardpoints: 11 with a capacity of 8,000 kg (17,637 lb) +, with provisions to carry combinations of:
    • Other:
  • up to 3× 2,500 L (660 US gal; 550 imp gal) drop tanks
  • FLIR pod
  • Recce pod
  • laser designator pod
  • Rockets:
  • up to 4× rocket pods
  • Missiles:
  • 2× long-range AAM
  • 8-14 advanced AAMs
  • up to 4 AGMs
  • Bombs:
  • up to 27 × 250 kg (551 lb) bombs

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References
  1. Jackson, Paul A. (1985). Mirage : Modern combat Aircraft 23 (1st ed.). Shepperton: I. Allan. pp. 116–117. ISBN 9780711015128.
  2. Mirage 4000 Origins and prototypes
  3. "Mirage 4000".
  4. Alexis Rochet, Super Mirage 4000, le rêve inachevé, Skyshelf (Bruxelles), 1er mai 2023, 152 p. ISBN 9789083330105
  5. "Dassault Super Mirage 4000 - Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace". Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  6. Taylor, John W.R., ed. (1984). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1984–85 (75th ed.). London: Jane's Publishing Co. p. 65. ISBN 0-7106-0801-2.
  7. "Mirage 4000" (in French). Dassault Aviation. Archived from the original on 2009-02-03. Retrieved 2009-01-24.

Bibliography
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dassault Mirage 4000.
  • Carbonel, Jean-Christophe (2016). French Secret Projects. Vol. 1: Post War Fighters. Manchester, UK: Crecy Publishing. ISBN 978-1-91080-900-6.
  • Coles, Joe (2023). "Ooh-là-là, c'est le Quatre-Mille: The Existential Crisis of the Super Mirage 4000". The Aviation Historian (43): 40–47. ISSN 2051-1930.
  • Rochet, Alexis (2023). Super Mirage 4000, le rêve inachevé. Brussels: Skyshelf. ISBN 9789083330105.
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