Dassault Mirage IV
|
|
| Mirage IVA | ||
|---|---|---|
| Missing image Mirage_IV.JPG | ||
| Description | ||
| Role | Bomber aircraft | |
| Crew | Two - pilot, navigator | |
| First Flight | 17 June 1959 | |
| Entered Service | 1964 | |
| Manufacturers | Dassault Aviation | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Length | 23.50 m | 77 ft |
| Wingspan | 11.84 m | 38 ft 11 in |
| Height | 5.65 m | 18 ft 6 in |
| Wing area | 78.00 m² | 840 ft² |
| Weights | ||
| Empty | 14,500 kg | 32,000 lb |
| Loaded | 31,600 kg | 69,666 lb |
| Maximum takeoff | 33,475 kg | 73,645 lb |
| Powerplant | ||
| Engines | 2x SNECMA ATAR 9K-50 | |
| Thrust | 75.61 kN | 31,750 lb |
| Performance | ||
| Maximum speed | Mach 2.2 (high altitude dash) | |
| Maximum speed | 1,350 km/h | 840 mph (sea level) |
| Combat Radius | 1,240 km | 775 miles |
| Ferry range | 4,000 km | 2,500 miles |
| Service ceiling | 20,000 m | 65,615 ft |
| Rate of climb | 2,588 m/min | 8,490 ft/min |
| Wing loading | 405-429 kg/m² | 83-88 lb/ft² |
| Thrust/weight | 0.46 lbf/lb | 4.6 N/kg |
| Avionics | ||
| Avionics | Thomson-CSF (Thales) navigation radar, Doppler navigation, INS (IVP) | |
| Armament | ||
| Bombs | 1 AN-11 or AN-22 free-fall bomb (Mirage IVA) | |
| Missiles | 1 medium range air-to-ground missile ASMP (Mirage IVP) | |
| Other | CT-52 sensor pod for strategic reconnaissance | |
The Dassault Mirage IV is a French jet-propelled supersonic strategic bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. For many years it was the linchpin of the Force de frappe, the French nuclear deterrent program.
History
The bomber's specifications were jointly defined by government authorities and Dassault staff, and cleared on March 20, 1957. The Mirage IV 01 looked a lot like the Mirage III A, even though it had double the surface, engine and unladen weight. It nevertheless carried three times more internal fuel. Its aerodynamic features were very similar to the single-jet Mirage III, but it required a bespoke structure and layout.
The Mirage IV 01 was an experimental prototype built to explore and solve the problems stemming from prolonged supersonic flight. The sizeable technological and operational uncertainties (no plane had yet been found able to cruise at over Mach 1.8 for long periods of time) were only one part of the problem. The weapon-related issues were the other.
It took 18 months to build the Mirage IV 01 in the Saint Cloud plant. In late 1958, it was transferred to Melun Villaroche for its finishing touches and ground tests. Roland Glavany took the Mirage IV 01 into the air for the first time on June 17, 1959. For its third flight, on 20 June, 1959, the Mirage IV 01 was authorized to fly over the Bourget Air Show. At least one of the spectators was paying careful attention: France's President Charles de Gaulle. On September 19, 1960, René Bigand upped the world record for speed on a 1000-kilometer closed circuit to 1 822 km/h. Flight 138, on September 23, corroborated the initial performance and pushed the record on a 500-km closed circuit to an average of 1 972 km/h, flying between Mach 2.08 and Mach 2.14.
Work on a supersonic bomber able to carry a nuclear bomb started in France in 1956. The first prototype Mirage IV-01, flown on June 17, 1959, was basically an enlarged Mirage III delta wing fighter. It was found to have insufficient range, so the much larger and sophisticated Mirage IVB project was developed. When this was in turn considered too expensive, the medium-size Mirage IVA was chosen as the final variant.
The prototype Mirage IVA-02 was flown on October 12, 1961, and was accepted for a serial production. The first serial Mirage IVA was flown in December 1963. A series of 62 aircraft were built, and they entered service between 1964 and 1968.
Starting in February 1964 the Mirage formed the first French two strategic bombing squadrons: EB 1/91 'Gascogne' and 2/91 'Bretagne', followed by another seven squadrons in three regiments. After establishment of its own deterrent force, France quit NATO in 1966.
The primary objectives of the Mirage IVA force were major Soviet cities and bases. With aerial refueling, the plane was able to attack Moscow, Murmansk or Ukrainian cities from French bases. In order to refuel the Mirage IVA fleet, France purchased a number of U.S. KC-135F tankers. Even so, Mirage IVAs often operated in pairs, one aircraft carrying a weapon, the other carrying fuel tanks and a buddy refueling pack allowing it to refuel its mate en route to the target.
Initially, the basic attack flight profile was high-high-high at a speed of Mach 1.85, engaging targets at maximum radius of 3,500 km (2,185 miles). In the late 1960s, when the threat of surface-to-air missile defenses made high-altitude flight too hazardous, the Mirage IVA was modified for low-altitude penetration. Flying low, the maximum attack speed was reduced to 1,100 km/h (687 miles), also reducing the combat radius.
By the 1970s it was clear that the vulnerability of the Mirage IV to air defenses (even in low-level flight) made the delivery of gravity bombs impractical. In response the French developed the ASMP stand-off missile, with a range of up to 400 km (250 mi) and a 150 or 300 kT warhead. 19 Mirage IVAs were modified to carry the new weapon instead of bombs, and received a new designation Mirage IVP (for "Penetration"). The first flew on October 12, 1982, and entered service on May 1, 1986. They carried a missile or a reconnaissance container on the centerline. When the Mirage IVP entered service with EB 1/91 and EB 2/91 (with six bombers per squadron), the other squadrons using the Mirage IVA were disbanded.
In 1996 the Mirage IVP's nuclear mission was passed to the Mirage 2000N and EB 2/91 was disbanded. EB 1/91 was redesignated Escadron de Reconnaissance Stratégic (Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron), using all 12 remaining Mirage IVPs. In the recce role the Mirage IVP has seen service over Bosnia, Iraq, Kosovo, and Afghanistan.
ES 1/91 Gascogne's surviving Mirage IVPs are currently scheduled to fly until June 2005. They will be replaced by Mirage 2000N aircraft fitted with the new PRNG (Pod de Reco Nouvelle Génération, New Generation Recce Pod) system with digital camera equipment, but the recce-configured 2000Ns will not be ready until 2007.
The aircraft has been popular with its crews, which find it enjoyable to fly despite its antiquated systems and generally uncomfortable cockpit, and requires surprisingly little maintenance considering its age and complexity.
Description
The Mirage IV is similar to Mirage fighters, with tailless delta wing and a single square-topped vertical fin. It has two SNECMA Atar turbojets in the rear fuselage, with air intakes on both sides of the fuselage, very similar to the Mirage III's souris ("mice"). It can reach high supersonic speeds: the aircraft is redlined at Mach 2.2 at altitude because of airframe temperature restrictions, although it is capable of higher speeds. Although the aircraft has 14,000 liters of internal fuel, its engines are quite thirsty, especially in afterburner.
The crew of two (pilot and navigator) are seated in tandem cockpits under separate canopies. A bombing/navigation radar is located under a radome in the fuselage under the intakes, aft of the cockpit. A refueling boom is built into the nose, an important part of Mirage IV operations.
The Mirage IV has two pylons under each wing, the inboard pylons normally used for large drop tanks of 2,500 liter (660 gallon) capacity. The outers carry ECM and chaff/flare dispenser pods to supplement the internal jamming and countermeasures systems: on current aircraft, typically a Barax NG jammer pod under the port wing and a Boz expendables dispenser under the starboard wing. No cannon armament was fitted. The early Mirage IVA had a fuselage recess under the engines for a single AN-11 or AN-22 nuclear weapon of 60 kiloton yield.
From 1972 onward, 12 aircraft were also equipped to carry the CT52 reconnaissance pod in the bomb recess. The CT52 is available in either BA (Basse Altitude, low-level) or HA (Haute Altitude, high-altitude) versions with three or four long-range cameras. A third configuration is an infrared linescanner. None of the CT52 has any digital systems, relying on older 'wet' film cameras.
Later Mirage IVP aircraft could be fitted a single centreline pylon for the ASMP stand-off missile.
The Mirage IVA could theoretically carry up to six large conventional bombs at the cost of drop tanks and ECM pods, but such armament was rarely fitted in practice.
| Related content | |
|---|---|
| Related Development | Dassault Mirage III |
| Similar Aircraft | B-58 Hustler - TSR-2 - Tupolev Tu-22 - Avro Vulcan |
| Designation Series | Mirage III - Mirage IV - Mirage V - Mirage 2000 |
| Related Lists | List of bomber aircraft |
|
Lists of Aircraft | Aircraft manufacturers | Aircraft engines | Aircraft engine manufacturers Airports | Airlines | Air forces | Aircraft weapons | Missiles | Timeline of aviation |