Dassault Mirage V

History

The Dassault Mirage 5 saw the evolution of the classic and successful delta-wing Mirage III platform introduced in 1961 (detailed elsewhere on this site). A total of 1,422 prototypes of the aircraft were produced, with operators ranging from Argentina to Zaire. The Mirage V is designed to meet the new requirements of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) for a day, clear weather attack aircraft.

As a result, it was decided to significantly improve the existing Mirage IIIE production model for specific roles - which meant removing the Cyrano radar and avionics suite. These changes will help simplify maintenance and operation of the new jet fighter and provide the IAF with a cost-effective solution.

In September 1966, the Israeli government commissioned Dassault to build a batch of 50 aircraft, and the prototype first flew on May 19, 1967. When completed, the aircraft resembled the earlier Mirage III in some ways, although it had some minor changes to its design, such as a repositioned pitot tube and the introduction of two external hardpoints for wider weapons support . Broadly speaking, the Phantom III's shape has been preserved, including physical features such as a swept airfoil, a single vertical tail, a single engine mount, and a low-lying delta wing plane.

Due to growing tensions in the Middle East, the French government (led by President Charles de Gaulle) was forced to restrict the sale of new aircraft - now known as the "Phantom 5" - to Israel through an embargo in 1967 - even though the aircraft was paid for of. Since serial production had already started, it was decided to keep the new aircraft in service with the French Air Force, which led to the designation "Phantom 5F" at the official launch.

The Israelis got their share of the fleet and were forced to carry out their strike missions in other ways.

It is believed that Israeli industry went ahead and copied the Phantom 5 from blueprints to realize its IAI model "Nesher", while others claim that the French and Israeli governments colluded to develop the Phantom 5 aircraft parts delivery as a way to To circumvent the embargo - the Israelis simply assemble the plane upon delivery. In any case, the Mirage 5 became another successful aircraft project for the French Dassault Group, although its final total production reached just under 600 - 582 to be exact; this compares to the more than 1,400 realized Mirage IIIs.

The basic attack platform is followed by a dedicated reconnaissance model in the "Mirage 5R" and the "Mirage 5D" with a two-seat training capability. Existing equipment can also be upgraded to bring the fighter character back to the Mirage 5 - ultimately creating a more complete fighter-bomber form.

The simplicity of the aircraft also makes it another Dassault product of choice in foreign markets, as foreign operators eventually grow into players ranging from Abu Dhabi and Argentina to Venezuela and Zaire.

Belgium boosted production numbers by locally making the Dassault 5 (starting in 1968), although it now has US-centric avionics. Chile accepted these as the phantom "Elkan".

Local production of the aircraft also includes attack, reconnaissance and training squadrons in Belgium, 20 of which have been upgraded locally and sold to Chile.

Upgraded engines, new avionics (with "Cyrano IV" radar system) and improved performance specifications created the "Mirage 50" brand. However, this variant did not boost Dassault's sales and was only adopted in Chile and Venezuela.

The Chilean Air Force aircraft was later upgraded by ENAER with the help of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) to "Pantera" standards (IAI previously served the Israeli Air Force with the Dassault-based "Kfir" - this aircraft is detailed on this page Other place).

As of this writing (2019), many Mirage 5s have been retired from frontline service. The only remaining active operators are Ecuador, Gabon and Pakistan. Egyptian stock is used for shipment to Pakistan for bolt quantity.

The mounts of the Pakistan Air Force were modernized as part of the "Project ROSE" program.

Specification

Basic

Production

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes