Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms Space By Flag By Year By Tag

Dassault Super Etendard

History

In the early 1960s, the French Navy adopted the original Dassault ensign ("Standard") in both its IVM strike fighter and IVP photo reconnaissance forms (detailed elsewhere on this site), with a total of 90 produced. This single-engine, jet-powered swept-wing design - Dassault's first in the field of naval aircraft - lived a good, healthy life during service in France, and when it was time to find a successor, SEPECAT's naval strike The variant Jaguar is considered "Jaguar M". However, politics doomed this variant to failure, and in its place a more advanced and capable form of the ensign was developed and put into service.

This became the "Super Entendard" that entered the French Navy's stockpile in 1978 and gained a fairly good operational presence through several overseas customers.

Super Banner Evolution

The Super Etendard is an evolution of the Etendard IVM, even though it is 90% brand new aircraft. Like its predecessor, it was specifically designed to operate on a carrier deck, so it required folding wings, reinforced landing gear and a brake hook under the tail.

Much of the form and function of the Etendard IVM has been preserved, including the main swept wing aircraft, mid-mounted tail, single tail rudder and side-mounted air intakes. The design is the company's single-engine, single-seat design, an overall improvement over the family's offerings.

Its primary mission deployment will revolve around strike missions with secondary interception capabilities.

First, the original 9,700 lb thrust SNECMA Atar 8B turbojets were replaced by the more powerful 11,025 lb thrust SNECMA Atar 8K-50 series. Buried mid-to-aft, the device increases the plane's top speed from 683 mph to 750 mph. Range, in turn, is reduced from 2,100 miles to 1,130 miles. Service can be capped at 44,900 feet, which is also below the Etendard IVM's 50,900-foot limit.

The rate of climb remains at 19,700 feet per second.

Weapons

The usual Dassault fixed gun arrangement was carried inside the aircraft, with 2 x 30mm DEFA guns and 125 rounds allocated to each. Weapons are placed in a side-by-side configuration with mechanical parts and ammo boxes in between (weapon systems can be removed as a complete module for repair/maintenance). In addition, there are four under-wing and two under-fuselage hardpoints for carrying air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles (including anti-ship missiles), bombs (guided or unguided) and 18 rounds of matt Pull the missile pod.

Of course, some of the hardpoints are also designed for fuel delivery and auxiliary throwable tanks (a retractable nose tank is also installed to allow air-to-air refueling). The Super Ensign was also designed to transport and deliver the AN-52, a free-falling nuclear bomb, in case of an all-out war with the Soviet Union, the enemy of the West during the Cold War (1947-1991).

In contrast, the original Etendard IVM had only four hardpoints, limiting its power to some extent.

Other improvements

Dassault engineers benefited from the operational data of the flags in service at the time and were able to refine the original design, strengthening its structure to meet the rigors of carrier deck operations. New engine tuning and improved wing and flap surfaces aid takeoff maneuvers. Additionally, the weapon suite has been updated to improve and improve access to more modern weapons and tracking/engagement systems.

Thomson multimode radar is part of the new equipment installed on the new strike platform.

Development (continued) and Delivery

The prototype of the Super Etendard flew for the first time on 28 October 1974 and entered service later in June 1978. The French Navy was the first and best known operator of the series, with a total of 85 aircraft from 1974 to 1983 (100 aircraft were originally required, but this total was reduced for budgetary reasons). Like the Etendard IV series, the Super Etendard served on the then two French Clemenceau-class aircraft carriers - FS Clemenceau and FS Foch, and entered service in February 1979. The Super Etendard is equipped with three French naval combat squadrons and a training group has also been added.

In service, they are deployed alongside Vought F-8 Crusaders that retain their primary air-to-air operations.

Combat Missions

For the first time, the French navy used its super-ensign against the Syrian army during "Operation Ollivant" over Lebanon. This marked their first encounter with direct combat while flying the French flag.

The service only dropped its Super Ensign in 2016, as the line was replaced by a navalized version of the Dassault Rafale - a state-of-the-art fourth-generation multipurpose combat mount (detailed elsewhere on this site).

In 1979, the Argentine Navy agreed to buy about 14 Super Flags from France when it was unable to maintain its Douglas A-4 Skyhawk fleet due to the US arms embargo. Meanwhile, the new jets were delivered alongside French Flying Fish anti-ship missiles, giving regional observers a pause. This was especially important when used against British warships during the 1982 Falklands War. The plane and its powerful missiles proved enough to keep British warships and war planners nervous during the war - which still ended in a British victory. France has modernized the Argentine super flag by cannibalizing the French navy's soon-to-retire super flag.

Due to various external issues, not all were upgraded to the new standard, although it was not until 2017 that other ex-French naval flags were added to the Argentine fleet. However, at the time of writing (November 2017), the entire Argentine Super Flag fleet appears to be in a non-operational state, with the new airframes being used only for training and spare parts.

In 1983, oil-rich Iraq received about five super-ensigns from France as a temporary measure awaiting delivery of Dassault Mirage F1 fighter jets. These are also sought after because of their ability to effectively launch the Flying Fish missiles that did so well in the Falklands War - now threatening neighboring Iran's businesses in Persian Gulf waters. Iranian ships were attacked shortly after delivery in 1984, and the planes were eventually supported by Mirage F1 fighter jets.

Since then, Iraqi fighter jets and Iranian fighter jets have engaged in numerous melee battles, with casualties on both sides. The Iraqi Super Flag was retired in 1985, and four prototypes returned to France, assuming at least one was killed in combat.