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ENAER Mirage 50CN Pantera

1975 COLD WAR

History

French aerospace group Dassault achieved success with its Mirage 3 jet-interceptor platform, which was produced 1,422 times and led to widespread deployments around the world from Argentina to Zaire. From this platform emerged the powerful Mirage 5 attack model, which entered service with the French Air Force in the late 1960s, and soon global operators followed suit again. Although its total production was only 582, it proved a viable attack system, building on the success of the supersonic Phantom III.

The Phantom V model gave birth to the Israeli multi-role fighter-bombers "Neshe" and "Kefir" in time.

In the 1970s, upgraded Atar 09K-50 series engines were added to the series, and a Cyrano IV radar kit was installed as part of a new avionics package upgrade. Along with improved performance, the Mirage V is now offered as a new "Mirage 50", although overseas market recipients have generally proven to be sparse - Chile is the only true operator, followed by Venezuela. The Chilean Mirage 50 was upgraded to several sub-variants of the base model at its own whim - the Mirage 50C was the six standard attack systems, and the Mirage 50FC came from a batch of eight aircraft with new engines.

The Mirage 50DC is a trio of two-seater trainers built for the Chilean Air Force powered by low-power Atar 9C-3 engines.

The Chilean Air Force's aircraft are drawn from existing fighter inventories and new builds. Some time later, these aircraft were upgraded for the Chilean Air Force by the local attention ENAER with the support of Israel, culminating in the production of the ENAER Mirage 50CN "Pantera" ("Black Panther") model.

One of the main changes to the Pantera is the new kfir-style nose section, which has been lengthened from the original. Other additions include upgraded avionics and a canard front wing for improved control, as well as minor aerodynamic changes.

The Pantera upgrade program includes Mirage 50C and Mirage 50FC airframes for a total of 15 aircraft, including a pair of Mirage 50DC trainers.

The Chilean Air Force phased out the Panteras inventory in 2006-2007 and now relies on its 46 General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16 Falcon multirole fighter jets and about a dozen Northrop F-5Es /F Upgrade on the Tiger II fleet (on the "Tiger III" standard) aircraft.