OVERVIEW: The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multi-role, single-engine fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter based on the Mirage III for the French Air Force. The Mirage 2000 evolved into a multi-role aircraft with several variants developed, with sales to a number of nations. The variants include the Mirage 2000N and 2000D strike variants, the improved Mirage 2000-5 and several export variants. Over 600 aircraft were built and it has been in service with nine nations.

DETAILS: The Mirage 2000 is available as a single-seat or two-seat multi-role fighter. The pilot flies the aircraft by means of a centre stick and left hand throttles, with both incorporating (HOTAS) controls. The pilot sits on a SEM MB Mk10 zero-zero ejection seat. Unlike in the F-16, the pilot sits in a conventional position, without the steep backward slope of the F-16 seat. The cockpit is quite small, however the visibility is acceptable for purpose.

The aircraft has a redundant fly-by-wire automatic flight control system, providing a high degree of agility and easier handling, together with stability and precise control in all situations. The fighter's airframe is naturally unstable, and so it is coupled with FBW commands to obtain the best agility; however, in override mode it is still possible to exceed a 270 deg/sec roll rate and allows the aircraft to reach 11 g (within the 12 g structural limit), instead of 9 g when engaged.

Thomson-CSF RDM multi-mode radar or Dassault Electronique/Thomson-CSF RDI pulse-Doppler radar for the Mirage 2000C/D, each with an operating range of 54 nm (100 km / 62 miles). This unit was an evolution of Cyrano radars, with more modern processing units and look-down/shoot-down capabilities. The effective range is around 60-70 km with modest capabilities against low-level targets. It is linked with Super R.530F missiles, and equipped the first 37 aircraft delivered to the French Air Force and most exported Mirages. It has multirole capabilities that enable its use in air-to-surface tasks, including anti-ship roles. Some recent export versions carry the Thales RDY (Radar Doppler Multitarget) developed for the Mirage 2000-5.

SPECIFICATION: Crew: (1) || Length: 14.36 m (47 ft 1 in) || Wingspan: 9.13 m (29 ft) || Height: 5.20 m (17 ft) || Max. takeoff weight: 17,000 kg (37,500 lb) || Powerplant: (1) SNECMA M53-P2 afterburning turbofan || Dry thrust: 64.3 kN (14,500 lbf) || AB Thrust: 95.1 kN (21,400 lbf).
 
PERFORMANCE: Maximum speed: Mach 2.2 (2,530+ km/h, 1,500+ mph) || Range: 1,550 km (837 nmi, 963 mi) with drop tanks || Service ceiling: 17,060 m (59,000 ft) || Rate of climb: 285 m/s (56,000 ft/min) || Thrust/weight: 0.7 at loaded weight.

SENSORS: Thomson-CSF RDY (Radar Doppler Multi-target) radar.

ARMAMENT: (2) 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA 554 revolver cannon, 125 rounds per gun || Hardpoints: 9 total with (4) under-wing, (5) under-fuselage with a capacity of 6,300 kg (13,900 lb) external fuel and ordnance || Matra 68 mm unguided rocket pods || MBDA MICA IR/RF AA missles || Matra R550 Magic-II AA missles ||Matra Super 530D AA Missles || AM.39 Exocet AS missles || AS-30L laser-guided missiles || ASMP tactical nuclear cruise missile || Mk.82 unguided bombs.

NOTES: Mirage 2000 is the famous Mirage III’s successor. Using Dassault’s traditional tailless delta wing, Mirage 2000 first flight occurred on March the 10th 1978. It has been since declined into several specialized versions:
-Mirage 2000B (B stands for Biplace= two-seats) is a two-seats fighter used for both interception and training missions. Its first flight took place on October the 11th 1980, and it was delivered to French Air Force from summer 1983.
-Mirage 2000C (C stands for Chasse= fighter) is a single-seat fighter used for interception missions and air police. Its first flight took place on March the 10th 1978, and it was delivered to French Air Force from summer 1983.
-Mirage 2000N (N stands for Nucléaire = nuclear strike) is a two-seats strike fighter used for both nuclear strikes (with the ASMP medium range tactical missile) and classical ground strikes.  Its first flight took place on February the 3rd 1983, and it was delivered to French Air Force from April the 1st 1988.
-Mirage 2000D is an extrapolation from the 2000N. It’s a two-seats strike fighter able to use last standard arms in French inventory, including under development Apache / SCALP and AASM. It’s also able to deliver the ASMP nuclear missile. Mirage 2000D is first French aircraft able to lead night/ all weather missions, a need expressed by French Air Force’s staff after the Gulf war.   Its first flight took place on February the 19th 1991, and it was delivered to French Air Force from April the 9th 1993.
- Mirage 2000-5F is the last of the Mirage 2000’s series. It’s dedicated to air interception, and was intended as gap-filler between the Mirage 2000B/C and the Rafale. It’s a greatly improved version of the Mirage 2000C, with the ability to engaging several targets at once. It also carries the new missile MICA.  Its first flight took place on October the 24th 1990, and it was delivered to French Air Force from April 1999.
 
Mirage 2000’s series is a commercial success as Mirage III’s series had previously been. Among users, there’s Taiwan, Greece, United Arab Emirates, Egypt…

Original Author: François Guérin

SOURCE: [SCO] Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org