OVERVIEW: The Mirage IIIEA is a single seat, single engine, short-range, all-weather, Mach 2.0, 2nd generation multirole strike aircraft.  

DETAILS:   The Mirage IIIE is a delta wing design based on the Mirage IIIC airframe but built with a 0.3m forward extension to increase the avionics bay and expand fuel capacity.  Because of the delta wing design, the Mirage III suffered from several operational limitations. Because the Mirage wing could not incorporate flaps, it required a long runway for take-off and landing. The delta wing design meant that the Mirage bled energy in a turn, limiting its ACM performance.  It also suffered from buffeting at low altitude, due to the large wing area and resulting low wing loading.  However, the Mirage’s wing allowed it to achieve high speed in a straight line.  To maximize engine efficiency, the Mirage used two variable-section air inlets, each with a moveable half-cone shock cone, (called “mice”) to slow down airflow to the engines at high speed.
   
The Mirage IIIEA was powered by a SNECMA Atar 9c turbojet engine.  It produced 13,670 lb. (6200 kg) of thrust (afterburner), giving it a 0.743 Thrust-to-weight ratio under combat conditions.  This effectively limited its maneuverability to only 3-4 g's in sustained maneuvering.

The Mirage IIIEA used Cyrano II AA/AS radar. Armament included two 30 mm (1.181 in) DEFA 552 cannons with 125 rounds per gun.  Air-to-Air missile armament included the R.550 Magic IR  and the Matra R.530 SARH missiles.  Air-to-ground ordinance included up to 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) of payload on five external hardpoints, including a variety of bombs, rockets or drop tanks. 


Specifications: 

Max Speed: 	1290 knts ; 2350 km/hr;  (Mach 2.2)
Max Range:	1295 nm; 450 nm (combat radius)
Max Payload:	4,000 kg on 5 hardpoints
G-limit		6.7g's max load (subsonic)
Crew:		 1


NOTES: IOC:  1967.    The low cost of the Mirage III family helped to make it widely exported, with variants of the Mirage IIIE being flown by Abu Dhabi, Belgium, Colombia, Egypt, Libya, Pakistan, Switzerland and South Africa.


SOURCE:  
"[1.0] Mirage III, 5, & 50." AirVectors. Accessed April 11, 2023. https://www.airvectors.net/avmir3_1.html. ; 
"Dassault Mirage III/5." Aviation Classics. 2012. ; Gunston, Bill. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fighters. 1981. ; "Mirage III: Origins, Characteristics and Performance Data." Dassault Aviation, a Major Player to Aeronautics. Last modified March 17, 2023. https://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/passion/aircraft/military-dassault-aircraft/mirage-iii/. ; Key Aero. "AIRCRAFT PROFILE: DASSAULT MIRAGE III." n.d. https://www.key.aero/article/aircraft-profile-dassault-mirage-iii. ; Dildy, Douglas C., and Pablo Calcaterra. Sea Harrier FRS 1 vs Mirage III/Dagger: South Atlantic 1982. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017, page 35.


Original Author: François Guérin
