The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a fighter jet developed by the Dassault Aviation; a French aircraft building company. This French fighter jet is a multirole and singe engine fourth-generation jet fighter that was designed by the French Air Force back in the 1970s.
This aircraft was designed to replace the Mirage III of the French Air Force as a lightweight fighter. Since the initial design, there had been many variants of this aircraft built in the past 50 years and has been sold to a number of nations across the world.
Dassault Mirage 2000 was further developed into Mirage 2000N and 2000D as the strike variant of this lightweight fighter jet.
Since the first of this aircraft model, there has now been built over 600 of these aircraft which are still serving in many of the world’s air forces.
Dassault Mirage 2000 took its first flight back on March 10th, 1978, after 27 months of the project getting go ahead. The aircraft was able t break the Mach 1.02 barrier in its 67 minutes long flight and climbed to an altitude of about 12000 meters.
For our readers today we have collected a bunch of amazing facts about the Dassault Mirage 2000 which are as follows.
Production:-
The design project of the Mirage 2000 program could be traced back to 1965, with the project getting go ahead in 1976. After the project got a go-ahead from the higher-ups, the first prototype of this aircraft was ready in a mere 27 months in 1978.
The production of the Mirage 2000 was carried out at three of the following different locations.
- Wings were built in Martignas
- the fuselages were fabricated at Argenteuil
- final assembly taking place at Bordeaux-Merignac
The first prototype was hand built:-
Before the aircraft was transferred for the final assembly at the Dassault’s Istres facility; it first prototype titled “Mirage 2000 No. 01” was built by hands at St. Cloud.
First Flight:-
The first flight of the Mirage 2000 was carried out by the hands of a pilot named Jean Coureau back on March 10th, 1978. The aircraft flew for a total of 65 minutes and was able to reach the speed barrier of Mach 1.02 without the afterburners. The aircraft alter managed to reach the top speed of Mach 1.3 while climbing up to an altitude range of 12000 meters.
After this initial test flight, modifications were made in its design which allows the aircraft to even break the barrier of Mach 2.0 in only two following months.
The Spectra System
In the aircraft, there is installed an electronic security system called “The Spectra System”. This system is built by the Dassault. This security system works like this. When an enemy’s aircraft radar system picks up the signal for the Mirage 2000 and transmits it through the air, the Spectra System starts working. The system picks up this signal from the enemy and sends a rebuttal system to the enemy radar. This interferes with the enemy’s aircraft ability to lock on to the Mirage 2000 as a target.
Excellent for the short runways:-
One of the most amazing ability of this aircraft, which allows it to be among many of the world’s Air Forces as it needs a short runway path for taking off. Certain aircraft of fighter class usually require a long landing and taking-off path. However, the Mirage 2000 only requires a short runway path of 400 meters.
Security System is the most costly part of the Dassault Mirage 2000:-
Although the Spectra System of the Dassault Mirage 2000 is one of the highly functional and fully automated security systems for any fighter jet in the world, it does come with a huge price tag. According to sources, the flyaway cost of a single Dassault Mirage 2000 is about 45 million dollars. However, as for the Spectra System of the aircraft, it is 30 percent of the total plane cost.
Short Scanning Range
There is a raging concern that the scanning range for the Dassault Mirage 2000 is only about 145 kilometers when compared to other fighter jets of its class. However many might not know that the aircraft has a powerful radar system which is capable of picking up more than two targets simultaneously. Also, the radar system is so powerful that enemies cannot jam its radar.
Voice Recognition
Dassault Mirage 2000 is an aircraft that can easily break through the speed barrier of Mach 2.0 and above. At these speed having a hand on the steering is very important. To ensure the pilot’s concentration, a voice recognition system has been installed in this aircraft. The voice recognition system allows the pilot to cool variety of the aircraft’s function through voice commands.
Engine:-
The engine housed by the Dassault Mirage 2000 is SNECMA M53-P2 turbofan engine. This engine is a single shaft one of the modular construction design making it light in weight when compared with the British or American engines.
This engine is now housed inside the majority of the Mirage 2000 aircraft and can prude dry thrust of about 65 kN (15,000 lbf) and 95 kN (21,000 lbf) in afterburner.
Weapon:-
The Dassault Mirage 2000 aircraft is equipped with a built-in twin DEFA 554 autocannon. This twin cannon is actually a 30 mm revolver cannon that comes with 125 rounds each.
In addition to this, the aircraft can also be equipped with the following weapons.
- 30 mm rockets
- Different types of missiles
- Laser guided bombs
Conclusion:-
The Dassault Mirage 2000 aircraft, despite being initially started in the 1960s and the designing process for the first prototype along with the first flight completing back in the 1970s, the aircraft still continues to serve in some of the major Air Force’s in the world.
This fact alone proves the capability of the Mirage 2000 in the aerial combat due to its variety of variants built specifically for causing major damage in the most efficient an effective way.
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