Mirage 2000-5F: Upgrading the delta

[panzerknoef 695]

Hello everyone, I'm back with another suggestion for a French aircraft, this time we'll be looking at the Mirage 2000-5F.

 

The story of the Mirage 2000-5F actually starts with Dassault wanting to make an upgraded version of the Mirage 2000 that is more interesting for export as the base 2000C was already starting to show its age. Two prototypes were made, converted from existing aircraft. One was based on a Mirage 2000B and the second on a Mirage 2000C. The first prototype first flew in 1990 with Patrick Experton at the controls. The second aircraft first took to the skies in 1991. This new version has a variety of upgrades over the base model making it much more capable as a fighter and therefore more interesting for foreign countries to acquire said vehicle. However, to create belief in the quality of the product, Dassault would like the French government to purchase some themselves. Luckily for them, France at the time had a requirement for a high-performance fighter while waiting for the much delayed Rafale. In 1993 a contract was signed and 37 Mirage 2000Cs were selected and subsequently upgraded to the -5F standard. The upgrades were carried out from 1997 onwards and the first example entered service in 2000. Only 2 units operate the 2000-5F in France, these are the "EC 1/2 Cigognes" and "EC 2/2 Côte d'Or". These aircraft were the first vehicles in service with the French air force that had FOX-3 capabilities with the new MICA missile. In French service they saw service in the 2011 conflict in Libya. A few foreign orders did indeed arise as well as a result, with Taiwan, India, Greece, the UAE and Qatar operating the 2000-5 or variants based on it. 

 

The Mirage 2000-5F adds a number of things over the 2000C. First of all its radar was upgraded from the RDI radar to the RDY radar. This new radar adds air-to-ground modes over the RDI radar which allows the system to fire and control the Exocet missile. This radar has a range of 110km in air-to-air mode and 37km in look-down mode. Like the previous RDI radar it is a proper pulse-doppler radar. The RDY can detect 24 targets, track eight of them and engage four targets at a time. The upgraded radar is also compatible with the MICA missile. A new air-to-air weapon that has also been integrated with the 2000-5F upgrade. This missile comes in 2 variants: the radar guided MICA EM and the heat-seeking guided MICA IR. As mentioned before, the radar guided MICA missile is the first FOX-3 missile in the inventory of the French air force. This missile features good maneuverability through thrust vectoring, which should allow an overload of up to 50G in the first 7km of flight, with a degrading overload beyond those ranges. At 12km it is estimated to still be 30G. Range of this missile is estimated at up to 80km, with a maximum speed of mach 4. These missiles can be carried in a variety of configurations, with up to 4 MICA EMs and up to 6 MICA IRs.

The Mica EM can only be carried on the underbelly hardpoints, while the IRs can be carried anywhere. One source mentions the Super 530D is also still supported on the Mirage 2000-5F, this was important for Dassault as it meant that nations who previously operated earlier variants of the Mirage 2000 would not have to spend great deals of money to acquire new weapon stocks. Magic II was also still very much compatible and was still the main IR missile when the first production models were finished. MICA IR only came around a few years after the EM was already in use. 

The upgrade further featured a more powerful processor and the updated ICMS 2 countermeasures suite, along with the Samir DDM missile warning system. The cockpit was also modernised. A new glass cockpit layout borrowed from the Rafale program was installed. This featured three color MFDs, a dual linked wide-angle HUD / head-level display and HOTAS controls. There was a high degree of cockpit automation; for example, the fire control system could automatically prioritize threats. The cockpit was of course NVG compatible. 

Some sources claim that the aircraft received compatibility with the PDL-CT pod of the Mirage 2000D, which would allow the aircraft to designate targets for itself, but I have not found any evidence to back this claim up. I've heard a story that the 2000-5F is theoretically compatible with the PDL-CT but that it would just require a major technical overhaul to do so, resulting in it never being done. The later Mirage 2000-5mk2 however was capable of carrying the Atlis II and Damocles pods at least. Unless Gaijin decides to give us this pod after all, it would mean the aircraft is limited to dumb weapons or require a buddy to designate for it, a mechanic that we don't have in game as of right now. 

 

This aircraft would be a logical progression from the Mirage 2000C in the fighter line for France. Finally adding a few very nice features that players of France will undoubtedly enjoy. For one it is the first production French fighter to finally be able to carry more than 4 air to air missiles. Secondly it is the first French aircraft to be fitted with FOX-3 missiles, a feature that will become ever more important now that we have the first FOX-3 missiles in game on the F-14. 

 

General Characteristics:

• Crew: 1
• Length: 14.36 m
• Wingspan: 9.13 m
• Height: 5.2 m
• Wing area: 41 m2
• Empty weight: 7,500 kg
• Gross weight: 13,800 kg
• Max takeoff weight: 17,000 kg
• Engine: 1 SNECMA M53-P2 afterburning turbofan engine, 64.3 kN thrust dry, 95.1 kN with afterburner

 

Armament: 

• 2x DEFA 554 30mm cannons.
• 2x Matra Magic II
• Up to 6x MBDA MICA IR
• Up to 4x MBDA MICA EM
• Up to 16x 250kg SAMP bombs.
• Up to 3x 1000kg laser guided bombs
• Up to 4 68mm SNEB pods
• Up to 2x AS30(L)
• Up to 2x AM39 Exocet
• Up to 2x anti-radiation missiles. 
• 1x Twin 30mm gunpod 

 

Additional Images:

Spoiler

 

Sources: 

Spoiler

http://francearmee.free.fr/mirage5f.htm

http://www.airvectors.net/avmir2k.html#m6

https://www.armedconflicts.com/2000-5EDA-2000-5EI-t4759

https://aviationsmilitaires.net/v3/kb/aircraft/show/16787/dassault-mirage-2000-5f#tab:tab-armement

https://www.aeroweb-fr.net/fiches/dassault-mirage-2000-5f

https://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/defense/customer-support/operational-aircraft/mirage-2000/

https://www.machtres.com/lang1/mirage_2000.html

https://en.missilery.info/missile/mica

https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2020/10/19/dassault-mirage-2000/

https://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/mirage/#:~:text=Mirage 2000 is a multirole combat fighter manufactured by Dassault,Thales Damocles laser designation pod.

 

Edited May 19, 2023 by panzerknoef

[super_cacti 1,071]

Open for discussion 

[Milocat 4,854]

+1, the mirage 2000 would be a great addition to the game.

[panzerknoef 695]

46 minutes ago, Milocat said:

+1, the mirage 2000 would be a great addition to the game.

let's hope we'll see the first version soon enough huh!

[Hyrikul 2,633]

+1

[ChatBonk 5]

Another great addition for the future. +1

 

[Kasukaru 2,164]

+1, being French and living in Greece, I want that one with the Greek camo and roundel too.

[Borotovas 4,500]

+1

[Capt_JamesTKirk 1,710]

+100 to tech tree, absolutely no reason to make a premium or event vehicle.

[Waifu_Vega 3]

+1 I think this would be great fun to add after the Mirage 2000C

[Fireraid233 4,274]

+1

[Arghail 1,220]

So, given what's written in the magazine, a conventional, monoplace Mirage 2000-5 would be capable of carrying guided bombs and a laser designator, or that's limited to another variant ?

Edited February 18, 2023 by Arghail

[panzerknoef 695]

2 hours ago, Arghail said:

So, given what's written in the magazine, a conventional, monoplace Mirage 2000-5 would be capable of carrying guided bombs and a laser designator, or that's limited to another variant ?

Yeah it's theoretically possible but never done in practice afaik.