[3e] French Jets

[Phaelen Bleux]

Dassault Mirage 2000 (TL7)
Conceived in 1972, the Mirage 2000 became a high priority development project in the late '70s, and debuted in the Armee de l'Air in 1983. It is a delta wing aircraft with controlled instability, providing the aircraft with excellent maneuverability. The fly-by-wire system is computer controlled, with redundant systems, and has never failed in flight. The Mirage 2000 can carry a variety of ordnance payloads, with the standard intercept load consisting of four MICA and two Magic 2 air-to-air missiles. Delivery of French Mirage 2000s ended in 1998 with a total of 136 aircraft produced.
The Mirage 2000 has been exported widely, including Egypt, India, Peru, Abu Dhabi, Greece, Taiwan and Qatar.
The Mirage 2000 uses 434 gallons of jet fuel per hour at routine usage. A full tank of fuel costs $3,153. Ammo for the cannons costs $1,900.

Mirage 2000C
Subassemblies: Body +4, High-Agility wings +2, 3 retractable wheels +0.
Powertrain: 14,462-lb. thrust turbofan with afterburner, 2,300-kWs advanced battery.
Fuel: 1,051 gallons jet fuel in self-sealing standard tanks (Fire 12) [Body and Wings].
Occupancy: 1 NCS.
Cargo: None.

Armor
All: 4/25

Weaponry:
2x 30mm autocannons/DEFA 544 [Body:F] (125 rounds each).*
*Linked.
Up to 13,889 lbs. or ordnance and/or one 343-gallon and two 449-gallon drop tanks.

Equipment:
Body: Long range radio with scrambler (300-mile), radio jammer (0.9-mile), autopilot, HUDWAC, inertial navigation system, navigation instruments, IFF, small computer, digital datalink, dedicated targeting computer, advanced radar detector, targeting radar, laser designator, IR jammer (-4), four chaff dischargers, flight recorder, arrestor hook, refueling probe, duplicate controls (backup system), ejection seat, ¼ man-day limited life support, full stabilization for cannons, five hardpoints. Wings: Four hardpoints.

Statistics:
Size: 47'x30'x17' Payload: 10.5 tons Lwt.: 18.74 tons
Volume: 405 cf. Maint.: 8 hours Price: $6,051,101

HT: 10. HPs: 987 Body, 662 each Wing, 90 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 1187 aAccel: 8 aDecel: 42 aMR: 10 aSR: 3
Stall Speed: 143. With afterburner, aSpeed 1451, aAccel 11.
gSpeed: 444 gAccel: 22 gDecel: 15 gMR: 0.25 gSR: 3
Ground Pressure Extremely High. No Off-Road speed.

Design Notes:
Body is 405 cf; wings are 223 cf, wheels are 20.25 cf. Wing volume was reverse-engineered from actual wing area (441 sf). Structure is Heavy, Expensive with Superior Streamlining. Sealed. It has improved brakes and controlled instability. Camouflage paint job included. Armor is advanced composite. Electronic (fly-by-wire) controls. Design loaded weight is 37,939 lbs.; this was decreased 1% to the maximum take-off weight. The design afterburner produces 23,862 lbs. of thrust; this was reduced to the real-world value. Unit price in 2009 was $23 million.

Variants:
The Mirage 2000B is a two-seat trainer version. It is fully combat capable.
The Mirage 2000-5 (1997) is a modernized version of the -C, featuring improved avionics.
The Mirage 2000D/N is a two seat version.
The Mirage 2000E and -ED are export versions of the -C and -B, respectively.
The Mirage 2000N is a strike version of the aircraft. It features terrain following and mapping radar.