The Dassault Mirage 4000: A Forgotten Fighter
The Dassault Mirage 4000 was a French prototype twinjet fighter aircraft developed by Dassault Aviation in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was a larger and more powerful version of the Mirage 2000, which became the main fighter of the French Air Force. The Mirage 4000 had impressive performance and capabilities, but it never entered production or service, due to a lack of customers and competition from other aircraft. In this blog post, we will explore the origins, characteristics, and performance of the Mirage 4000, as well as the reasons why it was never produced or exported.
Origins of the Mirage 4000
The Mirage 2000 was chosen by the French Air Force as its new multirole fighter, replacing the older Mirage III and Mirage F1. The Mirage 2000 was a relatively small and light aircraft, powered by a single SNECMA M53 turbofan engine, which gave it a thrust-to-weight ratio of about 0.8. It had a maximum speed of Mach 2.2, a combat range of about 1,000 km, and a service ceiling of 17,000 m. It could carry a variety of weapons, including air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, bombs, rockets, and a 30 mm cannon. It also featured a fly-by-wire system, a glass cockpit, and a radar with look-down/shoot-down capability.
The Mirage 4000 was intended to be a more powerful and versatile aircraft, capable of both long-range interception and fighter-bomber missions. It was noticeably larger and heavier than the Mirage 2000, having two SNECMA M53–2 turbofans, which gave it a thrust-to-weight ratio of more than one. It also featured small canards above the engine air intakes and a true bubble canopy, compared to the Mirage 2000 and previous Mirages. Despite the changes, the two aircraft remained similar, sharing the delta wing design, semi-conical Oswatitsch-type air intakes, and general configuration.
Characteristics and Performance of the Mirage 4000
The Mirage 4000 was designed to be both a long-range interceptor and a fighter-bomber, capable of carrying a variety of weapons, including air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, bombs, rockets, and cannons. It had a maximum speed of Mach 2.3, a combat range of over 1,800 km, and a service ceiling of 20,000 m.
The Mirage 4000 had a wingspan of 12 m, a length of 18.7 m, and a height of 5.8 m. It had a wing area of 73 m2 and a gross weight of 16,100 kg. It had a fuel capacity of about 11,000 L, and it was also refuelable in flight. It had 11 hardpoints, with a total payload of 8,000 kg. It had two 30 mm DEFA cannons, with 125 rounds per gun.
The Mirage 4000 was powered by two SNECMA M53–2 afterburning turbofan engines, each producing 64.3 kN of dry thrust and 95.1 kN of thrust with afterburner. The engines were mounted in the rear fuselage, with air intakes on the sides of the cockpit. The engines had variable exhaust nozzles, which improved the aircraft’s maneuverability and stability.
The Mirage 4000 had a fly-by-wire system, which controlled the aircraft’s flight surfaces electronically, instead of mechanically. The system also provided artificial stability and automatic trim, as well as protection against overstressing the aircraft. The Mirage 4000 had a glass cockpit, with a head-up display (HUD), a multifunction display (MFD), and a wide-angle holographic display (WAD). The cockpit also had a hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) system, which allowed the pilot to control most of the aircraft’s functions without taking his hands off the throttle and the stick. The Mirage 4000 had a radar with look-down/shoot-down capability, which enabled it to detect and engage targets below its own altitude. The radar also had a track-while-scan (TWS) mode, which allowed it to track multiple targets simultaneously. The Mirage 4000 also had an infrared search and track (IRST) system, which could detect and track targets by their heat signatures. The Mirage 4000 had a comprehensive electronic warfare (EW) suite, which included a radar warning receiver (RWR), a jammer, a chaff and flare dispenser, and a towed decoy.
The Fate of the Mirage 4000
The Mirage 4000 first flew on 9 March 1979, piloted by Jean-Marie Saget. It performed well in flight tests, reaching Mach 2 in its sixth flight and demonstrating excellent maneuverability and stability. The Mirage 4000 was financed as a private venture by Dassault, without any official support from the French government or the French Air Force, which preferred to concentrate on the Mirage 2000. Dassault hoped to find customers abroad, especially in the Middle East, where some countries were interested in a more powerful alternative to the Mirage F1 or the Mirage 2000.
However, the Mirage 4000 faced several challenges and setbacks in its export prospects. Iran, which had been a potential customer, was lost after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Saudi Arabia, which had shown interest in the Mirage 4000, opted for the Panavia Tornado instead in 1981, after a deal involving political and economic concessions from Britain, Germany, and Italy. Other countries, such as Egypt, Iraq, and Libya, were either unable or unwilling to buy the Mirage 4000, due to financial, political, or technical reasons.
In the early 1980s, Dassault realized that the Mirage 4000 had no realistic chance of finding any customers, and decided to end the program. The only prototype made a total of 336 flights, the last one taking place on 8 January 1988. The prototype was then moved to the Musée de l’air et de l’espace (Paris Air and Space Museum) in 1992, where it remains on display
The Mirage 4000 was not a complete failure, however, as some of the expertise and technology gained from its development would later influence the Dassault Rafale, a multirole fighter aircraft that entered service with the French Air Force and Navy in the 2000s. The Rafale shares some features with the Mirage 4000, such as the canards, the bubble canopy, the fly-by-wire system, and the M53 engines (upgraded to M88). The Rafale also incorporates some innovations, such as a delta wing with wingtip devices, a reduced radar cross-section, a modular avionics system, and a naval variant. The Rafale has been exported to several countries, including Egypt, India, Qatar, and Greece, and has proven its capabilities in various combat operations.
Conclusion
The Dassault Mirage 4000 was a remarkable fighter aircraft that never saw the light of day. It was a victim of changing political and economic circumstances, as well as fierce competition from other aircraft. It was also overshadowed by its smaller and more successful sibling, the Mirage 2000. However, the Mirage 4000 was not a wasted effort, as it contributed to the development of the Dassault Rafale, which is now one of the most advanced and versatile fighter aircraft in the world.
