Dassault Mirage 50

Multirole Strike Fighter Aircraft

France | 1980

"The Mirage 50 was offered by Frnace-based Dassault Aviation as an upgraded form of its Mirage III and Mirage V series aircraft family lines."

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Dassault Mirage 50 Multirole Strike Fighter Aircraft.

1 x SNECMA Atar 9K-50 afterburning turbojet engine developing 15,873lb of thrust.
Propulsion

913 mph
1,470 kph | 794 kts
Max Speed

39,370 ft
12,000 m | 7 miles
Service Ceiling

777 miles
1,250 km | 675 nm
Operational Range

36,610 ft/min
11,159 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Dassault Mirage 50 Multirole Strike Fighter Aircraft.

1
(MANNED)
Crew

51.0 ft
15.55 m
O/A Length

27.0 ft
(8.22 m)
O/A Width

13.9 ft
(4.25 m)
O/A Height

15,763 lb
(7,150 kg)
Empty Weight

30,203 lb
(13,700 kg)
MTOW

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Dassault Mirage 50 Multirole Strike Fighter Aircraft .

STANDARD, FIXED:
2 x 30mm ADEN automatic cannons in internal placements.

OPTIONAL:
Typical mix of air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, conventional drop bombs, guided-drop bombs, rocket pods, and jettisonable fuel tanks.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Dassault Mirage 50 family line.

Mirage 50 - Base Series Designation.

Mirage 50C - New-build Chilean Air Force model; six completed.

Mirage 50FG / 50FC - Refurnished ex-French Air Force Mirage 5F models for Chilean Air Force.

Mirage 50DC - Twin-seat trainer models for Chilean Air Force.

Mirage 50CH - Chilean Air Force model.

Mirage 50CN "Pantera" - Modernized Mirage 50 with assistance from IAI of Israel.

Mirage 50EV - Venezuelan Mirage IIIEV and Mirage 5V models upgraded to "evolved" standard.

Mirage 50DV - Venezuelan Air Force twin-seat trainer models.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/28/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Dassault Aviation of France developed its "Mirage 50" as an export-minded successor to the in-service Mirage 5/IV strike aircraft line. The Mirage 5 was accepted into service with many global air powers including France (50), Israel (61, as the IAI "Nesher", and Pakistan (112) where it continues with the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in a much modernized form. Origins of the Mirage 50 lay in an original Israeli Air Force (IAF) requirement for such an aircraft, following the established design lines and excellent qualities of the proven Mirage III model - though made slightly longer and with a more slender nose section, and this commitment resulted in the Mirage 5/V detailed elsewhere on this site.

An embargo precluded the Mirage V ever being delivered to Israel but the nation nonetheless persevered to produce its own version (though it remains unclear whether this was with or without Dassault assistance), this becoming the IAI "Nesher" detailed elsewhere on this site).

The Mirage 50 is an outgrowth of the Mirage 5 series fighters.

The follow-up Mirage 50 took on the SNECMA Atar 9K-50 afterburning turbojet engine (from which the Mirage 50 gets its name) of 15,873lb thrust output and also saw an upgrade to its avionics set for a truly modern multi-mission solution. The intakes were slightly modified to accommodate the new engine fit and a single Mirage IIIR production model served as the modified prototype Mirage 50 form - this aircraft taking to the air for the first time on April 15th, 1975 and making its public debut at the Paris Air Show in 1979. During testing, this "re-imagined" Mirage III was able to see an increase to both performance and handling while being able to carry more ordnance and use up less runway on take-off actions.

Armament-wise, the aircraft was given 2 x 30mm ADEN automatic cannons in internal housings while multiple external hardpoints supported the usual range of air-to-air and air-to-surface air-launched/-air-dropped munitions already in circulation with many current Mirage III/Mirage V operators. In this way, the Mirage 50 was a true multirole solution, capable of interception, 1v1 dog-fighting, airspace deterrent, general ground attack, ranged patrolling, and reconnaissance all from the same airframe.

The aircraft retained the single-seat, single-engine arrangement established with the Mirage III line as well as its delta-wing planform. With the delta-winged planform, no horizontal tail planes were needed. While aspirated by the twin, semi-circular intakes featured at either side of the fuselage, the single-engine installation exhausted through a sole exhaust port under the rudder fin. Internally, the aircraft came radar equipped with the Cyrano IVM multi-function unit or this could be replaced with the Agave series as needed. A tricycle undercarriage allowed for ground-running. At the aft-end of the fuselage was the single-finned rudder

Chile became the first export customer of the Mirage 50 and committed to an order of sixteen aircraft (designated as "Mirage 50C" or "Mirage 50CH"), this order to also include two dedicated twin-seat trainer airframes (as "Mirage 50DC" with lower-rated Atar 9C-3 turbojet engines). The initial portion of this order was made up of eight ex-French Air Force Mirage VF (5F) platforms refurbished and modernized for the customer as "Mirage 50FGs". The Chilean stock were eventually upgraded, with Israel's help, to become the "Pantera" branded locally by ENAER (detailed elsewhere on this site).

Venezuela had its fleet of outdated Mirage IIIEV and 5V platforms to the newer "Mirage 50EV"standard (also "Mirage 50M"). In the same way, its Mirage 5DV models became the "Mirage 50DV". About eighteen total Mirage 50s were operated by the Venezuelan Air Force.

Ecuador currently (2019) operates just six Mirage 50 aircraft.

Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Dassault Mirage 50. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 40 Units
Contractor(s): Dassault Aviation - France

[ Chile; Ecuador; Venezuela ]

1 / 1

Going Further...
The Dassault Mirage 50 Multirole Strike Fighter Aircraft appears in the following collections:

HOME

AVIATION INDEX

AIRCRAFT BY COUNTRY

AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Scale Military Ranks of the World U.S. Department of Defense Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols Breakdown U.S. 5-Star Generals List WWII Weapons by Country World War Next

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.

©2024 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2024 (21yrs)