The "Mirage" 2000 is a single-seat, single-engine light fighter developed by France after the suspension of the ACF program. In December 1975, the French Air Force officially announced the selection of the Mirage 2000 as its main fighter aircraft from the mid-1980s onwards. The first prototype was shipped from the factory at the end of 1977 and made its first flight in March 1978. Production aircraft began to be delivered in 1983, and initial combat capabilities were formed in 1984 (the first combat squadron was equipped). By the end of 1995, there were 5 models of Mirage 2000C/B, E/D, N, and Mirage 2000-5, with orders for 550 aircraft. In early 1995, more than 400 aircraft had been delivered.
The navigation/attack system of the "Mirage" 2000 aircraft is a comprehensive system with a digital computer as the core. Implemented navigation/attack/display reduction integration. Each subsystem is connected through a multiplexed data bus.
"Mirage" 2000 adopts the same "tailless delta wing" aerodynamic layout as "Mirage" III, but applies a number of advanced technologies such as fly-by-wire control, relaxed static stability and composite materials, and installs With high-thrust turbofan engines and more advanced electronic equipment, the combat level has been greatly improved. The "Mirage" 2000 has become a member of the third-generation fighter jets.
The "Mirage" 2000 aircraft adopts a large triangular lower wing with a leading edge swept back 58 degrees and a large vertical tail with a large swept angle. The air inlets on both sides are semicircular with a central semi-cone. body. On the fuselage behind the air inlet, there is another small wing, which can generate beneficial interference vortices on the main wing. There is a fuel receiving pipe for aerial refueling in front of the bubble-shaped canopy with good visibility.
The "Mirage" fighter can be regarded as a "famous" fighter. Judging from the current development and sales of foreign fighter jets, the only one that can truly compete with the fighter jets of the United States and the former Soviet Union is the "Phantom" aircraft. Since the "Mirage" aircraft were equipped with troops in the early 1960s, the "Mirage" series of aircraft have firmly occupied the world fighter market. It is not only the main combat aircraft of the French Air Force, but also has become the main aircraft of the air forces of many third world countries. Its improvements were rapid and numerous, forming a series of "Phantom" aircraft. Some people abroad use the term "Phantom Era" to describe the grand development of the "Phantom" series of fighter jets. "Mirage" 2000 is the latest fighter in the "Mirage" series. It is also the only aircraft among the current third-generation fighters that adopts a tailless delta wing layout without front wings. Although it has not had a great record so far, and it is not as eye-catching as the F-15 and F-16 in the Gulf War, but judging from its performance level and combat effectiveness, it is indeed a good aircraft that has been developed quite successfully. Now, the French military has decided to use the "Rafale" fighter jet as a new generation fighter jet. The development of the "Mirage" series is coming to an end, but the modification of the "Mirage "2000" aircraft will be used at least until 2010.
In the mid-1970s, third-generation fighter jets such as the American F-15 entered service, and France also began to consider upgrading its main fighter jets. At the end of 1975, France decided to use the "Mirage" 2000 fighter jet to gradually replace the "Mirage" III and "Mirage". F.1, planned to become France's main fighter in the mid-to-late 1980s, the "Mirage" 2000 uses the same tailless delta-wing aerodynamic layout as the "Mirage" III, but uses new technologies such as fly-by-wire control and active control technology. And new airborne electronic equipment, and the use of a new turbofan engine, so the combat effectiveness is greatly improved than the previous "Mirage" aircraft. In March 1978, the first prototype flew for the first time. In 1983, the "Mirage" 2000 was launched. The aircraft began to be equipped with troops. In addition to being equipped with the French Air Force, this aircraft is also exported to Egypt, India, Peru, the United Arab Emirates and Greece.
The modifications of the "Mirage" 2000 are:
< p> "Mirage" 2000C basic type, single-seat air superiority fighter, delivered to the army in 1983"Mirage" 2000B two-seat interceptor and trainer type
"Mirage" 2000E. Single-seater multi-purpose variant.
"Phantom" 2000D two-seater multi-purpose and coach variant.
The "Mirage" 2000N two-seat ground attack aircraft, due to its strengthened structure, can forcibly penetrate defenses and penetrate at an altitude of 60 meters at ultra-low altitude to carry out attacks or carry out nuclear strikes at high subsonic speeds. An aircraft capable of conducting "surgical" surprise attacks deep behind enemy lines, it entered service in February 1987.
Unique
The "Mirage" 2000 is a very unique third-generation fighter. It is the only third-generation fighter that has been put into service without a front Il. Delta-wing aircraft. It can be said that this is a unique third-generation aircraft. France's unique approach to fighter development is not only reflected in the "Mirage" 2000 aircraft, but also in the formation and development of the entire "Mirage" series of aircraft.
From the perspective of France’s economic strength and technological level, there is a considerable gap with the United States; compared with some Western European countries, France does not have an advantage. France has achieved an important position in the field of fighter jet research by relying on its "one-of-a-kind" spirit and insisting on its independence. In the process of developing fighter jets, France's independence is mainly reflected in the following aspects:
First, it adheres to development ideas suitable for national conditions. France is a second-world country that has a gap with the United States in economy and technology. Therefore, it cannot emphasize "new design" and develop fighter jets with various single uses like the United States. Instead, it insists on "gradual change" development and focuses on "one aircraft". "Multiple types" and "One machine with multiple uses". The main fighter jets of the French Air Force, from the "Mirage" III and "Mirage" 2000 series, to the "Rafale" fighter under development before it, have adhered to the "gradual change" development path. The advantages of this development approach are short development cycle and cost savings. It can not only inherit the advantages of the previous stage design, but also make major breakthroughs in one or two key performances. Judging from the development progress and use results of the "Mirage" aircraft series, this approach is successful.
One aircraft has multiple types and functions. It is the "heirloom" of the "Mirage" aircraft, and the "Mirage" 2000 aircraft is no exception. Its basic type is the air superiority fighter 2000C, which can carry out all-weather, full-altitude/all-round, and long-range interception missions; soon it developed the 2000B two-seat training type and the 2000N ground attack type. Recently, it also developed the 2000 with significantly improved air combat capabilities. —Type 5. In addition, some other modified machines are also developed. For a country that is not very economically strong and does not require a large number of equipment, this kind of "multi-purpose" aircraft is more practical, and it is also conducive to exports and competition for foreign users.
The second is to adhere to its own technical characteristics. The aerodynamic layout of the tailless delta wing is an important technical feature of the "Phantom" aircraft. This layout has some inherent shortcomings, so Dassault developed the "Mirage" F.1 fighter with a medium rear-wing layout in the late 1960s. However, the results of use were not ideal, especially after four countries including the Netherlands decided to purchase F-16 instead of F.1. Dassault felt even more painfully that it was unwise to abandon the delta-wing plan.
They see that they can only gain advantage by leveraging their strengths. Therefore, the "Mirage" 2000 aircraft resumed the delta wing layout. At the same time, relying on Dassault's insistence on pre-research, using fly-by-wire control, active control technology, new power units and composite materials, a Mirage 2000 fighter jet with greatly improved combat effectiveness was finally developed. The performance level of the M53 engine it uses is not very high, and its thrust-to-weight ratio is almost one level worse than the Fl00 engine used in the F-16. This is the biggest shortcoming of the "Mirage" 200O aircraft. But Dassault made up for this shortcoming by taking other measures to make its overall performance meet the requirements. Moreover, due to its simple structure, high reliability and easy maintenance, the M53 engine has become one of the most important features that attracts users from third world countries.
The third is to adhere to an independent development path. France's fighter development has always faced many problems: limited economic strength, relatively weak basic industry and basic technology, and the level of some key technologies is obviously lagging behind that of the United States. It should be said that it is quite difficult for it to develop fighter jets on its own, but France has long adhered to the path of independent development of fighter jets "with us as the main priority".
It once purchased the American A-7 aircraft without permission to develop the self-developed "Super Ensign"; it did not purchase the more cost-effective F-16 aircraft, but developed the "Mirage" 2000; it is jointly developing next-generation fighter jets with the United Kingdom and others. At that time, it was difficult to obtain a dominant position in some key projects, so it resolutely withdrew from cooperation and developed the "Rafale" fighter jet on its own. If we analyze it solely from the perspective of technical level, combat effectiveness and economy, France may not necessarily carry out the development of "Rafale" aircraft, because the new modification of the F-16 chip aircraft is likely to replace the "Rafale". The key reason why France insists on developing the Rafale is its determination to adhere to an independent path in the aviation industry and fighter development and to maintain its leading position in Western Europe. For France, this policy is correct and effective.
Technical Features
The "Mirage" 2000 is a fighter with advanced technology and high combat effectiveness. It has the following main technical features.
(1) Aerodynamic design
From a structural point of view, the delta wing layout adopted by the "Mirage" 2000 is an ideal solution. A small aspect ratio is beneficial to reducing the bending moment, and a large root-to-tip ratio brings the aerodynamic center close to the wing root, which can also reduce the bending moment. The large absolute thickness at the wing root not only helps reduce the weight of the wing structure and facilitates manufacturing, but also has high strength. The triangular wing has a large usable volume, making it easy to install fuel, landing gear and various equipment. The delta wing is also attractive from an aerodynamic point of view. It can reduce the blocked resistance, improve the aerodynamic effect and increase the lift.
The traditional delta wing layout also has some inherent shortcomings, mainly poor take-off and landing performance and long rolling distance. In order to solve this problem, a scheme to relax the static stability was adopted. That is, its aerodynamic pressure is carefully close to the center of gravity of the aircraft, which will make the aircraft in an unstable state under certain conditions, and fly-by-wire control is used to solve the control problem of this new scheme. After taking these measures, not only the landing performance of the aircraft is improved, but also the maneuverability of the aircraft is improved.
(2) Structural design
One of the design goals of the "Mirage" 2000 is to increase the proportion of payload to the total weight of the aircraft, which is the so-called improvement of structural efficiency. In order to reduce the structural weight, "Phantom" 2000 widely uses composite materials such as carbon fiber and boron fiber. Components made of composite materials include: rudder, elevons, vertical tail anti-torsion box skin, electronic hatch cover and landing gear door. The weight of composite materials accounts for about 7% of the total weight of the aircraft. "Mirage" 20O0-5 added external contact points under the fuselage to mount "Mika" air-to-air missiles, and also reinforced the structure of certain parts of the fuselage.
(3) Power Plant
"Phantom" 2000 is equipped with an M53 engine. This is the world's only batch-produced single-shaft turbofan engine. Its structure is simple and consists of Composed of 10 replaceable units, easy to maintain. The engine accelerates very well at high-altitude supersonic speeds and low-altitude subsonic speeds; the range of the flight envelope is very wide, from very low flight speeds to the throttle position at M2.2 with no restrictions. The afterburning thrust of the M53-P2 is 95 kN, and the thrust-to-weight ratio is only about 6.5. The "Mirage" 2000-5 may be equipped with an M53-P20 engine with an afterburning thrust of 98.1 kN.
(4) Flight performance
The flight performance of the "Mirage" 2000 is relatively good. Its maximum flight speed is M2.2, and the maximum allowable surface speed of the aircraft without external plug-ins is 1,480 km/h, but the speed during low-altitude flight generally cannot exceed 1,350 km/h. The low-speed performance of the "Mirage" 2000 is very good. Its minimum allowable surface speed in level flight is 190 km/h. At a surface speed of 150 km/h, it still has the ability to control the stick and rudder. Due to the low thrust-to-weight ratio and insufficient thrust of the M53 engine, the horizontal acceleration and climb performance of the Mirage 2000 aircraft are not outstanding. At an altitude of 5,000 meters, it takes 50 seconds to increase the speed from M0.7 to M1.3; at an altitude of 10,000 meters, it takes 184 seconds to increase the speed from M10 to M20. Its maximum climb rate at sea level is 255 meters/second, and at an altitude of 500 meters it is 180 meters/second; the climb rate at high altitude and supersonic speed is higher, up to about 150 meters/second.
The wing load of the "Mirage" 2000 is quite small, with a wing load of only 234 kg/m2 under combat weight conditions. This is the smallest among modern fighter jets, and the available lift is relatively large, so the instantaneous hovering performance is very good.
Its maximum instantaneous hovering angular speed reaches 30 degrees/second, which is very beneficial for attacking enemy aircraft with air-to-air missiles. However, the thrust weight of the aircraft is relatively low, so its stable hovering performance is not very good.
The "Mirage" 2000-5 aircraft has an internal fuel capacity of 3,080 kilograms, and the internal fuel load coefficient (i.e., the proportion of fuel to the total weight of the aircraft) is about 0.28, which is an average level; the fuel consumption of its engine is also It is at a medium level, so its battery life performance is not outstanding. The flight range without plug-ins is 1,650 kilometers, and the maximum transfer range is 3,400 kilometers.
(5) Airborne electronic equipment
The airborne electronic equipment of the "Mirage" 2000 is relatively complete and the technology is relatively advanced. The C-type cockpit is equipped with a head-up display and a downward-looking display. The N-type has made major improvements. The cockpit of the "Mirage" 2000-5 is basically the same as the N-type. The cockpit of the "Mirage" 2000-5 is equipped with a new wide-angle head-up display, a "middle-view display" installed below it, and three downward-looking displays. The functions of these displays can complement each other and help reduce the pilot's workload during combat.
The onboard electronic equipment of the "Mirage" 2000 is cross-linked with a digital multi-channel data bus, which is controlled by an 18-bit, 64K reserve computer. The aircraft is equipped with communication equipment, inertial navigation equipment and radio navigation equipment, which are at the level of the 1980s. The Mirage 2000-5 will also be equipped with an integrated electronic countermeasures system that features threat detection devices cross-linked with active jammers and chaff/red light tracer launchers.
Some export models of the "Mirage" 2000 are equipped with RDM fire control radars, which have better ground-attack functions; Type C is equipped with RDI radars, which are mainly used for air combat and have certain ground-attack functions. "Mirage" 2000-5 uses RDY radar, which has strong air and ground functions, multi-target capabilities and good anti-electronic interference capabilities. In the air-to-air working state, it has a variety of working modes: speed search, ranging while scanning, multi-target search and tracking, air combat assessment, air combat mode, single target tracking, etc. Its maximum detection range is 130 kilometers, it can track up to 8 targets at the same time, and can perform fire control calculations for 4 (some say 6) "Mika" missiles launched at the same time to attack multiple targets at the same time. The RDY radar has strong air-to-ground capabilities, making the Mirage 2000-5 fully suitable for deep attack and close support missions.
(6) Weapons
The "Mirage" 2000 aircraft can carry a wide variety of weapons with large quantities and strong destructive power. The aircraft is equipped with two 30 mm caliber "Defa" 554 aircraft cannons, with a total ammunition reserve of 500 rounds. The rate of fire of this aircraft gun has 2 gears: 1200 rounds/min or 1800 rounds/min; the muzzle velocity of the shells is 815 meters/min. points; effective range 1000 meters. There are 9 external hardpoints on the aircraft (4 under the wings and 5 under the fuselage), with a total external storage capacity of about 6,000 kilograms. A major difference between the Mirage 20O0-5 weapon system and previous models is the mounting of MICA air-to-air missiles. This missile is the world's first fire-and-forget air-to-air missile with a fully interchangeable seeker. It uses strapdown inertial navigation plus active radar or infrared guidance system, and can be used in medium and short-range air combat. The missile is flexible to use, easy to maintain and support, and can deal with a variety of air threats. It is a strong competitor to the U.S. advanced medium-range air-to-air missile AIM-120. The "Mika" missile is 3.1 meters long, weighs 110 kilograms, and has a range of about 50 kilometers when equipped with an active radar seeker. The "Mika" missile is used in conjunction with the RDY radar, making the "Mirage" 2000 aircraft the first European fighter capable of attacking multiple targets simultaneously. When performing air superiority/air defense missions, the "Mirage" 2000-5 can hang 4 "Mika" missiles on the fuselage racks, and 2 "Magic" missiles on the outer wing racks. The remaining racks can be used to receive Auxiliary fuel tanks to perform long-range, long-duration air patrol missions. When performing ground attack missions, the "Mirage" 2000 can be equipped with weapons such as ordinary bombs, cluster bombs, anti-runway bombs, laser-guided bombs and rockets.
(7) Comparison with F-16
"Mirage" 2000 and F-16 are light fighters of the same level. According to the combat results of "Mirage" 2000 and F-16 Comparing the estimated effectiveness index values, the overall combat effectiveness of the two aircraft is roughly the same.
In air combat, the combat effectiveness index of the "Mirage" 2000 is slightly better than that of the F-16; while in ground attack, the "Mirage" 2000 is worse than the F-16. The "Mirage" 2000-5's airborne radar and air-to-air missile warp performance are significantly improved compared to previous models, and its combat effectiveness will inevitably be enhanced.
The "Mirage" 2000 aircraft is equipped with an M53 20,000-pound thrust engine. The fuel capacity of the entire aircraft is as high as more than 8,000 kilometers. The fly-by-wire control system is a four-redundancy configuration, and the radar is an RDI pulse Doppler. All single-seat models are equipped with two 30mm "Defa" 554 cannons, while the two-seat models are not. During air combat, four R550 or Super 530D air-to-air missiles can be mounted externally. The attack height of the latter covers all levels of space from 90 meters to 25,000 meters. There are as many as 9 external hardpoints on the belly of the aircraft, with a total bomb load of up to 13,890 pounds (6,300 kilograms). Its air combat maneuverability is no less than that of the F-16. The attack capability above medium range is better than that of F-16. The Mirage 2000 became the transitional aircraft between Mirage III and Rafale aircraft.
The "Mirage" 2000 is exported to many countries, and the total production is estimated to be 400-500. In addition to the French Air Force, seven countries and regions including Egypt, Taiwan Province of China, and Qatar have ordered and used them. The Taiwanese authorities also use Mirage 2000-5.