:: wikimiki.org ::

IAI Kfir

IAI Kfir

The IAI Kfir (hebrew: כפיר) is an Israeli-built military aircraft based on the French Dassault Mirage 5. Following a French government embargo that prevented Dassault selling Israel the Mirages that they had already paid for, IAI produced an unlicenced copy of this aircraft as the IAI Nesher (possibly with the clandestine support of Dassault - see the article on the Nesher for details of these claims). At the same time, IAI was planning a variant in which the Atar engine was to be replaced with an Israeli-built General Electric J79 engine, the same engine used on the American F-104 Starfighter and F-4 Phantom II fighters. The J79 provided a dry thrust of 49 kN (11,000 lbf) and an afterburning thrust of 83.4 kN (18,750 lbf). The J79 was first fitted to a French-built Mirage III, flying in October 1970. This test aircraft was followed by an improved prototype in June 1973, with the name Raam ("Thunderbolt"). Apparently a number of Mirage III-based J79-powered aircraft were built by IAI under the name Barak ("Lightning") and participated in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, but really making the most of the new engine meant airframe changes. Production deliveries of an optimized J79-powered Mirage derivative, under the name Kfir-C1 ("Lion Cub"), began in April 1975. The Kfir-C1 superficially resembled a Mirage 5, except for a distinctive "ram" air inlet at the front base of the tail to provide added cooling required by the J79 engine. Only 27 Kfir-C1 fighters were delivered, to be replaced by the improved Kfir-C2. The Kfir-C2 had a number of enhancements to traditional Mirage aerodynamics. It featured narrow "strakes" along the tip of the nose; fixed but detachable canards; and an extended "dogtooth" outer wing. The aerodynamic improvements gave the Kfir better combat manoeuvrability, reduced landing and take-off distance, and improved low-speed handling. All but two of the Kfir-C1s were upgraded to the Kfir-C2 configuration. 185 Kfir-C2s were built, including a number of Kfir-TC2 two-seat trainers. The trainer versions are very unusual looking, as they have an extended nose containing avionics displaced by the second seat, and the nose is noticeably drooped to give a reasonable cockpit view. The result is a somewhat comical "big nose" appearance. Final production Kfirs, delivered starting in the mid 1980s, featured nine stores pylons, upgraded avionics, a more powerful engine (J79-GE-J1E) and other refinements, and were designated Kfir-C7 and Kfir-TC7. Ten refurbished Heyl Ha'Avir C2 fighters and two TC2 trainers were supplied to Ecuador in 1983, 13 Kfir-C7s and two TC7 trainers were provided to Colombia in 1987, and 25 of the upgraded Kfir-C1s were leased to the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps to act as F-21A aggressor aircraft for dissimilar air combat training. In 1991, IAI introduced an upgraded Kfir-C2, known as the Nammer ("Tiger"), for the export market. This aircraft had a slightly stretched fuselage; modern avionics, including multifunction displays and "hands on throttle and stick (HOTAS)", controls, and the ability to accommodate either a SNECMA Atar 9K-50 turbojet or a GE/Volvo F404 / RM12 turbofan. Apparently the use of the J79 engine led to American export restrictions on the type that the chafed on the Israelis, so they went to a different engine fit. Along with the usual twin 30 millimetre cannon, the Nammer had nine stores pylons and could carry up to 6.25 tonnes (13,800 pounds) of external stores. It also had provision for in-flight refuelling. Although it seems there were no takers for the Nammer, the aviation press has mentioned that IAI is promoting a Kfir 2000 upgrade, though details are unclear. In any case, as with the Mirage III/5/50 itself, there is still life left in the Kfir.

Specifications

General Characteristics

- Wingspan:8.21 m (26 ft 11.5 in)
- Length:15.65 m (51 ft 4.25 in)
- Height:4.55 m (14 ft 11.5 in)
- Empty weight:7,285 kg (16,060 lb)

Performance

- Max loaded weight:14,670 kg (32,340 lb)
- Maximum speed:2,440 km/h (1,520 mi/h / 1,320 kt)
- Service ceiling:17,700 m (58,000 ft)
- Operational radius:770 km (480 mi / 420 nmi)

Trivia

- The Kfir was featured in the movie Iron Eagle, acting in place of MiG-23 fighters.

External Links

- [http://home.att.net/~jbaugher4/f21.html Israel Aircraft Industries F-21A Kfir] ja:クフィル (戦闘機) Category:Israeli fighter aircraft 1970-1979 Category:Israeli military aircraft

Israeli Aircraft Industries

Israel Aircraft Industries or IAI is Israel's prime aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial systems for both military and civilian usage. It has 14,000 employees as of 2005. In addition to local construction of fighter aircraft, IAI also builds civil aircraft (for Gulfstream, on the G100/G150 and G200) and performs local maintenance of foreign-built fighters. In addition, the company works on a number of missile and avionics systems. Although the IAI main focus is aviation and high-tech electronics, it also manufactures military system for ground and naval forces. Many of these products are specially suited for the Israeli Defence Forces needs, while others are also marketed to foreign armies.

Products

Civilian Air systems

- Arava - medium sized STOL transport aircraft
- Astra/Galaxy Business Jets (now produced for Gulfstream Aerospace as the G100/G200)

Military air systems

- Lavi - an Israeli fighter jet, abandoned due lack of budget
- Kfir - fighter jet, derivative of the French Mirage 5
- UAV - unmanned aerial drones
- Pioneer (with the USA)
- RQ-5 Hunter (with the USA)
- Heron
- Harpy
- Ranger
- Scout
- Searcher
- Skylite - Canister Launched mini-UAV system
- Rafael Python 5 air-to-air missile (together with Rafael)
- Upgrades to F-16 and F-15, and foreign Mig-21 jet fighters
- Upgrades to Sikorsky CH-53 Yas'ur in project "Yas'ur 2000".
- Phalcon air surveillance system

Ground systems

- IDF Caterpillar D9's armor kit
- Nimrod and Lahat anti-tank missiles

Naval systems

- Gabriel (missile) sea-to-sea missile
- Super Dvora Mk-III patrol boat [http://www.iai.co.il/site/en/iai.asp?pi=23048&doc_id=33550]

Aerospace systems

- Amos and Ofeq Satellite series
- Arrow Ballistic Missile defence system

External link

[http://www.iai.co.il/Templates/Homepage/Homepage.aspx?lang=EN] (Israel Aircraft Industries official site) Category:Israeli aircraft manufacturers
-

Dassault Mirage III

The Dassault Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed in France during the 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. It was one of the most successful fighter aircraft ever made, being sold to many air forces around the world and remaining in production for over a decade. Some of the world's smaller air forces still fly Mirage IIIs or variants as front-line equipment today, including Argentina, Chile, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Gabon, Libya, Pakistan, Peru, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

Early development

The Mirage III family grew out of French government studies begun in 1952 that led in early 1953 to a specification for a lightweight, all-weather interceptor capable of climbing to 18,000 m (59,040 ft) in six minutes and able to reach Mach 1.3 in level flight. Dassault's response to the specification was the Mystère-Delta 550, a sporty-looking little jet that was to be powered by twin Armstrong Siddeley MD30R Viper afterburning turbojets, each with thrust of 9.61 kN (2,160 lb_f). A SEPR liquid-fuel rocket motor was to provide additional burst thrust of 14.7 kN (3,300 lb_f). The aircraft had a tailless delta configuration, with a 5% chord (ratio of airfoil thickness to length) and 60 degree sweep. The tailless delta configuration has a number of limitations. The lack of a horizontal stabilizer means flaps cannot be used, resulting in a long take-off run and a high landing speed. The delta wing itself limits maneuverability; and suffers from buffeting at low altitude, due to the large wing area and resulting low wing loading. However, the delta is a simple and pleasing design, easily built and robust, capable of high speed in a straight line, and with plenty of space in the wing for fuel storage. The first prototype of the Mystere-Delta, without afterburning engine or rocket motor and an absurdly large vertical tailfin, flew on 25 June 1955. After some redesign, reduction of the tailfin to more rational size, installation of afterburners and rocket motor, and renaming to Mirage I, the prototype attained Mach 1.3 in level flight without the rocket, and Mach 1.6 with the rocket lit in late 1955. However, the small size of the Mirage I restricted its armament to a single air-to-air missile, and even before this time it had been prudently decided the aircraft was simply too tiny to carry a useful warload. After trials, the Mirage I prototype was eventually scrapped. Dassault then considered a somewhat bigger version, the Mirage II, with a pair of Turbomeca Gabizo turbojets, but no aircraft of this configuration was ever built. The Mirage II was bypassed for a much more ambitious design that was 30% heavier than the Mirage I and was powered by the new SNECMA Atar afterburning turbojet with thrust of 43.2 kN (9,700 lb_f). The Atar was an axial flow turbojet, derived from the German World War II BMW 003 design. The new fighter design was named the Mirage III. It incorporated the new area ruling concept, where changes to the cross section of an aircraft were made as gradual as possible, resulting in the famous "wasp waist" configuration of many supersonic fighters. Like the Mirage I, the Mirage III had provision for a SEPR rocket engine. The prototype Mirage III flew on 17 November 1956, and attained a speed of Mach 1.52 on its seventh flight. The prototype was then fitted with the SEPR rocket engine and with manually-operated intake half-cone shock diffusers, known as souris ("mice"), which were moved forward as speed increased to reduce inlet turbulence. The Mirage III attained a speed of Mach 1.8 in September 1957. The success of the Mirage III prototype resulted in an order for 10 preproduction Mirage IIIAs. These were almost two meters longer than the Mirage III prototype, had a wing with 17.3% more area, a chord reduced to 4.5%, and an Atar 09B turbojet with afterburning thrust of 58.9 kN (13,230 lb_f). The SEPR rocket engine was retained, and the aircraft were fitted with Thompson-CSF Cyrano Ibis air intercept radar, operational avionics, and a drag chute to shorten landing roll. The first Mirage IIIA flew in May 1958, and eventually was clocked at Mach 2.2, making it the first European aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in level flight. The tenth IIIA was rolled out in December 1959. One was fitted with a Rolls-Royce Avon 67 engine with thrust of 71.1 kN (16,000 lb_f) as a test model for Australian evaluation, with the name "Mirage IIIO". This variant flew in February 1961, but the Avon powerplant was not adopted.

Mirage III

Mirage IIIC and Mirage IIIB

The first major production model of the Mirage series, the Mirage IIIC, first flew in October 1960. The IIIC was largely similar to the IIIA, though a little under a half meter longer and brought up to full operational fit. The IIIC was a single-seat interceptor, with an Atar 09B turbojet engine, featuring an "eyelet" style variable exhaust. The Mirage IIIC was armed with twin 30 mm DEFA revolver-type cannon, fitted in the belly with the gun ports under the air intakes. Early Mirage IIIC production had three stores pylons, one under the fuselage and one under each wing, but a second outboard pylon was quickly added to each wing, for a total of five. The outboard pylon was intended to carry a Sidewinder air-to-air missile (AAM), later replaced by Matra Magic. Although provision for the rocket engine was retained, by this time the day of the high-altitude bomber seemed to be over, and the SEPR rocket engine was rarely or never fitted in practice. In the first place, it required removal of the aircraft's cannon, and in the second, apparently it had a reputation for setting the aircraft on fire. The space for the rocket engine was used for additional fuel, and the rocket nozzle was replaced by a ventral fin at first, and an airfield arresting hook assembly later. 95 Mirage IIICs were obtained by the AdA, with initial operational deliveries in July 1961. The Mirage IIIC remained in service with the AdA until 1988. The French Armée de l'Air (AdA) also ordered a two-seat Mirage IIIB operational trainer, which first flew in October 1959. The fuselage was stretched about a meter (3 ft 3.5 in) and both cannon were deleted to accommodate the second seat. The IIIB had no radar, and provision for the SEPR rocket was deleted, although it could carry external stores. The AdA ordered 63 Mirage IIIBs (including the prototpe), including five Mirage IIIB-1 trails aircraft, ten Mirage IIIB-2 inflight refueling trainers with dummy nose probes, used for training Mirage IVA bomber pilots, and 20 Mirage IIIBEs, with the engine and some other features of the multi-role Mirage IIIE. One Mirage IIIB was fitted with a fly-by-wire flight control system in the mid-1970s and redesignated Mirage IIIB-SV (Stabilitie Variable); this aircraft was used as a testbed for the system in the later Mirage 2000.

Mirage IIIE & IIIR

While the Mirage IIIC was being put into production, Dassault was also considering a multirole/strike variant of the aircraft, which eventually materialized as the Mirage IIIE. The first of three prototypes flew on 1 April 1961. The Mirage IIIE differed from the IIIC interceptor most obviously in having a 300 mm (11.8 in) forward fuselage extension to increase the size of the avionics bay behind the cockpit. The stretch also helped increase fuel capacity, as the Mirage IIIC had marginal range and improvements were needed. The stretch was small and hard to notice, but the clue is that the bottom edge of the canopy on a Mirage IIIE ends directly above the top lip of the air intake, while on the IIIC it ends visibly back of the lip. Many Mirage IIIE variants were also fitted with a Marconi continuous-wave Doppler navigation radar radome on the bottom of the fuselage, under the cockpit. However, while no IIICs had this feature, it was not universal on all variants of the IIIE. A similar inconsistent variation in Mirage fighter versions was the presence or absence of an HF antenna that was fitted as a forward extension to the vertical tailplane. On some Mirages, the leading edge of the tailplane was a straight line, while on those with the HF antenna the leading edge had a sloping extension forward. The extension appears to have been generally standard on production Mirage IIIAs and Mirage IIICs, but only appeared in some of the export versions of the Mirage IIIE. The IIIE featured Thompson-CSF Cyrano II dual mode air / ground radar; a radar warning receiver (RWR) system with the antennas mounted in the vertical tailplane; and an Atar 09C engine, with a petal-style variable exhaust. The first production Mirage IIIE was delivered to the AdA in January 1964, and a total of 192 were eventually delivered to that service. Total production of the Mirage IIIE, including exports, was substantially larger than that of the Mirage IIIC, including exports, totaling 523 aircraft. In the mid-1960s one Mirage IIIE was fitted with the improved SNECMA Atar 09K-6 turbojet for trials, and given the confusing designation of Mirage IIIC2.

Mirage IIIR

A number of reconnaissance variants were built under the general designation of Mirage IIIR. These aircraft had a Mirage IIIE airframe; Mirage IIIC avionics; a camera nose and unsurprisingly no radar; and retained the twin DEFA cannon and external stores capability. The camera nose accommodated up to five OMERA cameras. The AdA obtained 50 production Mirage IIIRs, not including two prototypes. Interestingly, the Mirage IIIR preceded the Mirage IIIE in operational introduction. The AdA also obtained 20 improved Mirage IIIRD reconnaissance variants, essentially a Mirage IIIR with an extra panoramic camera in the most forward nose position, and the Doppler radar and other avionics from the Mirage IIIE.

Exports and License Production

The Mirage IIIC was exported to Israel as the Mirage IIICJ, to South Africa as the Mirage IIICZ, and to Switzerland as the Mirage IIICS, to which one was sold in preparation for license construction. Some export customers obtained the Mirage IIIB, with designations only changed to provide a country code. Such as the Mirage IIIDA for Argentina, Mirage IIIDBR for Brazil. Mirage IIIBJ for Israel, Mirage IIIDL for Lebanon, Mirage IIIDP for Pakistan, Mirage IIIBZ and Mirage IIIDZ for South Africa, Mirage IIIDE for Spain, Mirage IIIBS and Mirage IIIDS for Switzerland, Mirgae IIIDV for Venezuela. After the outstanding Israeli success with the Mirage IIICJ, scoring kills against Syrian Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17s and MiG-21 aircraft and then achieving a formidable victory against Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in the Six-Day War of June 1967, the Mirage III's reputation was greatly enhanced. The "combat-proven" image and low cost made it a popular export success. A good number of IIIEs were built for export as well, being purchased in small quantities by Argentina as the Mirage IIIEA, Brazil as the Mirage IIIEBR, Lebanon as the Mirage IIIEL, Pakistan as the Mirage IIIEP, South Africa as the Mirage IIIEZ, Spain as the Mirage IIIEE, and Venezuela as the Mirage IIIEV, with a list of subvariant designations, with minor variations in equipment fit. Dassault believed the customer was always right, and was happy to accommodate changes in equipment fit as customer needs and budget required. Pakistani Mirage 5PA3, for example, were fitted with Thompson-CSF Agave radar with capability of guiding the Exocet anti-ship missile. Some customers obtained the two-seat Mirage IIIBE under the general designation Mirage IIID, though the trainers were generally similar to the Mirage IIIBE except for minor changes in equipment fit. In some cases they were identical, since two surplus AdA Mirage IIIBEs were sold to Brazil under the designation Mirage IIIBBR, and three were similarly sold to Egypt under the designation Mirage 5SDD. New-build exports of this type included aircraft sold to Abu Dhabi, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Gabon, Libya, Pakistan, Peru, Spain, Switzerland, Venezuela, and Zaire. Australian and Belgian aircraft were locally assembled. Export versions of the Mirage IIIR were built for Pakistan as the Mirage IIIRP, South Africa as the Mirage IIIRZ, and Mirage IIIR2Z with an Atar 9K-50 jet engine, and for Switzerland. The Swiss only bought one, designated Mirage IIIRS, as a prelude to license manufacture, and built 17 more. Like the Mirage IIIS, Switzerland's Mirage IIIRS aircraft were later upgraded to feature fixed canards and new avionics. Export versions of the IIIR recce aircraft were purchased by Abu Dhabi, Belgium, Colombia, Egypt, Libya, Pakistan, and South Africa. Some export Mirage IIIRDs were fitted with British Vinten cameras, not OMERA cameras. Most of the Belgian aircraft were built locally. The Mirage IIIE was also built under license in Australia and Switzerland. While the Avon-powered Mirage IIIO built for the Australians didn't work out, the Australians did become interested in producing their own Mirage IIIEs, retaining the designation Mirage IIIO, sometimes informally rendered as the "III-Oz". The production Mirage IIIO retained the SNECMA Atar engine, the major difference between the IIIE and the IIIO being avionics fit. The Australians actually produced two variants: the Mirage IIIO(F), which was optimized as an interceptor, and the Mirage IIIO(A), which was optimized for the attack role. Dassault produced the first two sample IIIO(F) aircraft, with the first flying in March 1963. The Australian Government Aircraft Factory and Commonwealth Aircraft went on to complete 48 more IIIO(F) fighters and 50 IIIO(A) strike aircraft. All the surviving Mirage IIIO(F) aircraft were converted to IIIO(A) standard between 1967 and 1979. The Mirage was finally withdrawn from Australian service in 1988, and 50 surviving examples were sold to Pakistan in 1990. As mentioned, the Swiss acquired a single Mirage IIIC for tests, and then went on to produce 36 Mirage IIIS interceptors, with strengthened wings, airframe, and undercarriage (The Swiss air force needs performances comparable to those of embarked carrier planes). Avionics differed as well, with the most prominent difference being that the Thompson-CSF Cyrano II radar was replaced by Hughes TARAN-18 system, giving the Mirage IIIS compatibility with the Hughes AIM-4 Falcon AAM. In the early 1990s, the 30 surviving Swiss Mirage IIIS interceptors were put through an upgrade program, which included fitting them with fixed canards and updated avionics. Exports of later variants would also feature such modified designations, though there would be elaborations that could be very confusing. A summary list of exports is provided later in this document. ----

Specifications (Mirage IIIE)

- Length: 15 m (49 ft 3.5 in)
- Wingspan: 8.22 m (26 ft 11 in)
- Height: 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in)
- Wing area: 34.85 m² (375 ft²)
- Empty weight: 7,050 kg (15,600 lb)
- Maximum takeoff weight: 13,500 kg (29,700 lb)
- Powerplant: One SNECMA Atar 09C turbojet
- Thrust: 60.8 kN (13,700 lbf) with afterburner
- Maximum speed: 2,350 km/h (1,460 mph, Mach 2.2)
- Range: 2,400 km (1,490 mi)
- Service ceiling: 17,000 m (55,800 ft)
- Rate of climb: 5,000 m/min (16,400 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 387 kg/m² (79 lb/ft²)
- Thrust-to-weight ratio: 0.46:1
- Armament:
- Two 30 mm DEFA 552 cannon with 125 rounds each
- One centerline and four underwing pylons for 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) of stores. Initial interceptor armament was one Matra R530 and two AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles (later replaced by Matra Magic R550). Besides general-purpose bombs, a customary typical ground-attack store was the Matra JL-100 drop tank/rocket pack, each containing 19 SNEB 68 mm rockets and 250 liters (66 U.S. gallons) of fuel. Some models equipped to fire AM-39 Exocet anti-ship missile; French AdA IIIEs (through 1991 equipped for AN-52 nuclear bomb). ----

Mirage 5 / Milan / Mirage 50 / Mirage 3NG

The next major variant, the Mirage 5, grew out of a request to Dassault from the Israeli Air Force. Since the weather over the Middle East is clear and sunny most of the time, the Israelis suggested deleting avionics normally stored behind the cockpit from the standard Mirage IIIE to reduce cost and maintenance, and replacing the lost avionics with more fuel storage for the attack mission. In September 1966, the Israelis placed an order for 50 examples of the new aircraft. The first Mirage 5 flew on 19 May 1967. It looked much like the Mirage III, except it had a long slender nose that extended the aircraft's length by about half a metre, and made it arguably the most elegant of the Mirage delta series. A pitot tube was distinctively moved from the tip of the nose to below the nose in the majority of Mirage 5 variants. The Mirage 5 retained the IIIE's twin DEFA guns, but added two additional pylons, for a total of seven. Maximum warload was 4,000 kg (8,800 lb). Provision for the SEPR rocket engine was deleted. Rising tensions in the Middle East led French President Charles de Gaulle to embargo the Israeli Mirage 5s on 3 June 1967. This measure did no good, as the Israelis started the war anyway two days later. The Mirages continued to roll off the production line, even though they were embargoed, and by 1968 the batch was complete and the Israelis had provided final payments. In late 1969, the Israelis, who had pilots in France testing the aircraft, requested that the aircraft be transferred to Corsica, in theory to allow them to continue flight training during the winter. The French government became suspicious when the Israelis also tried to obtain long-range fuel tanks and cancelled the move. The Israelis finally gave up trying to get the aircraft and accepted a refund. The 50 aircraft built for the Israelis eventually found their way into the hands of the AdA as Mirage 5Fs. Like the Mirage IIIE, the Mirage 5 was popular with export customers, with different export variants fitted with a wide range of different avionics. While the Mirage 5 had been originally oriented to the clear-weather attack role, with some avionic fits it was refocused to the air-combat mission. As electronic systems became more compact and powerful, it was possible to provide the Mirage 5 with increased capability, even though the rear avionics bay had been deleted. Reconnaissance and two-seat versions of the Mirage 5 were sold, with the designation Mirage 5R, and Mirage 5D respectively. However, a little consideration of the differences between a Mirage III and a Mirage 5 quickly shows that these designations were simply for marketing purposes. There was no clear dividing line between the configuration of a Mirage III reconnaissance or trainer version and that of a Mirage 5 equivalent, and in fact they were one and the same in many cases. The Mirage 5 was sold to Abu Dhabi, Belgium, Colombia, Egypt, Gabon, Libya, Pakistan, Peru, Venezuela, and Zaire, with the usual list of subvariant designations and variations in kit. The Belgian aircraft were fitted with mostly US avionics, and Egyptian aircraft fitted with the MS2 attack avionics system from the Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet. The Israelis also built their own copy of the Mirage 5, under the name IAI Nesher (q.v.). Some Neshers were supplied to Argentina. The Argentines took heavy losses in their Mirage and Nesher fleet during the Falklands War in 1982, and as a measure of solidarity the Peruvians transferred ten of their Mirage 5s to Argentina to help make good their losses. A total of 531 Mirage 5s were built, not counting Israeli Nesher production. In 1968 Dassault, in cooperation with the Swiss, began work on a Mirage update known as the Milan ("Kite"). The main feature of the Milan was a pair of pop-out foreplanes in the nose, which were referred to as "moustaches". The moustaches were intended to provide better take-off performance and low-speed control for the attack role. The three initial prototypes were converted from existing Mirage fighters and had non-retractable moustaches. One of these prototypes was nicknamed "Asterix", after the internationally popular French cartoon character, a tough little Gallic warrior with a huge moustache. A fully equipped prototype rebuilt from a Mirage IIIR flew in May 1970, and was powered by the uprated SNECMA Atar 09K-50 engine, with 70.6 kN (15,900 lb_f) afterburning thrust, following the evaluation of an earlier model of this new series on the one-off Mirage IIIC2. The Milan also had updated avionics, including a laser designator and rangefinder in the nose. A second fully equipped prototype was produced for Swiss evaluation as the Milan S. The moustaches did provide significant handling benefits, but they had drawbacks. They blocked the pilot's forward view to an extent, and set up turbulence in the engine intakes. The Milan concept was abandoned in 1972, while work continued on achieving the same goals with canards. The Atar 09K-50 engine, however, was still a good idea, and fit of this engine led to the next Mirage variant, the Mirage 50, during the 1970s. The uprated engine gave the Mirage 50 better take-off and climb characteristics than its predecessors. While the Mirage 50 also incorporated new avionics, such as a Cyrano IV radar system, it did not prove popular in export sales, as the first-generation Mirage series was becoming obsolescent. Chile ordered a quantity of Mirage 50s, receiving both new production as well as updated Armee de l'Air Mirage 5s. In 1990, Dassault also upgraded a batch of Venezuelan Mirage IIIEs and 5s to the Mirage 50 spec, with the upgrades designated Mirage 50M. Following the development of the Mirage 50, Dassault had experimented with yet another derivative of the original Mirage series, named the Mirage 3NG (Nouvelle Generation)". Like the Milan and Mirage 50, the 3NG was powered by the Atar 9K-50 engine. The prototype, a conversion of a Mirage IIIR, flew in December 1982. The 3NG had a modified delta wing with leading-edge root extensions, plus a pair of fixed canards fitted above and behind the air intakes. The canards provided a degree of turbulent airflow over the wing to make the aircraft more unstable and so more manoeuvrable. Avionics were completely modernized, leveraging off the development effort for the next-generation Mirage 2000 fighter. The Mirage 3NG used a fly-by-wire system to allow control over the aircraft's instabilities, and featured an advanced nav/attack system; new multimode radar; and a laser rangefinder system. The uprated engine and aerodynamics gave the Mirage 3NG impressive performance. The type never went into production, but to an extent the 3NG was a demonstrator for various technologies that could be and were featured in upgrades to existing Mirage IIIs and Mirage Vs. Enhancements derived from the 3NG were incorporated into Brazilian Mirage IIIEs following 1989, as well as into four ex-Armée de l'Air Mirage IIIEs that were transferred to Brazil in 1988. In 1989 Dassault offered a similar upgrade refit of ex-AdA Mirage IIIEs under the designation Mirage IIIEX, featuring canards, a fixed in-flight refueling probe, a longer nose, new avionics, and other refinements. A total of 1,422 Mirage III/5/50 aircraft of all types were built by Dassault. There were a few unbuilt variants:
- A Mirage IIIK that was powered by a Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan was offered to the British Royal Air Force.
- The Mirage IIIM was a carrier-based variant, with catapult spool and arresting hook, for operation with the French Aéronavale.
- The Mirage IIIW was a lightweight fighter version, proposed for a US competition, with Dassault partnered with Boeing. The aircraft would have been produced by Boeing, but it lost to the Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter.

Balzac / Mirage IIIV

One of the most interesting offshoots of the Mirage III/5/50 fighter family tree was the Mirage IIIV vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fighter. ("IIIV" is read "three-vee," not "three-five"). This aircraft featured eight small vertical lift jets straddling the main engine. The Mirage IIIV was built in response to a mid-1960s NATO specification for a VTOL strike fighter. To test the lift-engine concept, Dassault modified the first Mirage III prototype. Eight Rolls-Royce RB-108 lift engines were added, each with a thrust of 9.6 kN (2160 lbf). It made its first hover flights in October 1962, with its first transition from vertical to horizontal flight in March 1963. The name was not actually given to the aircraft in honour of the French literary figure. As the machine was the first Mirage III, it was serial-numbered "001", and at the time there was a French movie advertising agency (Publicité Jean Mineur) that widely publicised its phone number, "BALZAC 0-0-1". The Balzac crashed in January 1964. The pilot was killed, but the aircraft was repaired, only to crash in September 1965 and be permanently destroyed, killing another pilot in the process. In the meantime, the Balzac had led to the Mirage IIIV, which was twice as big. Two prototypes were built. The first Mirage IIIV performed its first hovering trial in February 1965. The IIIV had the general layout of earlier Mirage fighters, but it was longer and had a bigger wing, and, like the Balzac, nine engines: a single SNECMA-modified Pratt & Whitney JTF10 turbofan, designated TF104, with thrust of 61.8 kN (13,900 lb_f), and eight Rolls-Royce RB162-1 engines, each with thrust of 15.7 kN (3,525 lb_f), mounted vertically in pairs around the centreline. The TF-104 was originally evaluated on a special-built trials machine, the Mirage IIIT, which was much like a Mirage IIIC except for the change in engine fit. The TF104 engine was quickly replaced by an uprated TF106 engine, with thrust of 74.5 kN (16,750 lb_f), before the first prototype made its initial transition to forward flight in March 1966. It later attained Mach 1.32 in test flights. The second prototype featured a TF30 turbofan for forward thrust of 82.4 kN (18,500 lb_f), and first flew in June 1966. In September of that year, it attained Mach 2.04 in level flight, but was lost in an accident on 28 November 1966. The loss of the second prototype effectively killed the program, and in fact killed any prospect of an operational Mach 2 vertical take-off fighter for decades. The British had been proceeding on design work towards the Hawker P.1154, a supersonic follow-on to the "Kestrel" experimental VTOL fighter then flying, but the French preferred the Mirage IIIV, and the international cooperation needed to make the P.1154 a reality never materialized. The British cancelled the P.1154 and used some of its design features to come up with an operational vertical take-off fighter based on the Kestrel, the highly successful British Aerospace Harrier. The Mirage IIIV was never a realistic combat aircraft. The eight lift engines would likely have been a maintenance nightmare, and certainly their weight imposed a severe range and payload penalty on the aircraft. Apparently the program was all but dead even before the loss of the second prototype. A piece of the technology of the IIIV was re-used in the extremely successful Mirage IIIF, later Mirage F1. The cockpit and ancillary electronics found a home in what has become one the most successful French interceptors after the illustrious Mirage III.

Mirage III/5/50 users summary

This section provides a quick summary list of Mirage III/5/50s obtained by different air arms. This should be regarded as an approximate list, as guaranteeing these numbers would be a major and difficult task. The key "1S" indicates a single-seat Mirage fighter, while "2S" indicates a two-seat Mirage, and "PR" indicates a photoreconnaissance machine.
- Abu Dhabi
- 1S: 12 5AD + 5 EAD
- 2S: 3 5DAD
- PR: 5 RAD
- Argentina
- 1S: 19 IIICJ + 17 IIIEA + 10 5P
- 2S: 3 IIIBJ + 4 IIIDA
- Plus 35 IAI 1S Dagger-A & 2S Dagger-B.
- IIICJs & IIIBJs were ex-Israeli, 5Ps were ex-Peruvian.
- Australia
- 1S: 49 IIIO(F) + 51 IIIO(A)
- 2S: 16 IIID
- Most built locally, all now out of service.
- Belgium
- 1S: 63 5BA
- 2S: 16 5BD
- PR: 27 5BR
- Minor upgrade performed on survivors in early 1990s, but all were then retired.
- Brazil
- 1S: 16 IIIEBR + 4 IIIEBR-2
- 2S: 6 IIIDBR + 2 IIIDBR-2
- 2 IIIDBR, all IIDBR-2 & IIIEBR-2 were ex-AdA.
- Many assembled locally. Survivors upgraded with canards and so on in early 1990s.
- Chile
- 1S: 6 50C + 8 50FC
- 2S: 3 50DC
- 50FC were upgraded by Dassault from AdA 5Fs. Chilean survivors mostly updated to Pantera standard.
- Colombia
- 1S: 14 5COA
- 2S: 2 5COD
- PR: 2 5COR
- Plus 12 IAI Kfir-C2 & 1 Kfir TC7. Most Colombian Mirages upgraded in early 1990s to improved Kfir standard.
- Egypt
- 1S: 54 5SDE + 16 5E2
- 2S: 6 5SDD
- PR: 6 5SDR
- France
- 1S: 95 IIIC + 183 IIIE + 58 5F
- 2S: 27 IIIB + 5 IIIB1 + 10 IIIB2(RV) + 20 IIIBE
- PR: 50 IIIR + 20 IIIRD
- Gabon
- 1S: 3 5G + 2 5G-2
- 2S: 4 5DG
- Two surviving 5Gs were updated to 5G-2 spec.
- Israel
- 1S: 72 IIICJ
- 2S: 5 IIIBJ
- IAI built 61 Nesher / Daggers, with 51 single-seaters and 10 two-seat Nesher-Ts; and 212 Kfirs, with 40 early Kfir-1s (many updated to Kfir-C1 spec), about 12 Kifr-TC2 trainers, and the rest Kfir-C2s. Confusing pattern of upgrades to Kfir-C7 and Kfir-TC7.
- Lebanon
- 1S: 10 IIIEL
- 2S: 2 IIIBL
- All out of service.
- Libya
- 1S: 53 5D + 32 5DE
- 2S: 15 5DD
- PR: 10 5DR
- Most or all out of service.
- Pakistan
- 1S: 18 IIIEP + 43 III(0) + 28 5PA + 28 5PA2 + 12 5PA3
- 2S: 5 IIIDP + 7 IIID + 2 5DPA2
- PR: 13 IIIRP
- The III(0) and IIIDs were ex-Australian and locally refurbished.
- Note : - At the moment Pakistan is the Largest operator of Mirage III aircraft.For further info See the Mirage in PAF
- Peru
- 1S: 22 5P + 10 5P3 + 2 5P4
- 2S: 4 5DP + 2 5DP3
- Some upgraded.
- South Africa
- 1S: 16 IIICZ + 17 IIIEZ
- 2S: 3 IIIBZ + 3 IIIDZ + 11 IIID2Z
- PR: 4 IIIRZ + 4 IIIR2Z
- All out of service, some having been upgraded to Cheetah standard. There were about 16 Cheetah E conversions (all out of service); 38 Cheetah C conversions; 16 Cheetah D conversions; and one Cheetah R conversion (scrapped).
- Spain
- 1S: 24 IIIEE
- 2S: 6 IIIDE
- Withdrawn from service in early 1990s.
- Switzerland
- 1S: 1 IIICS + 36 IIIS
- 2S: 4 IIIBS + 2 IIIDS
- PR: 18 IIIRS
- Most built locally, many upgraded with canards, optics etc. Withdrawn from service in 2003.
- Venezuela
- 1S: 7 IIIEV + 6 5V + 9 50EV
- 2S: 3 IIIDV + 1 50DV
- Survivors mostly updated to 50 standard.
- Zaire / Democratic Republic of the Congo
- 1S: 8 5M
- 2S: 3 5DM
- All out of service.

Sources

- The Complete Book Of Fighters, by William Green and Gordon Swanborough, Smithmark Books, 1994. This provided the original seed for this document.
- VTOL Military Research Aircraft, by Mike Rogers, Haynes Publishing, 1989. This fascinating book gave some useful details on the Balzac and Mirage IIIV vertical take-off variants of the Mirage.
- The Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft, edited by David Donald & Jon Lake, Barnes & Noble, 2000.
- "Mirage III/5/50 Variant Briefing", by Paul Jackson, World Air Power Journal, volumes 14, 15, and 16.
- "Atlas Cheetah" by Jon Lake, World Air Power Journal, Volume 27 / Winter 1996, 42:53.
- "Armscor" : Film by Armscor, SABC and Leephy Atlejees, public broadcast SABC Television. 1972, rebroadcast 1982, 1984.
- "Cheetah : Fighter Technologies" in Archimedes Vol. 12 : June 1987. ----

IAI Nesher

The IAI Nesher is an Israeli-built multi-role fighter aircraft based on the French Dassault Mirage V. Some were sold to the Argentine Air Force and renamed Dagger. Dassault had developed the Mirage V at the request of the Israelis, who were the main foreign customers of the Mirage III. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) wanted the next version to have less all-weather capability in exchange for improved ordnance carrying capacity and range as the weather in the Middle East is mostly clear. The French government arms embargo on Israel (on the eve of the Six Day War and afterwards) prevented the first 50 Mirage 5 aircraft (which were already paid for by Israel) from being delivered and cut off support for the existing Mirage IIICJ fleet. The Israelis simply proceeded to produce a copy of the Mirage 5 themselves without a license, using manufacturing specs obtained by Israeli intelligence. There is an elaborate cloak-and-dagger story behind this exercise that doesn't quite eliminate the suspicion that the Israelis were discreetly helped by Dassault in this effort, with the French government turning a blind eye to the whole matter. These suspicions seem to have a sound basis in fact. Marcel Dassault, before the war, was Marcel Bloch, producer of the Bloch series of fighters before the German occupation. As a Jew, he naturally suffered the persecution the Nazis were exposing all of Europe to, and Bloch was sent from camp to camp through the war. He narrowly escaped death in Auschwitz, by some accounts escaping death by a matter of hours as the American expeditionary forces entered the gates of the camp. He returned to France as soon as he was able, and re-established his aircraft company. Being of Jewish extraction, he therefore was happy to take a lead in France's contributions of armaments to the new state of Israel. The sudden refusal of the French government to provide the Mirage 5, especially after the notable success of the Israeli piloted Mirage III squadrons in the Six Day War, may have prompted Dassault to make his gift to Israel in the form of the Mirage V's complete blueprint set, minus that of the Atar engine. (These events have been described semi-fictitiously in the novel Mirage by James Follett) The Nesher ("Eagle") was a complete copy of the Mirage 5, except for the use of some Israeli avionics, a Martin-Baker zero-zero ejector seat, and provisions for a wider range of AAMs, including the Israeli Shafrir heat-seeking missile. The first Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) Nesher prototype flew in September 1969, with production deliveries to the Heyl Ha'Avir beginning in 1972. These aircraft performed well during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, claiming over a hundred kills. 51 Nesher fighters and 10 Nesher two-seat trainers were built in all. As mentioned earlier, most of these aircraft were refurbished and exported to Argentina in 1978-1982, under the name "Dagger". The Argentineans received 35 "Dagger A" single-seat fighters and 4 "Dagger B" two-seat trainers. Six Daggers were shot down during the Falklands War by Fleet Air Arm Sea Harriers Nesher production was terminated to make way for an improved Mirage derivative that had been in planning in parallel, in which the Atar engine was to be replaced with an Israeli-built General Electric J79 engine, the same engine used on the American F-104 Starfighter and F-4 Phantom II fighters. The result would be the IAI Kfir. Category:Israeli fighter aircraft 1960-1969 Category:Israeli military aircraft

F-104 Starfighter

Lockheed F-104G Starfighter
300px
Description
Role	Multi-role fighter aircraft
Crew	one
Powerplant
1x General Electric J79-GE-11A turbojet
Thrust	48 kN (10,000 lbf) dry, 69 kN (15,600 lbf) in afterburner
Dimensions
Length	16.66 m	54 ft 8 in
Wingspan	6.36 m	21 ft 9 in
Height	4.09 m	13 ft 6 in
Wing area	18.22 m²	196.1 ft²
Weights
Empty	6,350 kg	14,000 lb
Loaded	9,365 kg	20,640 lb
Maximum take-off	13,170 kg	29,027 lb
Performance
Maximum speed	2,125 km/h	1,328 mph
Combat radius	672 km	420 mi
Ferry range	2,600 km	1,630 mi
Service ceiling	15,240 m	50,000 ft
Rate of climb	14,630 m/min	48,000 ft/min
Wing loading	514 kg/m²	105 lb/ft²
Thrust-to-weight ratio	0.76 lbf/lb
Armament
Cannons	1x 20mm M61 Vulcan with 725 rounds
Missiles	4x AIM-9 Sidewinder
Bombs	1814 kg (4,000 lb) of bombs, rockets, or other stores on seven hardpoints
285px

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a high-performance supersonic interceptor aircraft, capable of high speeds and climb rates. The Starfighter entered service with the US Air Force in 1958, but dissatisfaction with the aircraft's range, load-carrying ability, and equipment led to it being phased out in 1967. However, in a heavily modified form, the Starfighter sold well abroad, particularly to the air forces of Germany, Canada and Italy, where high-speed fighter-bomber versions continued in service until the mid 1980s (and, in the case of the Italian Air Force, until 2004). The Starfighter also gained an unenviable reputation for being a challenging aircraft to fly, with high accident loss rates in German service with many pilots killed.

History

In 1951 "Kelly" Johnson, chief engineer at Lockheed's Skunk Works, visited Korea in December 1951 and talked to fighter pilots about what sort of plane they wanted. At the time the US pilots were meeting the MiG-15 in their F-86s, and many of the American pilots felt that the MiGs were superior to the larger and more complex American design. The pilots requested a small and simple aircraft with excellent performance. On his return to the US, Johnson immediately started the design of just such an aircraft. In March his team was assembled, and they studied several aircraft designs, ranging from small designs at 8,000 lb (3.6 t), to fairly large ones at 50,000 lb (23 t). In November 1952, a follow-on study started, the lessons learned from the earlier designs being used to eventually result in the Lockheed L-246, of about 12,000 lb (5.4 t). The L-246 remained essentially identical to the Starfighter, as eventually delivered. The design was presented to the Air Force in November 1952, and they were interested enough to create a new proposal and to invite several companies to participate. Three additional designs were received: the Republic AP-55, an improved version of its prototype XF-91 Thunderceptor, the North American NA-212 which would eventually evolve into the F-107, and the Northrop N-102 Fang, a new General Electric J-79-powered design. Although all were interesting, Lockheed had an insurmountable lead, and was granted a development contract in March 1953. Work progressed quickly, with a mock-up ready for inspection at the end of April, and work starting on two prototypes late in May. At the time, the J-79 engine was not ready; so, both prototypes were designed to use the Wright J-65 engine instead, a licensed version of the Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire. The first prototype was completed by early 1954, and started flying in March. The total time from design to flying was about two years, a very short time even then, and unheard of today, when ten to fifteen years is more typical.

Design

In order to achieve the desired performance, Lockheed chose a minimalist approach: a design that would achieve high performance by wrapping the lightest, most aerodynamically efficient airframe possible around a single powerful engine. The emphasis was on minimizing drag and mass.

Wing and fuselage

The wing design was radical. Most jet fighters of the period (and to this day) used a swept-wing or delta-wing planform. This allowed a reasonable balance between aerodynamic performance, lift, and internal space for fuel and equipment. Lockheed's tests, however, determined that the most efficient shape for high-speed, supersonic flight was a very small, straight, mid-mounted, trapezoidal wing. The wing was extremely thin, with a thickness-to-chord ratio of only 3.36%. Its aspect ratio was 2.45. The wing's leading edges were so thin (0.016 in / 0.41 mm) and so sharp that they presented a hazard to ground crews, and protective guards had to be installed during ground operations. The thinness of the wings meant that fuel tanks and landing gear had to be contained in the fuselage. Equally the motors to drive to the control surfaces had to be only one inch (25 mm) thick to fit. The stabilator (horizontal tail surface) was mounted atop the fin to reduce inertia coupling. Because the vertical tailfin was only slightly shorter than the length of each wing and nearly as aerodynamically effective, it could act as a wing on rudder application (a phenomenon known as Dutch roll). To offset this effect, the wings were canted downward, given 10° anhedral. The wings had both leading- and trailing-edge flaps. Later Starfighter marks incorporated a system that allowed the flaps to be extended during combat maneuvering, reducing turn radius and generally improving sustained turn rate. The combination provided extremely low drag except at high angle of attack (alpha), at which point induced drag became very high. As a result the Starfighter had superb acceleration, rate of climb, and potential top speed, but its sustained turn performance was very poor, described by some as more like a milk truck than a fighter. It was sensitive to control input, and extremely unforgiving of pilot error. The small, highly-loaded wing resulted in an unacceptably high take-off and landing speed, so a boundary layer control system (BLCS) of blown flaps was incorporated, bleeding engine air over the trailing edge flaps to improve their lift. The system was a boon to safe landings, although it proved to be a maintenance problem in service, and landing without the BLCS could be harrowing. The Starfighter's fuselage had a high fineness ratio, i.e., tapering sharply towards the nose, and small frontal area. The fuselage was tightly packed, containing the radar, cockpit, cannon, all fuel, landing gear, and engine. Several two-seat training versions of the Starfighter were produced. They were generally similar to the comparable single-seater, but the additional cockpit required the deletion of the cannon and some internal fuel. Two-seaters are combat-capable, and, despite a slightly larger vertical fin and increased weight, have similar performance to the single-seater.

Engine

The F-104 was built around the General Electric J79 turbojet engine, fed by side-mounted intakes with fixed inlet scoops and a conical ramp optimized for supersonic speeds. (Unlike some supersonic aircraft, the F-104 does not have variable-geometry inlets.) Its thrust-to-drag ratio was superb, allowing a maximum speed well in excess of Mach 2: the top speed of the Starfighter is limited more by the aluminum structure and the temperature limits of the engine than by thrust or drag (which gives an aerodynamic maximum speed of Mach 2.2). Later models used uprated marks of the J79, improving thrust by almost 20%.

Equipment and armament

Early Starfighters used a downward-firing ejection seat (the Lockheed C-1), out of concern over the ability of an upward-firing seat to clear the tailplane. This presented obvious problems in low-altitude escapes, and some 21 USAF pilots failed to escape their stricken aircraft in low-level emergencies because of it. The downward-firing seat was soon replaced by a Lockheed C-2 upward-firing seat, which was capable of clearing the tail, although it still had a minimum speed limitation of 90 knots (170 km/h). Most export Starfighters were fitted with Martin-Baker ejection seats with zero/zero (zero altitude, zero airspeed) capability, which no doubt was comforting to pilots. The initial USAF Starfighters had basic AN/ASG-14T ranging radar, TACAN, and radio. The later international fighter-bomber aircraft had much more advanced Aeroneutics NASARR radar, a simple infrared sight, Litton LN-3 inertial navigation system, and an air data computer. In the late 1960s the Italian Air Force developed a more advanced version of the Starfighter, the F-104S, for use as an all-weather interceptor. The F-104S received a NASAAR R21-G with moving-target indicator (for some ability against low-level targets) and a continuous-wave illuminator for semi-active radar homing missiles, including AIM-7 Sparrow and Selenia Aspide. The missile-guidance avionics forced the deletion of the Starfighter's internal cannon. In the mid-1980s surviving F-104S aircraft were updated to ASA standard (Aggiornamento Sistemi d'Arma, or Weapon Systems Update), with a much improved, more compact Fiat R21G/M1 radar. Basic armament of the F-104 was the M61 Vulcan 20 mm Gatling gun. The Starfighter was the first aircraft to carry the new weapon, which had a phenomenal rate of fire of 6,000 rounds per minute. The cannon, mounted in the lower part of the port fuselage, is fed by a 725-round drum behind the pilot's seat. It was deleted in two-seat models and some single-seaters (the gun bay and ammunition tank could be replaced by an additional fuel tank). Two AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles can be carried on the wingtip stations, which can alternately be used for fuel tanks or other stores. F-104C and later models added a centerline pylon and two underwing pylons under each wing for bombs, nuclear weapons, rocket pods, or tanks. The centerline pylon could carry a "catamaran" launcher for two additional Sidewinders, although the installation had minimal ground clearance and made the seeker heads of the missiles vulnerable to ground debris. The F-104S and some F-104G and F-104J models added a pair of fuselage pylons beneath the intakes, usually used for Sidewinders (providing better ground clearance than the catamaran launcher and leaving the centerline available for other stores). The Italian F-104S also added an additional pylon under each wing, for a maximum of nine. The F-104S was cleared for a higher maximum take-off weight, allowing it to carry up to 7,500 lb (3,400 kg) of stores; other Starfighters had a maximum external load of 4,000 lb (1,814 kg). nuclear weapon

Pilot impressions

The Starfighter is generally considered a rewarding, if very demanding, "sports car" of a fighter. It was the first combat aircraft capable of sustained Mach 2 flight (not just a brief dash), and its speed and climb performance remain impressive by modern standards. If used appropriately, with high-speed slashing attacks and good use of its exceptional thrust-to-weight ratio, it can be a formidable opponent, although being lured into a turning contest with a slower, more maneuverable opponent (as Pakistani pilots were with Indian Hunters in 1965) is perilous. The F-104's turn radius and high-alpha behavior have always been tricky, and the Starfighter has a well-deserved reputation for unforgiving behavior. Some users lost nearly half their aircraft through accidents, although the accident rate varied widely depending on the user and operating conditions; the Spanish Air Force, for example, lost none. The Starfighter has been a particular favorite of the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (Italian Air Force), although the AMI's accident rate was far from the lowest of Starfighter users. Famous Air Force pilots who lost their lives to F-104 accidents include Maj. Robert H. Lawrence Jr. and Capt. Iven Kincheloe. Chuck Yeager was nearly killed when he lost control of an NF-104A during an high-altitude record-breaking attempt.

Impressions of PAF pilots

Pakistan was the first country in Asia to get a supersonic aircraft when they introduced the F-104 Starfighter. From the first flights the senior pilots concluded it was a poor deal but it was the only aircraft available to fill the gap in their abilities until France provided them with the Mirage III. In 1965, the F-104 got its first kill in Asia when Pakistan went to war with India. The Air War opened with a kill by an F-104 over the Arabian Sea. The F-104 brought more luck to the PAF as it managed to force an IAF fighter jet to land on Pakistani territory, a Folland Gnat that is now displayed at the PAF Musuem in Karachi. Contrary to this Indians claim that there was a navigation error that led to its pilot wrongly landing on a Pakistan airstrip. Its pilot, Lt. Sikand, was taken as a POW and later released. But in the 1971 war, upto 8 PAF Starfighters were shot down by IAF MiG-21s [http://www.freeindia.org/1971war/skies_west.html]. After the first few kills, the PAF soon started to understand the shortcomings of the F-104. One pilot shot down an IAF fighter but because of the high speed and lack of maneuverbility could not control the aircraft and flew through the debris. As a result the F-104 was destroyed and the pilot killed. After the war the 12 PAF F-104s were grounded due to lack of spares resulting from the U.S. Military embargo. They were replaced by French made Dassault Mirage III fighters. Although the PAF managed successful kills with the F-104 it did not earn legendary status of the F-86 Sabre. F-86 Sabre

Service

The initial F-104A served briefly with the USAF Air Defense Command as an interceptor, although neither its range or armament were well-suited for that role. Its status was nonetheless enhanced when, on May 18, 1958, an F-104A set a world speed record of 1,404.19 mph (2,260 km/h), and on December 14, 1959, an F-104C set a world altitude record of 103,395 ft (31.5 km). The Starfighter was the first aircraft to hold simultaneous official world records for speed, altitude, and time-to-climb. The subsequent F-104C entered service with Tactical Air Command as a multi-role fighter and fighter-bomber. It saw service in the Vietnam War, both in the air-superiority role (although it saw little aerial combat and scored no air-to-air kills) and in the air support mission. The USAF procured only 296 Starfighters in one- and two-seat versions. The USAF was less than satisfied with the Starfighter. At the time USAF doctrine placed little importance on air superiority (the "pure" fighter mission), and the Starfighter was deemed inadequate for either the interceptor or tactical fighter-bomber role, lacking both payload and endurance compared to other USAF aircraft. Its U.S. service quickly wound down after 1965. At the same time as the F-104 was falling out of US favour, the Federal German Airforce was looking for a multi-role aircraft. The Starfighter was presented and reworked to convert it from a fair-weather fighter into an all-weather ground attack and interceptor aircraft the F104-G. This brought it a new market with other NATO countries, and 2,578 F-104s were built in the U.S. and abroad under the for various nations, including Canada, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Pakistan, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Japan. Norway, Denmark, Greece, Turkey and Spain receiving theirs under the military aid program. The American engine was retained but built under licence in Europe. The Lockheed ejector seats were retained but replaced later by the superior Martin-Baker zero-zero type. The so-called "Deal of the Century" produced considerable income for Lockheed, but considerable political controversy in Europe, particularly in Germany, where minister of defence Franz Josef Strauß was almost forced to resign over the issue. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands was also connected to being bribed by Lockheed, and he later confessed having received more than 1 million USD. Many considered the Starfighter program a politically motivated enterprise, with governments browbeaten into accepting a USAF cast-off out of U.S. political pressure. This debate was exacerbated by the F-104's alarming accident rate. In German service alone 292 of the 916 Starfighters crashed, claiming the lives of 115 pilots, leading to cries that the Starfighter was fundamentally unsafe and earning it the Widowmaker nickname among others (see below). In the 1970s it was revealed that Lockheed had engaged in an extensive campaign of bribery of foreign officials to obtain sales, a scandal that nearly led to the ailing corporation's downfall. Although that scandal was not specifically connected with the Starfighter, some have speculated that Lockheed's aggressive, sometimes bribery-based sales tactics stretched back to the "Deal of the Century" as well. The German controversy over the Starfighter's contract and its toll of pilots inspired a rock concept album by Robert Calvert of Hawkwind, called "Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters." After Kai-Uwe von Hassel succeeded Strauss as minister of defence, his son Oberleutnant Joachim von Hassel died in a crash with a Starfighter. This event was the topic of the Welle:Erdball song "Starfighter F-104G." The F-104 in international service began to wind down in the late 1970s, replaced in many cases by the F-16, but it remained in service with some air forces for another two decades. The last frontline Starfighters were with the Italian AMI, which retired in summer 2004. The Starfighters are a civilian aerobatic team based in Texas that currently flys two F-104s at airshows around the world.

Nicknames

Texas The Starfighter was commonly called the "missile with a man in it." In service, American pilots called it the "Zipper" or "Zip-104" (because of its prodigious speed). The Japanese SDAF called it Eiko ("glory"), but other export pilots were less charitable, dubbing it "Flying Coffin" or worse. The German public called it Witwenmacher ("widowmaker"), fliegender Sarg ("flying coffin") or Erdnagel ("ground nail", the official military term for a tent peg). The Pakistani AF name was Badmash ("hooligan"), while among Italian pilots its spiky design earned it the nickname Spillone ("hatpin"). The engine made a unique howling sound at certain throttle settings which led some to call the Starfighter Howling Howland.

Variants

A total of 2,578 F-104s was produced by Lockheed and under license by various foreign manufacturers. Principal variants included:
- XF-104 - Two prototype aircraft equipped with Wright J65 engines (the J79 was not yet ready); no operational equipment.
- YF-104A - 17 pre-production aircraft used for engine, equipment, and flight testing.
- F-104A - 153 initial production versions. In USAF service from 1958 through 1960, then transferred to ANG till 1969. Some released for export to Jordan, Pakistan, and Taiwan, each of whom used it in combat.
- NF-104A - Three demilitarized versions with 6,000 lbf (27 kN) Rocketdyne LR121/AR-2-NA-1 rocket engines, used for astronaut training at altitudes up to 120,800 ft (36,830 m). (A December 10, 1963 [http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/NF-104A_crash_site.htm accident] involving Chuck Yeager was depicted in the movie The Right Stuff, although the aircraft in the film was not an actual NF-104A.)
- QF-104A - 22 F-104As converted as radio-controlled drones and test aircraft.
- F-104B - 26 dual-control trainer versions of F-104A. No cannon and reduced internal fuel, but otherwise combat-capable. A few were supplied to Pakistan and Taiwan.
- F-104C - 71 Fighter bomber versions for USAF Tactical Air Command, with improved fire-control radar (AN/ASG-14T-2), centerline and two wing pylons (for a total of five), and ability to carry one Mk 28 or Mk 43 nuclear weapon on centerline pylon. One squadron (476th Tactical Fighter Squadron) served briefly in Vietnam from 1965 to 1967, escorting F-105 Thunderchief missions. No air-to-air kills were scored, although the Starfighters were successful in deterring MiG interceptors. Vietnam-serving F-104s were upgraded in service with APR-25/26 radar warning receiver equipment. Nine were lost in combat.
- F-104D - 21 dual-control trainer versions of F-104C.
- F-104DJ - 20 dual-control trainer version of F-104J for Japanese Self-Defense Air Force, built by Lockheed rather than Mitsubishi.
- F-104F - 30 dual-control trainer based on F-104D, but using the upgraded engine of the F-104G. No radar, and not combat-capable. 30 produced as interim trainers for the Luftwaffe.
- F-104G - 1,122 aircraft in major production version as multi-role fighter bomber aircraft. Built by 4 groups of European companies, Canadair and Lockheed. Strengthened fuselage and wings, increased internal fuel capacity, enlarged vertical fin, heavier landing gear, revised flaps for improved combat maneuvering. New Autonetics NASARR F15A-41B radar with air-to-air and air-to-ground modes, Litton LN-3 inertial navigation (the first on a production fighter), infrared sight.
- RF-104G - 189 tactical reconnaissance models based on F-104G, usually with three KS-67A cameras mounted in the forward fuselage in place of cannon.
- TF-104G - 220 combat-capable trainer version of F-104G; no cannon or centerline pylon, reduced internal fuel. One civil version, civil registration number L104L, was used by Jackie Cochran to set three women’s world speed records in 1964.
- F-104J - 178 Japanese version, built under license by Mitsubishi for the air-superiority fighter role, armed with cannon and four Sidewinders; no strike capability.
- F-104N - Three F-104Gs delivered to NASA in 1963 for use as high-speed chase aircraft. One, piloted by Joe Walker, collided with the XB-70 on 8 June 1966. (To see its crash site, [http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/F-104N_crash_site.htm click here].)
- F-104S - 246 Italian versions produced mainly by FIAT, upgraded for interception role with NASARR R-21G/H radar with moving-target indicator and continuous-wave illuminator for SARH missiles (initially AIM-7 Sparrow), two additional wing hardpoints, more powerful J79-GE-19 engine with 11,870 lbf (53 kN) and 17,900 lbf (80 kN) thrust, two additional ventral fins for increased stability. The cannon was sacrificed to make room for the illuminator and was never restored in subsequent variants.
- F-104S-ASA (Aggiornamento Sistemi d'Arma - "Weapon Systems Update") - 147 upgraded Italian version with Fiat R21G/M1 radar with frequency hopping, look-down/shoot-down capability, new IFF and weapons delivery computer, provision for AIM-9L all-aspect Sidewinder, Selenia Aspide missiles.
- F-104S-ASA/M - 49 single seat and 15 two-seat (former TF-104G) upgraded from 1998 to ASA/M (Modificato - "Modified") standard with GPS, new TACAN and Litton LN-30A2 INS, refurbished airframe, improved cockpit displays. All strike-related equipment was removed. The last Starfighters in combat service, they were eventually withdrawn in December 2004 and temporarily replaced by the F-16, while awaiting the Eurofighter Typhoon to become fully operational.
- CF-104 - 200 Canadian-built versions, built under license by Canadair and optimized for nuclear strike, with NASARR R-24A radar with air-to-air modes and cannon deleted (the cannon was restored after 1972, additional internal fuel cell, and Canadian J79-OEL-7 engines with 10,000 lbf (44 kN) /15,800 lbf (70 kN) thrust. Some later transferred to Denmark, Norway, and Turkey.
- CF-104D - 38 dual-control trainer versions of CF-104D, built by Lockheed, but with Canadian J79-OEL-7 engines. Some later transferred to Denmark, Norway, and Turkey.

External links

- [http://www.dcr.net/~stickmak/JOHT/joht12f-104.htm Starfighter details and assessment, by Rodford Edmiston Smith] Category:U.S. fighter aircraft 1950-1959 ms:F-104 Starfighter ja:F-104 (戦闘機)

F-4 Phantom II

F-4 re-directs here; for alternate uses, see F4 The F-4 Phantom II (simply "F-4 Phantom" after 1990) is a two-place (tandem), supersonic, long-range, all-weather fighter-bomber built by (originally McDonnell Aircraft Corporation) McDonnell Douglas Corporation. It was operated by the US Navy, the USMC and later the USAF, from 1961 until 1996. It is still in service with other nations. In service, it earned nicknames like "Rhino" (a reference to both its prodigious nose and its rhinoceros-like toughness) and "Double-Ugly"/"DUFF" (Double Ugly Fat Fucker, a reference to the B-52 Stratofortress). Its primary mission capabilities are: long range, high-altitude intercepts utilizing air-to-air missiles as primary armament; long-range attack missions utilizing conventional or nuclear weapons as a primary armament; and close air support missions utilizing a choice of bombs, rockets and missiles as primary armament. It was one of the few aircraft types that served in the US Navy, USMC and USAF. It was one of the longest serving military aircraft post-war. First flown May 27, 1958, the Phantom II originally was developed for US Navy fleet defense. The initial F4H-1 (later F-4B) entered service in 1961. The USAF evaluated it (as the F-110A Spectre) for close air support, interdiction, and counter-air operations and, in 1962, approved a USAF version, the F-4C. The F-4C made its first flight on May 27, 1963, and production deliveries began in November 1963. The Navy/USMC version progressed to the improved F-4J mark, with earlier F-4Bs upgraded in service to F-4N and later the F-4J upgraded to F-4S standard. The USAF replaced the F-4C with the optimized F-4D, and then, from 1967, the F-4E with an internal M61 Vulcan 20 mm cannon. 116 F-4Es were later converted for the SEAD "Wild Weasel" role as the F-4G. Reconnaissance versions were also built, the RF-4C for the USAF, RF-4B for the USMC, and the export RF-4E. Phantom II production ended in the United States 1979 after 5,057 had been built -- more than 2,800 for the USAF, about 1,200 for the Navy and Marine Corps, and the rest for friendly foreign nations. The last F-4 built was completed in 1981 as an F-4EJ by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan. In 1965 the first USAF and USN/USMC Phantom IIs were sent to Vietnam. Early versions lacked any gun armament. Coupled with the unreliability of the air-to-air missiles (AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder) of the time, this major drawback resulted in the aircraft loss after they ran out of missiles. During the course of the Vietnam War, its contemporaries, the MiG-19 and MiG-21, inflicted some losses on the F-4s when the American aircraft were ambushed after returning from bombing assignments. This prompted the USAF to introduce an M61 Vulcan 20 mm cannon in the nose of the aircraft, below the radome (although no Navy or Marine Phantoms ever had an internal gun). This later version was the mainstay of the USAF Phantom II forces from 1968 to the end of the war. The last Phantoms in USAF service were retired in December 2004 with the deactivation of the 20th Fighter Squadron, the Silver Lobos [1]. The last Phantoms in Marine Corps service were F-4S models of VMFA-112 and were retired in 1992 when VMFA-112 transitioned to the F/A-18A. Naval aviators flying the F-4 transitioned to the F-14 Tomcat in the mid seventies. Some aircraft, however, remained in service aboard the Midway class ships, as their decks and hangars were too small to handle the much larger F-14. Eventually, all Navy F-4s were replaced by the F-14 or F/A-18 Hornet.

Phantom in non-US service

The F-4E and other variants have served with the air forces of many countries, including Australia, Greece, Israel, Iran, Japan, Spain, South Korea, Turkey, and West Germany. The German Version (F-4F) will be used until the Eurofighter Typhoon is produced in sufficient numbers. The newer AN/APG-65 radar (the same used in the F/A-18) was installed in order to use AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, though this upgrade has only been implemented into German and Greek F-4Es. Other F-4E operators improved their Phantom IIs according to their needs, with the most significant being the Israel Aircraft Industries Kurnass 2000 upgrade, which enabled the Phantom II to carry and deliver next generation laser and TV-guided munitions (including AGM-142 Popeye missiles) with increased precision. A similar upgrade has also been implemented by IAI on Turkish Air Force Phantoms, including an advanced ELTA SPS-100 fire control system/radar, adopted from the abortive IAI LAVI Technology-demonstrator of the early 1990s. The United Kingdom bought the aircraft for use with the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm. British versions were based on the USN F-4J, but fitted with the larger but more powerful Rolls-Royce Spey engine for improved take-off performance. The larger engine improved low-level speed and acceleration but caused aerodynamic problems that made it slower in high-altitude flight, and its development led to protracted problems. RAF Phantoms were designated F-4M, or FG.1 and FGR.2 (for reconnaissance) in British service, the RN's aircraft would be the F-4K. Fleet Air Arm Phantoms were fitted with a telescoping front landing gear (undercarriage) leg allowing the nose to be raised higher, the increased angle of attack being necessary for catapult launches from the relatively smaller British carriers. Some elements of the airframe and equipment were built in the UK. In addition to these, in 1984, the RAF purchased a total of 15 F-4J aircraft second-hand from the US Navy to increase its interceptor force following the Falklands War (which saw a Phantom squadron posted to the islands) prior to the introduction of the Tornado. The last US Phantoms in service, the F-4G and RF-4C, were retired from duty in 1996; however the aircraft is still used in a testing role, as a drone, and in service to other nations. The UK retired its last Phantoms in 1993 as a result of the Options for Change spending cuts. See also the FH-1 Phantom.

General characteristics:

FH-1 Phantom
- Primary Function: All-weather fighter-bomber.
- Contractor: McDonnell Aircraft Co., McDonnell Corporation.
- Power Plant: Two General Electric J79 turbojet engines with afterburners.
- Thrust: 17,900 lbf (80 kN) each
- Length: 63 ft, 0 in (19.1 m)
- Height: 16 ft, 5 in (5 m)
- Wingspan: 38 ft, 7 in (11.8 m).
- Speed: more than 1,500 mph, 2,500 km/h (Mach 2.27)
- Ceiling: 62,250 ft
- Maximum Takeoff Weight: 61,800 lb (28,000 kg)
- Range: 1,800 miles (2,900 km)
- Armament: Four AIM-7 Sparrow or AIM-120 AMRAAM (F-4F and upgraded F-4E only) and four AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, AGM-65 Maverick missiles, AGM-88 HARM missile capability, and one fuselage centerline bomb rack and four pylon bomb racks capable of carrying 18,650 pounds (8460 kg) of various types of missiles, bombs, and rockets. All F-4E, F-4EJ, and F-4F have one 20 mm M61A1 Vulcan cannon under nose (640 rounds); almost all can carry similar weapon in SUU-16/A or SUU-23/A external pod (1,200 rounds).
- Cost: US$18.4 million
- Crew: F-4E -- Two (pilot and weapon systems officer).
- Date Deployed: Early 1961 (U.S. Navy)

Variants

- XF4H-1 : Two prototypes for the US Navy.
- F4H-1F (F-4A)
- TF-4A
- F4H-1 (F-4B)
- EF-4B
- NF-4B
- QF-4B
- F4H-1P : Two-seat tactical reconnaissance version for the US Marine Corps. Later it was redesignated the RF-4B.
- F-110A (F-4C)
- EF-4C
- RF-4C : Two-seat tactical reconnaissance version for the US Air Force.
- YRF-4C (YRF-110A)
- F-4D
- EF-4D
- F-4E
- F-4E(J)
- F-4EJ
- RF-4E : Two-seat tactical reconnaissance version. Export version only.
- RF-4E(J) : Two-seat tactical reconnaissance version for the Japanese Air Self Defence Force.
- RF-4EJ
- YF-4E
- F-4F
- TF-4F
- F-4G - US Navy version
- F-4G : Two-seat "Wild Weasel IV" SEAD aircraft for the US Air Force.
- F-4J
- F-4J(UK) : Designation of 15 second-hand F-4J aircraft purchased by the Royal Air Force from the US Navy in 1984.
- RF-4J
- YF-4J
- F-4K (Fleet Air Arm McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1)
- YF-4K
- F-4M (RAF McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR.2)
- YF-4M
- F-4N
- QF-4N
- F-4S

Units using the F-4

United States Navy

Partial list: VF-84 "Jolly Rogers" VF-111 "Sundowners" VF-96 "Fighting Falcons" VF-42 "Diamondbacks"

United States Marine Corps

Partial List:
- VMFA-115
- VMFA-112
- VMFA-122
- VMFA-212
- VMFA-232
- VMFA-235
- VMFA-314
- VMF(AW)-323
- VMFA-334
- VMFA-513
- VMFA-542
- VMCJ-3 VMFAT-101