- Yes
- No
It’s Mirage time again, and this time we’ll be having a look at Egypt’s fleet of Mirage 2000s, with the local variant being named Mirage 2000EM
Egypt’s story with the Mirage 2000 starts in 1981, with them becoming the first export customer of the type. They placed an order for 16 single seat EM aircraft and an additional 4 two-seater BM models. Deliveries started in 1985 for the EMs and a year later for the BMs. This order was notably small and actually made Egypt the smallest customer for the type to date. Reason behind this is supposedly an American offer to sell F-16s at a lower price, which was a more interesting choice for the nation at that point. This has left the Mirages in a rather awkward spot in Egypt’s air force, compromising only a single squadron, and with few airframes to pick spare parts from for the aging birds. Their life might have been relatively long, with them still being in service today, but it was equally unremarkable. The Mirages in Egyptian service have not really received many upgrades over their lifetime, leaving them dreadfully outdated in the current environment. Egypt’s Rafale’s are likely to eventually fully replace the type in service though.
However, it’s not all bad news. While the Mirage 2000EM might not have received any modernizations, its base package was a rather interesting one, standing out from its French peers. The Egyptian Mirage is a variant of the Mirage 2000E model, destined for export, but featuring a more sophisticated ground strike capability than the French 2000Cs. 2000E export models had the ability to carry the Atlis II laser targeting pod which could in turn guide weapons such as the AS-30L that were fired directly from the aircraft. In comparison however, the air-to-air capabilities are downgraded compared to the French planes, as the E version carries the RDM radar instead of the RDI of later 2000C models. This results in the aircraft being unable to fire the advanced Super 530D missile and instead being stuck with the 530F. Egypt thankfully did buy the Magic II missile, giving the aircraft a reliable close range weapon.
One modernization that is worth talking about is the addition of the Al Tariq guided glide bomb onto the fleet of Egyptian Mirages. This follows the example of the UAE’s Mirages which have also received that modernization. The weapon comes with various seeker configurations, but judging by the lack of targeting pod here, it’s likely to be a purely GPS guided variant on display here.
Other than the deviation above, the Mirage 2000EM is a Mirage 2000 as we know and love it. It’s powered by the M53-P2 engine, which delivers 6200 kgf of thrust dry and 9690 kgf of thrust on afterburner. This allows the aircraft to reach a top speed of 2350 km/h. Besides the aforementioned weapons, the vehicle also still featured the twin 30mm DEFA cannons and the ability to carry the Magic 1 missile.
General characteristics:
- Crew: 1
- Empty weight: 7500 kg
- Maximum takeoff weight: 17 000 kg
- Length: 14.36 m
- Width: 9.36 m
- Height: 5.2 m
- Powerplant: 1x M53-P2 engine providing 6200 kgf dry thrust and 9690 kgf with afterburner
- Maximum speed: 2350 km/h
- Wing area: 41 square meters
Armament:
- 2x 30mm DEFA 554 cannons
- Outer wing pylons:
- Matra magic 1
- Matra magic 2
- Type 23 SNEB
- Mid-wing pylons:
- Super 530F
- AS 37 ARMAT
- 250 kg bombs
- Type 23 SNEB
- AS-30L
- Under fuselage pylons (rear):
- 250 kg bombs
- Under fuselage pylons (front)
- 250 kg bombs
- ATLIS II laser targeting pod
- Al Tariq guided bomb (both mk.81 and mk.82 variants are said to be in Egypt’s inventory)
Systems:
- Radar: Yes, RDM (not a pulse doppler system)
- RWR: Yes
- CCIP/CCRP: Yes
- Countermeasures: Yes, flares and chaff
Place in-game:
The Egyptian Mirages hold a bit of an odd spot in their capabilities, having solid ground strike capacity but very mediocre air-to-air. This would most likely put them on-par with other earlier multirole aircraft like the F4E in the American tech tree. It sets itself apart from both Mirage F1s and other fighter Mirage 2000s by having the ability accurately strike ground targets with both laser guided and FnF weapons, thus occupying a niche that no French built aircraft in this br range currently fills. Given its small production size and unique capabilities, I am of the opinion that this vehicle would be best suited to a premium role, although I definitely wouldn’t complain should it come to the research tree, maybe following the F1CT. Given that it isn’t a French service aircraft, it could of course also come to another tree, though I dare not say where it could currently be placed other than France.
Regardless of placement, the plane should be able to convince players with its good flight performance, excellent short range firepower and solid ground strike capability. In Air RB you’ll probably be forced into more of a support role due to your mediocre radar missiles, but in ground RB, this plane should really be able to shine.
Spoiler
Client Challenge
https://forum.dcs.world/topic/314692-ppa-with-laser-switch/
https://www.key.aero/forum/modern-military-aviation/5814-egyptian-mirage-2000
Mirage 2000: user countries, conditions and missions
Mirage 2000 Operators
https://www.museeairespace.fr/aller-plus-haut/collections/dassault-mirage-2000/
Egypt’s Mirage 2000 Decision: After a Strange One Off Purchase Will the Squadron be Upgraded or Retired?
Le Mirage 2000 dans tous ses États — Dossier avionslegendaires.net
https://migflug.com/aircraft/mirage-2000/
Dassault Mirage 2000EM
cmano-db.com
Egyptian Air Force F-16s, Mirage 2000s fitted with Al Tariq PGMs - DefenceWeb