- Yes
- No
Hello everyone, today we’ll be looking at the Mirage 50EV. The final variant of the Mirage III family to be produced.
The story of the Mirages in Venezuela started in the 70s. The Venezuelan air force at the time was using the F-86K, 79 of these were in service, but by the time standards, they were rather outdated. Other countries in the area mostly operated Mirages themselves or other aircraft such as Hawker Hunters, in comparison to these aircraft, the Venezuelan F-86K was rather inferior. A decision was made to acquire a new fleet of fighter bomber aircraft and by 1971 Venezuela had chosen to go with the Mirage. A variety of models was ordered to meet different demands within the airforce. 10 Mirage IIIEVs, 4 Mirage 5Vs, and 2 Mirage IIIDVs were eventually ordered from Dassault. The aircraft operated in this form for about 10 years after which advances in technology once again threatened to bring the fleet to the edge of obsolescence. From 1979 onwards, studies were started to see how the aircraft could be modernized. These were temporarily halted when Venezuela acquired F-16s from the US in 1982. However, Venezuela did not want to rely on just one provider of aircraft and later in 1982, the studies on modernization were resumed. The contract for upgrading the aircraft would first be approved in 1983 but the execution would soon be postponed to 1984 because of elections. In 1984 it would then again be approved and the details of the modernization would be agreed on in 1985, later that year it would all be canceled because of low oil prices which severely limited the budget of the Venezuelan government. Eventually, in 1987, the Corvette Caldas Crisis broke out, which urged the government to finally push the project through. That resulted in a final agreement in 1989 to start the modernization. The aircraft that resulted from the said program would be the Mirage 50EV and 50DV. 6 Mirage IIIEVs, 3 Mirage 5Vs, 2 Mirage IIIDVs, and an additional 5 Mirage 5Ms from Zaïre were sent to Toulouse to undergo the upgrade program. The upgrade that the planes would receive was based on the Mirage IIIEX standard that Dassault had developed. 1992 Marked the final delivery of the new 50EVs and 50DVs and also marked the final construction done by Dassault on aircraft of the Mirage III family. The aircraft would continue to serve for a lot of years, being used in various exercises before eventually being retired in 2008. The story of the aircraft doesn’t end here, as they were donated to Ecuador soon after, the planes were in dire need of maintenance and repairs and it seems Ecuador had a great deal of difficulty in making them airworthy again. Some sources say they were accepted into service in 2010 but the history of the planes after 2009 is rather unclear. It seems the planes have since also been retired there.
The upgrade itself brought a large array of changes to the aircraft, giving them many more options on the battlefield. Since they were upgraded from Mirage III to Mirage 50 standard, the first important upgrade is obviously the engine. This was upgraded from the Atar 9C to the Atar 9K50 that we know from the Mirage F1. This engine has a dry thrust of about 5000kgf and 7200kgf with the afterburner, a noteworthy upgrade over the 4300/6200kgf of the Atar 9C. The second major upgrade was to the radar, this was changed to the Cyrano IVM3 model, also a version derived from the radar used in the Mirage F1. This radar also added the ability to guide the successful Exocet anti-ship missile (one of which could be carried under the fuselage). An in-flight refueling-probe was also added to the nose of the aircraft (also taken from the F1). The upgrade also featured the addition of canard foreplanes. These were static canards, very similar to what you can find on the Kfir series aircraft. Just like with the aforementioned Kfir, they were added to improve the low-speed handling of the aircraft. The AN/ALE40 chaff/flare dispenser was also added to aircraft, this was added on the belly of the plane. Other upgrades included the replacement of the older RWR with the new SHERLOC system, Martin-Baker Mk.10 ejection seats, with zero-zero capability, new HUD, an inertial navigation system, IFF, and HOTAS controls. Besides these, a number of new weapons were also integrated with the Mirage 50EV. These were the following: AM.39 Exocet anti-ship missiles, Matra R.550 Magic II, Matra Durandal, and Brandt BAP-100 anti-runway bombs, 400 kg SAMP free-fall bombs, and Brandt BAT-anti-armor bombs. 120. These weapons were joined by the Mk.82 free-fall bombs, weighing 227kg, and the Matra JL-100R rocket launchers, which launch 68mm SNEB rockets. Compatibility with all pre-existing weapon systems was of course retained.
General Characteristics:
- Crew: 1
- Max Speed: 2350kph
- Wingspan: 8.2 m
- Height: 4.5 m
- Length: 15.55 m
- Max Payload: 4000 kg
- Empty Weight: 5915 kg
- Max Weight: 13700 kg
- Propulsion: 1x Atar 9K-50
- Radar: Yes, Cyrano IVM3
- CCIP/CCRP: Yes
- Countermeasures: Yes, AN/ALE40
- RWR: Yes, SHERLOC
Armament:
Cannons:
- 2x 30mm DEFA 552
Dumb bombs:
- SAMP 250kg bombs
- SAMP 400kg bombs
- Mk 82 500lb bombs
- Mk 83 1000lb bombs
- Matra Durandal anti-runway bombs
- Brandt BAP-100 anti-runway bombs
- Brandt BAT-120 anti-armor bombs
Rockets:
- Matra JL-100R
Air-to-ground missiles:
- Nord AS-30
Air-to-ship missiles:
- AM39 Exocet
Air-to-air missiles:
- AIM-9B
- Magic I
- Magic II
- R530
- R530E
Place in-game:
The Mirage 50EV could serve as a strong multirole fighter in whatever tree it is put in. With its ability to use up to magic II missiles alongside the inferior but still not useless R530 family of missiles it packs a good enough punch against other aircraft and on top of that it brings a rather impressive air-to-ground arsenal. While it might not be able to carry any laser or TV guided weapons, it can still pose quite a threat with its dumb bombs thanks to CCIP and CCRP. The BAP and BAT parachute bombs could also be very interesting to use if Gaijin decides to implement them. Besides that, the plane could also play a role in potential future anti-shipping games thanks to its ability to carry the AM39 Exocet. Implementation-wise it seems logical to have this plane either be a part of a joint South-American tree, or to put it in the French tree. In the first option, a researchable place seems logical (though much is possible given the presence of similar aircraft such as the Brazilian Mirage IIIBR-2). If the aircraft were to come to the French tree, then a spot as a premium/event/squadron vehicle seems very likely.
