- Yes
- No
Hello everyone and welcome to a new suggestion, here we’ll be having a look at a Belgian upgrade program for the Mirage 5BA, the Mirage MirSIP (Mirage Safety Improvement Program).
The Mirage MirSIP was a program to modernize and improve the existing Belgian Mirage fleet. Original plans for this modernization started in 1985 and were initially more extensive and ambitious (a mention of an upgrade program called AMELIE is referenced, but I find no other sources of what this was), but the fall of the Berlin wall and the subsequent end of the cold war slashed the budgets of the Belgian air force. The upgrade still went through, but it was limited in its scope. Included in this upgrade was a heads up display from Marconi complete with a color VINTEN camera, an all new cockpit display unit, a laser-INS from Singer-Kearfott , a CDU in the form of the Sagem-UNA 92 and UTR 90 computer which provided both upgraded ballistic and guided munition control, A nose underside TMV 630 laser rangefinder provided by Thomson, an F-16 HOTAS control stick, a back-up mode for the HUD (in case the primary one failed), a new ejection seat and most visibly, the addition of canards to improve low speed handling. A big part of the program was to bring the Mirage 5 fleet closer in-line with the existing F-16 fleet, with the idea of simplifying logistics and maintenance. The program was kicked off in 1989 in cooperation with the French company SAGEM and the Belgian aviation company SABCA. Due to budgetary constraints, the decision was originally made to only upgrade the remaining Mirage 5BA fleet, and not the BD or BRs. However, thanks to lobbying of Belgian aerospace legend Frank De Winne, the BD fleet is eventually also added to the list of vehicles to be upgraded. The program continued somewhat smoothly for a few years until in 1993-94 questions were asked about the usefulness of this affair. Eventually the outcome for the aircraft was negative in the scope of their Belgian career. A deal was struck up with Chile, who would end up buying 18 upgraded aircraft that entered service locally under the name ELKAN.
Armament-wise, not much seems to have changed on the vehicle, although judging by images of the vehicle displayed at the Paris airshow, a new type of bomb-adaptor/fuel tank was integrated onto the vehicle. No smart weapons appear to have been added, although it appears likely that the vehicle received some sort of ballistics computer. The equipped missiles were in-line with those on other Belgian Mirages, however, given the date of introduction of this vehicle, AIM-9Bs were never used with it. This means that with the current sources at my disposal, it looks like the MirSIP would only have access to the AIM-9N (this is also the case for the BAs in-game and is currently misrepresented). Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like the AIM-9L/M had any overlap in service in the Belgian air force with the MirSIP program… If the MirSIP would have continued service in Belgium however, the fleet would likely have received these missiles to further streamline logistics between both aircraft models.
Among others, the Mirage MirSIP (and BA) supported a wide range of bombs -identical to those on the BA- like the Mk.82 Snakeye, M64 & 65 dumb bombs (yes, those WW2 relics) and the more modern french MATRA dumb bombs, a variety of rockets from 2 rocket pods, … .
General characteristics:
- Crew: 1
- Length: 15 m
- Wingspan: 8,22 m
- Height: 4,5 m
- Wing area: 35 m2 (excluding new canards)
- Empty weight: 7 050 kg
- Loaded weight: 13 500 kg
- Powerplant: 1 x SNECMA Atar 9C afterburning turbojet 41.97 kN (9,440 lbf) thrust dry, 60.8 kN (13,700 lbf) with afterburner
- Maximum speed: 2,350 km/h at 12000 m
The Mirage MirSIP’s new cockpit.
Armament:
- Guns:
- 2x DEFA 552A 30mm cannons
- Missiles:
- Up to 2x AIM-9N
- Air-to-ground weapons:
- Mk. 82 500lb bombs
- Mk.82 Snakeye high drag bombs
- SECAN N-300 Napalm bombs
- BLU1CB Napalm bomb
- 250kg SAMP bombs (regular and retarded)
- 400kg SAMP bombs (regular and retarded)
- AN-M64 500lb bombs (yes, that ww2 relic)
- AN-M65 1000lb bombs (idem as above)
- BL 755 CBU 1000lb cluster bombs
- FZ67 rocket launcher with up to 7x rockets with following warhead types:
- HEAT (Mk 151)
- HEAP (Mk 5)
- Multidart (FZ 149)
Systems:
- Radar: No
- RWR: Yes (RAPPORT II system, cockpit display moved from 5BA)
- Countermeasures: Yes, ALE-39 Chaff & flare dispenser
- CCIP/CCRP: Yes, through Thomson TMV 630 laser rangefinder
Place in-game:
The Mirage MirSIP is another one of the canard Mirages that could possibly come to the French tree. Unlike similar planes such as the Mirage 50EV or Mirage IIING, this one does not feature an upgraded engine, making it more sluggish than its counterparts. It also didn’t receive any upgraded armaments, which makes it a relatively small upgrade compared to other similar models. The inclusion of CCIP/CCRP and canards will however make it a pretty capable attacker. Combining improved low speed handling with accurate weapon delivery. The flares and chaff that were retained from the 5BA will also allow you to more easily handle enemy SPAA. Given its limited production run and complete lack of service history in Belgium, the vehicle could also be suitable as an event, squadron or premium vehicle in my opinion. All in all this is a fun and unique mirage variant from Belgium that should be a fun addition to the game.
Sources
Spoiler
Book “Mirage M5 B” by the “Mirage 5 pilots association” pages 269 -299, 324 - 329
Keuze van de Mirage 5 en zijn korte geschiedenis · Mirage5
https://www.belgian-wings.be/dassault-mirage-5ba-basis
Belgium’s Multi-Role Mirages