PAC Mirage 5F ROSE III - Rosenacanta

Surbaissemaxxing · October 15, 2025, 3:44pm

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Suggestion No.105

G’day lads. I want to suggest a heavily modified Pakistani Mirage 5F, that being a ROSE III upgraded one with various amounts of guided weapons, a Chinese RWR, larger amount of flares and more :)

Description:

Spoiler

The ROSE (Retrofit of Strike Element) programme was launched by the Pakistan Air Force in the early 1990s to modernize its Mirage III and Mirage 5 aircraft. Initiated in 1995 with assistance from the French company SAGEM and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra, the project upgraded the aircraft with new avionics, navigation systems, self protection suites, more weapon capabilities, and night attack capabilities. The ROSE III variant was the final and most advanced phase of the programme. Unlike earlier versions, it did not carry a radar and instead used a SAGEM Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) system along with the MAESTRO navigation and attack suite, which combined GPS and inertial navigation, a digital mission computer, and a modern glass cockpit. These improvements gave the aircraft precise, all weather, low level strike capability. Additional upgrades included improved electronic warfare systems, on board oxygen generation, and single point refueling.

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History:

Spoiler

The ROSE programme was planned in 1992 and put into effect from 1995 to restore and modernize the Pakistani Air Force Mirage III/5 airframes so they could continue serving as strike and reconnaissance platforms. The PAF looked for large numbers of surplus Mirages in Europe and elsewhere and set a requirement for a roughly 40 to 50 aircraft package that would be economical to buy, overhaul and support.

After market studies and negotiations the PAF contracted with French industry (mainly SAGEM) and arranged overhaul work between PAC Kamra and French facilities. A formal purchase/upgrade package for about 40 airframes was agreed in the mid 1990s and deliveries of upgraded examples began arriving in batches from 1998 onward. The core ROSE concept combined airframe reconditioning, modern INS/GPS based navigation, a digital mission computer and glass cockpit displays (the SAGEM MAESTRO/nav attack suite and Sigma/Uliss family INS variants appear throughout programme descriptions), together with self protection equipment (RWR, chaff/flares), HOTAS/HUD ergonomics, airborne video recording and options for FLIR or radar as mission needs dictated.

Early ROSE fits, named ROSE I most commonly include the FIAR/Grifo family radar on radar equipped airframes to permit BVR weapons employment. The later ROSE II block concentrated on strike/precision roles and sensor mixes that used FLIR/navigation pods and the MAESTRO nav/attack integration rather than full nose radars on every airframe. The ROSE III configuration is described as the most advanced retrofit phase oriented toward precision, low level/night strike. It integrated SAGEM’s MAESTRO navigation/attack electronics and FLIR based targeting/navigation capability on many aircraft, while also adding improved EW/self protection, OBOGS and single point refuelling to raise sortie reliability and survivability.

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PAC Kamra reworked dozens of airframes (including ex RAAF Mirage IIIOs acquired earlier) and distributed the modernized Mirages among strike and reconnaissance squadrons. A small number of airframes were beyond economical repair and used for spares. The programme experienced supplier and spares delays in the late 1990s but nonetheless returned substantial strike capability to the PAF at a fraction of the cost of new fighters, allowing the Mirages to remain operational until eventually getting replaced by newer types (for example the JF-17) in the 2000s to 2010s.

Armaments:

Spoiler

30mm DEFA 552A cannons

AIM-9L/I AAM

AIM-9P AAM (cannot find out which exact P variant, it is smokeless tho)

PL-7 (Magic 1) AAM

Magic 2 AAM

MAA-1 Piranha AAM

Additionally, the MICA is possible, although it was only seen being displayed with it. It does not have a radar to operate it, so it would probably just use the MICAs radar for operation

H-2/H-4 (Should be the same as the South African Raptor I and Raptor II guided bomb)

MAR-1 ARM

Ra’ad AGM

AS-30L AGM

REK family GBU

Takbir GBU

Like the MICA, the AASM Hammer was also displayed with the ROSE, so it’s possible that it could also have them

It is still capable of carrying a variation of dumb bombs and rockets, like for example Mk82 Snakeye bombs

Additionally, it still has an extra amount of CMs like on the ROSE II

To guide the weapons, it is capable of using a TGP, which is most likely a LITENING II

An IRST pod can be carried too

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Specifications:

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I can find pretty much no info about the ROSE III and such, therefore I have to use Mirage 5 data instead. Anyway, it’s approximate dimensions are around 15.56m in length, 8.22m in width and 4.50m in height. It weights around 6600kg while empty and has an MTOW of around 13700kg. From what I can find, it’s still powered by the same Snecma ATAR 9C engine, giving it 42 kN dry and 58.8 kN wet.

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