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Mirage 2000D RMV
Mirage 2000D Rénovation Mi-Vie (Mid-Life Upgrade).[133] It updates the avionics, integrates a CC422 gun pod, the GBU-48, and the GBU-50, along with allowing use of MICA missiles in the place of Magic missiles.
Avionika je prilagodjena novom naoruzanju sa teznjom na V-Z
V-V je ta famozna mica.
Radar je valjda neki look up look down .
Pise da je cjena bila 10 miliona po avionu modernizacije. . Borbeno su već upotrebljavani u Africi
Ovo je bas veliko ali evo, i tekst ispod slika sam kopirao .
Tekst
French Mirage 2000B and 2000D aircraft have recently been testing upgraded IR sensor systems and chaff/flare dispensers fitted into the new Damocles pod. Babak Taghvaee investigates
On January 7, 2021, L'Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace (AAE; French Air and Space Force) received the first of 55 upgraded Mirage 2000Ds from Dassault Aviation. Since then, six more examples have been delivered, while 13 others are projected to have their upgrade work finished this year. While Dassault is upgrading the Mirage 2000Ds, a unit from the AAE together with the Aviation Unit of the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) has been testing new systems and components of the mid-life upgraded fighter jets since 2017.
On December 14, 2021, Mirage 2000D with 673 of DGA-EV tested the new centreline external fuel tank which will be carried by the Mirage 2000D RMVs. The new tank has chaff/flare dispensers installed under which are painted in red colour
All pictures author unless stated
In this article, we review the recent fate of the project. According to the French Military Programming Law for 2009 to 2014, there had been planned to upgrade a fleet of 71 Mirage 2000Ds of the AAE to fill the lack of ground-attack aircraft after the retirement of the Mirage F1CT fighter jets. Due to budgetary issues resulting from extensive costs of the Dassault Rafale programme, the French Defence Minister, Hervé Morin, postponed the mid-life upgrade (MLU) programme for the Mirage 2000D fleet. The cost of modernisation of each Mirage 2000D had been estimated to be €10m.
Then, in late 2015, the French government decided to proceed with upgrading the Mirage 2000D fleet because the Dassault Rafale programme had been delayed and could not meet the needs of the French air force and navy for 225 Rafale fighter jets by the mid-2020s. To reduce the cost of the programme, the number of Mirage 2000Ds planned to undergo MLU was reduced from 71 to 55. This small number of aircraft was going to have its air-to-ground mission capabilities expanded and enhanced, while the air-to-air mission systems were only going to be slightly improved under the programme.
369 is a Mirage 2000N-K3 test aircraft of the DGA-EV. This aircraft was used for testing new weapons that were used by Mirage 2000Ds of the French Air Force in the 2000s. It is now in DGA-EV’s facility in Istres air base and is not involved in the testing of new components of the Mirage 2000D RMVs.
Dassault and MBDA Missile Systems began working on the development phase of the Mirage 2000D MLU programme in 2016. It was scheduled to deliver the first aircraft to the air force in just two years, but the project faced delays resulting from budget cuts in July 2017. Two years later, in July 2019, Dassault was contracted to resume the programme. But before the finalisation of the new deal, DGA had already started testing new elements of the programme on its fleet of test aircraft from 2018.
How improved are the upgraded Mirage 2000D RMVs?
Modernisation of the Mirage 2000D is focused on the avionics system of the aircraft to enable it to use a number of new weapons. For air-to-air missions, the only improvement is the ability to use MICA NG infrared-guided air-to-air missiles as a replacement for the ageing Magic IIs, because the Antipole-5 terrain-following radar of the aircraft has not been replaced by a new type. However, for the air-to-ground missions, the aircraft will have its combat capability widely enhanced. The Mirage 2000D RMV will be able to carry and use GBU-48, GBU-49, GBU-50 and Sagem’s AASM, equipped with all-weather GPS navigation combined with precision terminal laser guidance. The RMVs will also be capable of using Thales/TDA Air-Sol Petite Taille Tactique (ASPTT) small diameter tactical air-to-ground bomb. The upgraded Mirage 2000Ds are also capable of using the CC422 30mm Cannon pod, a shortened version of CC420 fitted to the Mirage F1B.
To use new weapons and also to have enhanced mission capabilities, the Mirage 2000D RMVs are modified to operate the Targeting Long-range Identification Optronic System (TALIOS) targeting pod instead of the ageing ATLIS II, PDL CTS and Damocles currently in use by them. TALIOS is a multipurpose two-in-one pod developed by Thales to meet the AAE requirements for its Rafale F3-R standard fighter jets. The TALIOS pod doesn't just provide targeting capability, but rather is an asset for tactical reconnaissance as it delivers high resolution and colour imagery. The permanent vision and embedded artificial intelligence of the pod not only enable pilots and weapon system operators to perform their air-to-ground missions more effectively than before but also provides reliable situational awareness for the ground forces in real-time.
Also, in addition to receiving new VHF-FM radios, a new Link-16 database system will be installed that’s capable of transmitting video and images from the TALIOS pod to the units on the ground.
The 3rd Fighter Wing of the AAE at BA133 Nancy-Ochey currently has 35 targeting pods in use. There are nine ATLIS II daytime laser designators, 20 PDL CTS day-and-night targeting pods and six Damocles MP all-weather targeting pods. In addition to them, the wing has four ASTAC Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) pods which are being used for monitoring activities of the Russian military presence in the Crimean peninsula and the Black Sea.
At least two of the targeting pods of 3rd Fighter Wing are on loan by the Fighter Experiment Squadron (ECE) 1/30 ‘Côte d’Argent’ at BA118 Mont-de-Marsan, while four to six are always on assignment to French overseas airbases to be used by Mirage 2000Ds involved in Operation Barkhane and Chammal. In the Middle East, they can be found in H4 Air Base in Jordan and Al-Dhafra Air Base in UAE, while in Africa they are in Niamey in Niger.
ATLIS-II is a day-only system capable of designating laser for GBU-12 laser guided bombs. This was the first targeting pod ever used by the Mirage 2000Ds. The pod was supplemented by a Pod de Désignation Laser-Caméra Thermique (PDL-CT) that provides thermal imaging designation thanks to its improved Synergie infrared sensor that gives a 40% increase in image resolution. These pods are obsolete today as they have limited capabilities and the low resolution quality of the video feed. The AAE initially replaced them with the more modern Thales Damocles MP and is now upgrading them with the state-of-the-art Thales TALIOS.
639/3-JJ is the first Mirage 2000D of the French Air and Space Force which was upgraded by the Dassault-Aviation in 2020. It is now in use by the ECE 1/30 in BA118 Mont-de-Marsan. Here it can be seen after a test flight while it had captive training MICA NG IR-Guided air-to-air missile and an ATLIS II targeting pod loaded.
“According to the French Military Programming Law for 2009 to 2014, it was planned to upgrade a fleet of 71 Mirage 2000Ds of the French Air Force to fill the gap of lack of ground-attack aircraft after retirement of the Mirage F1CT fighter jets”
Role of the DGA’s test aircraft
The Flight Test Department of DGA was tasked with testing the new components and systems of the Mirage 2000D RMV in 2016. For this purpose, the three of the four Mirage 2000Ds of the flight unit were borrowed from the air force, along with the sole Mirage 2000B of the unit. The first aircraft to be modified with new systems for test purposes was Mirage 2000D, serial number 644, in 2017. It had previously been in service with EC 2/3 ‘Champagne’. A second Mirage 2000D, serial number 676, was modified in 2019. A third 2000D, serial number 673, was also equipped with the new avionic components of the RMV programme in 2020, followed by the Mirage 2000B, serial number 501, in 2021. The 501 was previously used as a testbed for the Rafale F3 and F3-R avionics systems, including the Front Sector optronics (FSO) and the RBE2 AESA radar. For this purpose, the nosecone, including radar and radome, of Rafale was installed on the aircraft. The test aircraft have a small fairing under their noses that carry two cameras, one facing backward and the other forward-facing, to film the moment of separation of weapons.
The Mirage 2000B/D test aircraft of DGA-EV are based at the BA120 Cazaux. In 2021, due to the construction work at the base and its runway, the Mirage 2000B/Ds involved in the testing stage of the RMV programme were moved to BA106 at Bordeaux to have their test flights conducted from there, while the other test aircraft of the unit were moved to BA125 Istres, where the main base of DGA-EV is located.
Despite the fact that the Fighter Experiment Squadron (ECE) 1/30 ‘Côte d’Argent’ of AAE started testing the first batch of the Mirage 2000D RMVs from January 2021, the DGA-EV continued the tests onboard its test aircraft. In December, tests of the new avionics and weapon systems of the Mirage 2000D RMV were conducted on two test aircraft: the Mirage 2000B, serial number 501 serial number and the two Mirage 2000Ds, serial numbers 644 and 673, on deployment at Bordeaux.
On October 26, the Mirage 673 tested the C422 cannon pod carrying Nexter DEFA 550F 30-mm cannon inside. During one of the flights, the aircraft flew over Landes de Gascogne Regional Natural Park and fired at maritime targets near the French coastline in the Bay of Biscay. The flight lasted almost an hour and returned to Bordeaux at 15:13 local time. A similar cannon test took place within the next few days.
In December, most of the tests were carried out by the Mirages 501 and 673. Aircraft 501 carried a new centreline external fuel tank with an Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) system embedded. The new external tank enables the Mirage 2000D RMV to perform electronic intelligence missions within a longer period of time, as more fuel can be carried by the aircraft. When fitted with the ASTAC pod, the Mirage 2000D is unable to also carry a centreline external fuel tank as the pod is carried under the central station of the aircraft.
On December 13, the aircraft 673 was used to test the TALIOS pod during a 80-minute flight from Bordeaux. Then, on December 14, it tested a newly designed and developed centreline external fuel tank with four chaff/flare dispensers embedded, increasing total number of the dispensers on the aircraft to four. Finally, on December 16, aircraft 644 test dropped a pair of GBU-48 precision guided bombs. The 644 didn’t carry a TALIOS multi-mission pod during the test, so it is not clear how the weapon system operator locked on targets and dropped the bombs.
622 and 639, two Mirage 2000D RMVs of the French Air and Space Force on deployment at Djibouti during the test campaign between July 1 and 20, 2021. They can be seen armed with MICA-NG missiles and also GBU-48, GBU-50 LGBs as well as CC422 gun pod
French Air and Space Force
Primary role of this Mirage 2000B of DGA-EV with 501 serial number is to test new avionics of Rafale F4 fighter jet however it has a secondary role of testing a new central external tank of Mirage 2000D RMV.
Mirage 2000B of DGA-EV with 501 serial number departing the Bordeaux airport for a test flight on December 13, 2021.
654/30-ID has been in service of the ECE 1/30 for a long time as a test aircraft used by the CAEM. Here it can be seen returning BA118 Mont-de-Marsan after a test flight on May 20, 2021.
Delivery of the first upgraded Mirage 2000D RMVs
On January 7, 2021, the first upgraded Mirage 2000D, serial number 639, landed at Air Base 118 in Mont-de-Marsan after almost a year of technical work by Dassault Aviation at Clermont-Ferrand. The aircraft was delivered to the ECE 1/30 ‘Côte d’Argent’ for evaluation of the upgrade work. Before its delivery, the DGA had already tested the aircraft. ECE 1/30 was responsible for testing the new components of the upgraded fighter jets and also designing and developing training orders and publications for the pilots and weapon system operators who would be operating the upgraded aircraft. For this purpose, the test squadron has a number of fighter jets, including three Mirage 2000Ds, serial numbers 614, 617 and 654.
AAE received six further Mirage 2000D RMVs in 2021, serial numbers 622, 637, 640, 641, 646 and 655, that were all used by the ECE 1/30 for further tests and evaluation. Two of them, 622 and 639, were deployed at Air Base 188 in Djibouti where they passed a number of weapon tests in hot weather conditions between July 1-20, 2021.
The primary goal of the Djibouti deployment was for the Military Air Experiment Centre (CEAM) to consider their use under conditions similar to overseas operations such as Barkhane in Africa. The second goal was to enable the DGA-EV to carry-out tests of the CC422 cannon pod, as well as TALIOS and other targeting pods in hot weather.
The test flights of the Mirage 2000D RMVs were conducted with support from Mirage 2000-5F fighter interceptors of EC 3/11 ‘Corsica’ based in Air Base 188. Also, the joint CAEM and DGA test and experiment campaign brought together personnel of two test units of these organisations. The CEAM employed personnel from its aeronautical technical support squadron, while the DGA-EV deployed its operational and cyber defence information systems squadron (ESIOC). Thanks to the test campaign, the Mirage 2000D RMV fleet took one step closer to achieving first operational capability, scheduled for spring 2022.
Future of the Mirage 2000D RMV fleet
On July 20, 2021, the AAE lost one of its Mirage 2000Ds during an operation in the Hombori area of Mali. The aircraft flown from Gao Airport crashed due to a technical failure, but its pilot and weapon system operator ejected safely and were recovered by a combat search and rescue (CSAR) team of French army aviation, consisting of two NH90TTH Caiman helicopters and two Tiger HAD attack helicopters.
673, one of four Mirage 2000D test aircraft of DGA-EV can be seen equipped with a TALIOS pod departing the Bordeaux for a test flight on December 13, 2021. A total of six test flights with the TALIOS pod was performed by this aircraft in December.
“Modernisation of the Mirage 2000D is more focused on the avionic systems of the aircraft to enable it to use a number of new weapons”
This has left 67 Mirage 2000Ds in service, which are being operated by three squadrons of the 3rd Fighter Wing based in Air Base 133 Nancy-Ochey. They are EC 1/3 ‘Navarre’, EC 2/3 ‘Champagne’ and EC 3/3 ‘Ardennes’.
According to official statistics from the French MOD, the AAE had 39.9% of its Mirage 2000Ds operational in 2019, which was reduced to 37.7% in 2020 and 32.4% in the first half of 2021. That means the 3rd Fighter Wing had only 25 operational Mirage 2000Ds. Of these, one was lost on July 20, 2021. However, this total was increased to 30 in December 2021 when the seventh upgraded Mirage 2000D was delivered by Dassault Aviation.
The AAE expects to have a total of 20 Mirage 2000D RMVs by the end of 2022, with the force expecting 13 more upgraded aircraft from Dassault. At-least five additional RMVs will be delivered by mid-June 2022, which together with at least five of the seven examples already in service with ECE 1/30 will be handed over to EC 2/3 ‘Champagne’.
EC 2/3 ‘Champagne’ is projected to become a training squadron from 2023. The squadron will have responsibility of training Mirage 2000D RMV pilots and weapon system operators for other two fighter squadrons that will be receiving a total of 35 more Mirage 2000D RMVs by 2024. The ‘Champagne’ squadron will also receive the last seven Mirage 2000B combat trainers that are now in service of the EC 2/5 ‘Ile-de-France‘ squadron at BA115 Orange. EC 2/5 will be disbanded on June 23, 2022, and its last 12 operational Mirage 2000Cs will be retired. Its Mirage 2000Bs will be used by ‘Champagne’ to train future Mirage 2000-5F pilots for the EC 1/2 ‘Cigognes’.
The AAE expects to have its Mirage 2000D RMVs deployed for operations overseas for the first time in April or May 2022. The first group of four 2000Ds will most likely be sent to Niamey Air Base in Niger, from where they will take part in anti-terrorist Operation Barkhane. The next deployments will be to Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE and H4 Air Base in Jordan, from where the Mirage 2000D RMVs will fly combat missions against IS in Iraq and Syria.
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