Mirage IVA
Description
Role	Bomber aircraft
Crew	Two - pilot, navigator
First Flight	17 June 1959
Entered Service	1964
Manufacturers	Dassault Aviation
Dimensions
Length	23.50 m	77 ft
Wingspan	11.84 m	38 ft 11 in
Height	5.65 m	18 ft 6 in
Wing area	78.00 m²	840 ft²
Weights
Empty	14,500 kg	32,000 lb
Loaded	31,600 kg	69,666 lb
Maximum takeoff	33,475 kg	73,645 lb
Powerplant
Engines	2x SNECMA Atar 9K-50
Thrust	75.61 kN	31,750 lb
Performance
Maximum speed	Mach 2.2 (high altitude dash)
Maximum speed	1,350 km/h	840 mph (sea level)
Combat Radius	1,240 km	775 miles
Ferry range	4,000 km	2,500 miles
Service ceiling	20,000 m	65,615 ft
Rate of climb	2,588 m/min	8,490 ft/min
Wing loading	405-429 kg/m²	83-88 lb/ft²
Thrust/weight	0.46 lbf/lb	4.6 N/kg
Avionics
Avionics	Thomson-CSF (Thales) navigation radar, Doppler navigation, INS (IVP)
Armament
Bombs	1 AN-11 or AN-22 free-fall bomb (Mirage IVA)
Missiles	1 medium range air-to-ground missile ASMP (Mirage IVP)
Other	CT-52 sensor pod for strategic reconnaissance

The Dassault Mirage IV is a French jet-propelled supersonic strategic bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. For many years it was the linchpin of the Force de frappe, the French nuclear deterrent program. Download high resolution version (1000x750, 175 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1959: // Events Unknown The Canadian Golden Hawks aerobatic team is formed. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1964: // Events February February 7 - The Canadian Golden Hawks aerobatic team is disbanded. ... Formerly named Societé des Avions Marcel Bloch or MB, the Dassault Aviation is a French aircraft manufacturer of military, regional and business jets. ... The SNECMA Atar was a French axial-flow turbojet engine built by Snecma Moteurs. ... Thomson-CSF was a major electronics and defense contractor. ... The Thales Group is a global electronics company serving aerospace, defence, and information technology markets worldwide. ... The AN-11 was Frances first nuclear weapon, developed to arm the Force de frappe. ... The AN-22 was Frances second air-dropped nuclear weapon. ... The ASMP (Air_Sol Moyenne Portee _ medium_range air to surface missile) is an air_launched nuclear warhead delivery system used by France. ... Mixed reconaissance patrol of the Polish Home Army and the Soviet Red Army during Operation Tempest, 1944 Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ... Formerly named Societé des Avions Marcel Bloch or MB, the Dassault Aviation is a French aircraft manufacturer of military, regional and business jets. ... A Pratt and Whitney turbofan engine for the F-15 Eagle is tested at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, USA. The tunnel behind the engine muffles noise and allows exhaust to escape. ... A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... A military aircraft used for monitoring enemy activity, usually carrying no armament. ... The Force de frappe (literally Striking Force; meant for dissuasion, i. ...

History

The bomber's specifications were jointly defined by government authorities and Dassault staff, and cleared on March 20, 1957. The Mirage IV 01 looked a lot like the Mirage III A, even though it had double the surface, engine and unladen weight. It nevertheless carried three times more internal fuel. Its aerodynamic features were very similar to the single-jet Mirage III, but it required a bespoke structure and layout. This is a list of aviation-related events from 1957: Events January January 18 - Three Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses make the worlds first round the world, non-stop flight by turbojet-powered aircraft. ...

The Mirage IV 01 was an experimental prototype built to explore and solve the problems stemming from prolonged supersonic flight. The sizeable technological and operational uncertainties (no plane had yet been found able to cruise at over Mach 1.8 for long periods of time) were only one part of the problem. The weapon-related issues were the other.

It took 18 months to build the Mirage IV 01 in the Saint Cloud plant. In late 1958, it was transferred to Melun Villaroche for its finishing touches and ground tests. Roland Glavany took the Mirage IV 01 into the air for the first time on June 17, 1959. For its third flight, on 20 June, 1959, the Mirage IV 01 was authorized to fly over the Bourget Air Show. At least one of the spectators was paying careful attention: France's President Charles de Gaulle. On September 19, 1960, René Bigand upped the world record for speed on a 1000-kilometer closed circuit to 1 822 km/h. Flight 138, on September 23, corroborated the initial performance and pushed the record on a 500-km closed circuit to an average of 1 972 km/h, flying between Mach 2.08 and Mach 2.14. This is a list of aviation-related events from 1958: Events Gulfstream Aerospace founded in Savannah, Georgia, USA. London Gatwick Airport opens after two years of extensive reconstruction. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1959: // Events Unknown The Canadian Golden Hawks aerobatic team is formed. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1960: Events January January 1 - Fiji Airways is reconstituted, becoming equally owned by BOAC, QANTAS, and Tasman Empire Airways. ...

Work on a supersonic bomber able to carry a nuclear bomb started in France in 1956. The first prototype Mirage IV-01, flown on June 17, 1959, was basically an enlarged Mirage III delta wing fighter. It was found to have insufficient range, so the much larger and sophisticated Mirage IVB project was developed. When this was in turn considered too expensive, the medium-size Mirage IVA was chosen as the final variant. This page is about high speed motion of bodies such as airplanes through air or other fluids. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 lifted nuclear fallout some 18 km (60,000 feet) above the epicenter. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1956: Events March March 10 - Lt Cdr Peter Twiss sets a new airspeed record in the Fairey Delta FD.2, also becoming the first person to exceed 1,000 mph. ... June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ... Former South African Air Force Mirage IIICZ The Dassault Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed in France during the 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. ... The delta-wing is a wing planform in the form of a triangle. ...

The prototype Mirage IVA-02 was flown on October 12, 1961, and was accepted for a serial production. The first serial Mirage IVA was flown in December 1963. A series of 62 aircraft were built, and they entered service between 1964 and 1968. October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1961: Events February February 3 - Operation Looking Glass commences, meaning that the US Air Force Strategic Air Command would have a permanent, airborne command post. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1963: Events January January 7 - Aeroflot commences direct services between Moscow and Havana February February 14 - the Indian Air Force receives its first batch of Soviet fighters, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21s March March 18 - the Dassault Balzac makes its first transitions... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1964: // Events February February 7 - The Canadian Golden Hawks aerobatic team is disbanded. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1968: Events January January 21 - a US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress crashes in the sea near Thule AFB Greenland, carrying four nuclear weapons. ...

Starting in February 1964 the Mirage formed the first French two strategic bombing squadrons: EB 1/91 'Gascogne' and 2/91 'Bretagne', followed by another seven squadrons in three regiments. After establishment of its own deterrent force, France quit the military command structure of NATO in 1966. This is a list of aviation-related events from 1964: // Events February February 7 - The Canadian Golden Hawks aerobatic team is disbanded. ... The NATO flag NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, D.C., on April 4... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1966: Events Puerto Rican International Airlines begin services. ...

The primary objectives of the Mirage IVA force were major Soviet cities and bases. With aerial refueling, the plane was able to attack Moscow, Murmansk or Ukrainian cities from French bases. In order to refuel the Mirage IVA fleet, France purchased a number of U.S. KC-135F tankers. Even so, Mirage IVAs often operated in pairs, one aircraft carrying a weapon, the other carrying fuel tanks and a buddy refueling pack allowing it to refuel its mate en route to the target. Even though, some sources state that some of the mission profiles envisioned were essentially kamikaze missions, from which the pilot had little or no chance of return after bombing a Soviet city. (Cahiers du RMES, Vol II nr 1) State motto (Russian): Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Translated: Workers of the world, unite!) Anthems: The Internationale (1922-1944) / Hymn of the Soviet Union (1944-1991) Capital Moscow Official language None; Russian (de facto) Government Federation of Socialist republics/ Communist state Last Premier Ivan Silayev Last President Mikhail Gorbachev Area... Aerial refueling, also called in-flight refueling (IFR) or air-to-air refueling (AAR), is the practice of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight. ... Moscow (Russian: Москва́, Moskva, IPA:   listen?) is the capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva. ... Murmansk, Archangelsk, Dikson, Tiksi, on the Arctic Ocean Murmansk coin Murmansk (Му́рманск) is a city in the extreme northwest of Russia (north of the Arctic circle) with a seaport on the Kola Gulf, 20 miles from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from... ... The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an aerial refueling tanker aircraft, first manufactured in 1956 and expected to remain in service into the 2020s. ... Tanker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... A kamikaze, a Mitsubishi Zero in this case, about to hit the USS Missouri. ... The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (СССР)  listen; tr. ...

Initially, the basic attack flight profile was high-high-high at a speed of Mach 1.85, engaging targets at maximum radius of 3,500 km (2,185 miles). In the late 1960s, when the threat of surface-to-air missile defenses made high-altitude flight too hazardous, the Mirage IVA was modified for low-altitude penetration. Flying low, the maximum attack speed was reduced to 1,100 km/h (687 miles), also reducing the combat radius. A surface-to-air missile (SAM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. ...

By the 1970s it was clear that the vulnerability of the Mirage IV to air defenses (even in low-level flight) made the delivery of gravity bombs impractical. In response the French developed the ASMP stand-off missile, with a range of up to 400 km (250 mi) and a 150 or 300 kT warhead. 19 Mirage IVAs were modified to carry the new weapon instead of bombs, and received a new designation Mirage IVP (for "Penetration"). The first flew on October 12, 1982, and entered service on May 1, 1986. They carried a missile or a reconnaissance container on the centerline. When the Mirage IVP entered service with EB 1/91 and EB 2/91 (with six bombers per squadron), the other squadrons using the Mirage IVA were disbanded. This article provides extensive lists of events and significant personalities of the 1970s. ... The ASMP (Air_Sol Moyenne Portee _ medium_range air to surface missile) is an air_launched nuclear warhead delivery system used by France. ... A megaton or megatonne is a unit of mass equal to 1,000,000 metric tons, i. ... October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1982: Events January January 8 - the Airbus A300 is certified, becoming the first wide body airliner with cockpit accommodations for only two to be certified. ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1986: Events January January 9 - the UK Defence Secretary, Michael Heseltine, resigns amidst a political furore over the future of Westland Helicopters. ...

In 1996 the Mirage IVP's nuclear mission was passed to the Mirage 2000N and EB 2/91 was disbanded. EB 1/91 was redesignated Escadron de Reconnaissance Stratégic (Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron), using all 12 remaining Mirage IVPs. In the recce role the Mirage IVP has seen service over Bosnia, Iraq, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. This is a list of aviation-related events from 1996: Events February the T-6 Texan II is selected as the new primary trainer for the United States armed forces. ... The Dassault-Breguet Mirage 2000N is a variant of the Mirage 2000 designed for nuclear strike. ... Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ... Bosnia and Herzegovina (officially Bosna i Hercegovina, shortened to BiH, also in English variously written Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bosnia-Hercegovina) is a mountainous country in the western Balkans. ... Kosovo and Metohia (Serbian: Косово и Метохија / Kosovo i Metohija, Albanian: Kosovë / Kosova), in English most often called just Kosovo, is a province of Serbia. ...

ES 1/91 Gascogne's surviving Mirage IVPs are currently scheduled to fly until June 2005. They will be replaced by Mirage 2000N aircraft fitted with the new PRNG (Pod de Reco Nouvelle Génération, New Generation Recce Pod) system with digital camera equipment, but the recce-configured 2000Ns will not be ready until 2007. This is a list of aviation-related events from 2005: // Events January January 29 - Nonstop flights between mainland China and Taiwan take off for the first time since 1949. ... The Dassault-Breguet Mirage 2000N is a variant of the Mirage 2000 designed for nuclear strike. ... A SiPix digital camera next to a matchbox to show scale. ...

The aircraft has been popular with its crews, which find it enjoyable to fly despite its antiquated systems and generally uncomfortable cockpit, and requires surprisingly little maintenance considering its age and complexity.

Description

The Mirage IV is similar to Mirage fighters, with tailless delta wing and a single square-topped vertical fin. It has two SNECMA Atar turbojets in the rear fuselage, with air intakes on both sides of the fuselage, very similar to the Mirage III's souris ("mice"). It can reach high supersonic speeds: the aircraft is redlined at Mach 2.2 at altitude because of airframe temperature restrictions, although it is capable of higher speeds. Although the aircraft has 14,000 liters of internal fuel, its engines are quite thirsty, especially in afterburner. Former South African Air Force Mirage IIICZ The Dassault Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed in France during the 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. ... The delta-wing is a wing planform in the form of a triangle. ... The SNECMA Atar was a French axial-flow turbojet engine built by Snecma Moteurs. ... Jet engine diagram Turbojets are the simplest and oldest kind of general purpose jet engine. ... Mach number (Ma) (pronounced as mack in International English or mock in the American English) is defined as a ratio of speed to the speed of sound in the medium in case. ... For other uses of afterburner, see Afterburner (disambiguation). ...

The crew of two (pilot and navigator) are seated in tandem cockpits under separate canopies. A bombing/navigation radar is located under a radome in the fuselage under the intakes, aft of the cockpit. A refueling boom is built into the nose, an important part of Mirage IV operations. A radome (radar dome) is a weatherproof enclosure used to protect an antenna. ... Aerial refueling, also called in-flight refueling (IFR) or air-to-air refueling (AAR), is the practice of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight. ...

The Mirage IV has two pylons under each wing, the inboard pylons normally used for large drop tanks of 2,500 liter (660 gallon) capacity. The outers carry ECM and chaff/flare dispenser pods to supplement the internal jamming and countermeasures systems: on current aircraft, typically a Barax NG jammer pod under the port wing and a Boz expendables dispenser under the starboard wing. No cannon armament was fitted. The early Mirage IVA had a fuselage recess under the engines for a single AN-11 or AN-22 nuclear weapon of 60 kiloton yield. A drop tank is a external fuel tank carried by aircraft for long-range flights. ... ECM is an abbreviation of: Electret condenser microphone Electro chemical machining Electronic countermeasures Electronic control module Elliptic curve method (integer factorization) Enterprise content management Error correction mode (fax protocol) Extracellular matrix See also: ECM (record label) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might... Chaff is the seed casings and other inedible plant matter harvested with cereal grains such as wheat. ... A small cast-iron cannon on a carriage A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a considerable distance. ... The AN-11 was Frances first nuclear weapon, developed to arm the Force de frappe. ... The AN-22 was Frances second air-dropped nuclear weapon. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the hypocenter. ... A megaton or megatonne is a unit of mass equal to 1,000,000 metric tons, i. ...

From 1972 onward, 12 aircraft were also equipped to carry the CT52 reconnaissance pod in the bomb recess. The CT52 is available in either BA (Basse Altitude, low-level) or HA (Haute Altitude, high-altitude) versions with three or four long-range cameras. A third configuration is an infrared linescanner. None of the CT52 has any digital systems, relying on older 'wet' film cameras. This is a list of aviation-related events from 1972: Events January January 5 - US President Richard Nixon announces $US 5. ... Mixed reconaissance patrol of the Polish Home Army and the Soviet Red Army during Operation Tempest, 1944 Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ... Image of a small dog taken in mid-infrared (thermal) light (false color) Infrared (IR) radiation is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength longer than visible light, but shorter than microwave radiation. ...

Later Mirage IVP aircraft could be fitted a single centreline pylon for the ASMP stand-off missile. The ASMP (Air_Sol Moyenne Portee _ medium_range air to surface missile) is an air_launched nuclear warhead delivery system used by France. ...

The Mirage IVA could theoretically carry up to six large conventional bombs at the cost of drop tanks and ECM pods, but such armament was rarely fitted in practice.

Former South African Air Force Mirage IIICZ The Dassault Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed in France during the 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. ... B-58 Hustler The Convair B-58 Hustler was a high-speed jet bomber developed for the Strategic Air Command during the late 1950s. ... The British Aircraft Corporations TSR-2 was an ill-fated cold war project in the early 1960s to create what would, at that time, have been one of the most advanced aircraft in the world. ... The Tupolev Tu-22 (NATO reporting name Blinder) is a Soviet jet supersonic bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. ... The Avro Vulcan was a British-built jet-engined, delta-winged subsonic bomber, once part of the RAFs V bomber force. ... Former South African Air Force Mirage IIICZ The Dassault Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed in France during the 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. ... Former South African Air Force Mirage IIICZ The Dassault Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed in France during the 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. ... A Mirage 2000 of the Indian Air Force The Mirage 2000 is a French-built multi-role fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. ... // 1914-1918 France Breguet 14 Germany Albatros C.III Rumpler Taube Gotha G AEG G.I AEG G.II AEG G.III AEG G.IV AEG G.V AEG N.I AEG R.I Italy Caproni Ca. ...