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Dassault Mirage IV

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Image:Mirage IV.JPG 300px|thumb|Mirage IV The '''Dassault Aviation Dassault Mirage IV''' is a France French jet engine jet-propelled supersonic strategic bomber aircraft bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. For many years it was the linchpin of the ''Force de frappe'', France's nuclear deterrent program.

History
Work on a supersonic bomber able to carry a nuclear bomb started in France in 1956 in aviation 1956 as part of the development of France's independent nuclear deterrent. The final specifications, jointly defined by government authorities and Dassault Aviation Dassault staff, were approved on March 20, 1957 in aviation 1957. Dassault's resulting prototype, dubbed '''Mirage IV 01''', looked a lot like the Dassault Mirage Mirage III A, even though it had double the wing surface, two engines instead of one, and twice the unladen weight. The Mirage IV nevertheless carried three times more internal fuel than the III. The aircraft's aerodynamic features were very similar to the III's but required a bespoke structure and layout. The 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 01 in Dassault's Saint-Cloud plant near Paris. In late 1958 in aviation 1958, the aircraft was transferred to the Melun-Villaroche flight test center for finishing touches and ground tests. Roland Glavany took the 01 into the air for the first time on June 17, 1959 in aviation 1959. For its third flight, on 20 June, 1959, the 01 was authorized to fly over the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport. At least one of the spectators was paying careful attention: France's President Charles de Gaulle. On September 19, 1960 in aviation 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. The 01 was eventually found to have insufficient range, so a larger and more sophisticated '''Mirage IVB''' project was developed. When this was in turn considered too expensive, the medium-sized '''Mirage IVA''' was chosen as the final variant. The prototype '''Mirage IVA-02''' was flown on October 12, 1961 in aviation 1961, and was accepted for serial production. The first production Mirage IVA was flown in December 1963 in aviation 1963. A series of 62 aircraft were built, and they entered service between 1964 in aviation 1964 and 1968 in aviation 1968. In February 1964 the Mirage IV formed the first two French strategic bombing squadrons: ''Escadron de Bombardement 1/91 EB 1/91 'Gascogne''' and ''Escadron de Bombardement 2/91 2/91 'Bretagne''', followed later on by another seven squadrons in three regiments. After establishment of its own deterrent force, France quit the military command structure of NATO in 1966 in aviation 1966. The primary objectives of the Mirage IVA force were major Soviet Union Soviet cities and bases. With aerial refueling, the plane was able to attack Moscow, Murmansk or Ukraine Ukrainian cities from French bases. In order to refuel the Mirage IVA fleet, France purchased a number of United States U.S. KC-135 KC-135F Tanker (aircraft) 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 USSR Soviet city. ''([http://www.rmes.be/Cahiers%20du%20RMES%203.pdf Cahiers du RMES], Vol II nr 1)'' 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 (2,175 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 (680 mph), also reducing the combat radius. 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 bomb 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 single 150- or 300-kiloton kT nuclear warhead. 19 Mirage IVAs were modified to carry the new weapon instead of bombs and received the new designation '''Mirage IVP''' (for "Penetration"). The first IVP flew on October 12, 1982 in aviation 1982, and entered service on May 1, 1986 in aviation 1986. This variant could carry either a single missile or a reconnaissance pod 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. In 1996 in aviation 1996 the Mirage IVP's nuclear mission was transferred to the Mirage 2000N and EB 2/91 was disbanded. EB 1/91 was redesignated ''Escadron de Reconnaissance Stratégique'' (Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron), using all 12 remaining Mirage IVPs. In the recce role, the Mirage IVP has seen service over Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia, Iraq, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. ES 1/91 Gascogne's surviving Mirage IVPs were retired in 2005 in aviation 2005. They were scheduled to be immediately replaced by Mirage 2000N aircraft fitted with the new PRNG (''Pod de Reconnaissance Nouvelle Génération'', New Generation Recce Pod) system with digital camera equipment. However, the recce-configured 2000Ns will not be ready until 2007 in aviation 2007, so the Armée de l'Air's Mirage F1-CRs are assuming all recce duties in the interim. 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 (aircraft) 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 number 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 (engine) afterburner. 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. An aerial refueling refueling boom is built into the nose, an important part of Mirage IV operations. The Mirage IV has two pylons under each wing, the inboard pylons being normally used for large drop tanks of 2,500 liter (660 gallon) capacity. The outer pylons carry ECM and chaff (radar countermeasure) 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 bomb AN-11 or AN-22 bomb AN-22 nuclear weapon of 60-kiloton yield. From 1972 in aviation 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. Later Mirage IVP aircraft could be fitted a single centerline pylon for the ASMP stand-off missile. 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.

Specifications (Mirage IVA)
{{airtemp| |plane or copter?=plane |jet or prop?=jet |crew=Two - pilot, navigator |length main=23.50 m |length alt=77 ft |span main=11.84 m |span alt=38 ft 11 in |height main=5.65 m |height alt=18 ft 6 in |area main=78.00 m² |area alt=840 ft² |empty weight main=14,500 kg |empty weight alt=32,000 lb |loaded weight main=31,600 kg |loaded weight alt=69,666 lb |max takeoff weight main=33,475 kg |max takeoff weight alt=73,645 lb |engine (jet)=SNECMA Atar 9K-50 |type of jet=turbojets |number of jets=2 |thrust main=70.6 kN with afterburner |thrust alt=15,875 lbf |max speed main=Mach 2.2, 1,350 km/h |max speed alt=840 mph |range main=1,240 km combat, 4,000 km ferry |range alt=775 mi / 2,500 mi |ceiling main=20,000 m |ceiling alt=65,615 ft |climb rate main=43.1 m/s |climb rate alt=8,490 ft/min |loading main=405-429 kg/m² |loading alt=83-88 lb/ft² |thrust/weight=0.46 |avionics= * Thomson-CSF (Thales Group Thales) navigation radar, Doppler navigation, inertial navigation system INS (IVP) |armament= * 1x AN-11 bomb AN-11 or AN-22 bomb AN-22 free-fall bomb (Mirage IVA) * 1x medium range air-to-ground missile ASMP (Mirage IVP) * CT-52 sensor pod for strategic reconnaissance }}

External links

- Mirage IV information and photos by Yves Fauconnier (French)

Related content
{{aircontent| |related= * Dassault Mirage III |similar aircraft= B-58 Hustler - TSR-2 - Tupolev Tu-22 - Avro Vulcan |sequence= Mirage III - '''Mirage IV''' - Mirage V - Mirage 2000 |lists= * List of bomber aircraft }} Category:Delta-wing aircraft Category:French bomber aircraft 1960-1969 Category:French military reconnaissance aircraft 1990-1999 de:Dassault Mirage IV fr:Dassault Mirage IV pl:Dassault Mirage IV

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