Dassault Mirage 2000
| Mirage 2000 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| A Mirage 2000C of the French Air Force | |
| Role | Multirole fighter |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Dassault Aviation |
| First flight | 10 March 1978 |
| Introduction | November 1982 |
| Status | In service |
| Primary users |
French Air Force United Arab Emirates Air Force Republic of China Air Force Indian Air Force |
| Produced | 1978–2007 |
| Number built | 601 |
| Unit cost |
US$23 million
|
| Developed from | Dassault Mirage III |
| Variants | Dassault Mirage 2000N/2000D |
| Developed into | Dassault Mirage 4000 |
| Dassault Mirage 2000 cutaway | |
 Hi-res cutaway of the Dassault Mirage 2000 by Flight Global
|
The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter based on the Mirage III for the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air). The Mirage 2000 evolved into a multirole aircraft with several variants developed, with sales to a number of nations. The variants include the Mirage 2000N and 2000D strike variants, the improved Mirage 2000-5 and several export variants. Over 600 aircraft were built and it has been in service with nine nations.
The Mirage 2000 evolved from a series of Dassault projects performed from 1965 to 1975. The first in this series was a project known as the "Anglo-French Variable Geometry" (AFVG) swing-wing aircraft, begun in 1965. The collaboration was undermined by Dassault and the French, citing costs, withdrew in 1967. The British stayed with the concept and formed another collaboration with the Germans and Italians, which eventually produced the Panavia Tornado multirole combat aircraft.
Dassault then worked on several new concepts evolved from the Mirage G variable-geometry experimental prototype, resulting in a sophisticated design with the designation "Avion de Combat Futur (ACF / Future Combat Aircraft)". The French Air Force developed a requirement for developing the Avion de Combat Futur (ACF) (French: "Future combat aircraft") in the early 1970s. Dassault offered its twin-engine Super Mirage for the ACF requirement. However, the Super Mirage was to be too costly and was canceled in December 1975.
Dassault had been working on other fighter options in the meantime, partly because the export potential of the ACF was not promising. These alternatives were smaller, simpler, and cheaper than the ACF, and took the form of a number of "Mini-Mirage (Mimi)" concepts. These concepts congealed into an aircraft known at first as the "Super Mirage III", then the "Delta 1000", "Delta 2000", "Super Mirage 2000", and finally just "Mirage 2000".
The ACF was a strike aircraft first and an interceptor second, while the Mirage 2000 was exactly the reverse, but the Mirage 2000 was much more affordable. When the ACF was cancelled, Dassault offered the single-engine Mirage 2000 to the French government as an alternative and received approval to proceed on 18 December 1975. This was a return to the first generation Mirages, but with several important innovations that tried to solve their shortcomings. Project chiefs were B.C. Valliéres, J. Cabrière, J.C. Veber and B. Revellin-Falcoz.
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