Mirages I - III/5, Prototypes & Projects

[Javvp]

the Spanish Mirage IIIEE were returned to France as a partial financing for the new F-1. And France resold them to Pakistan.

Pakistan received Mirage III/V from France, Australia, Spain and Lebanon.

 

[Deltafan]

What I know (from Alan Warnes in Air Forces Monthly November 2017 and Avions de combat March 2018) about the Pakistani Mirage :

-284 were ordered new or used (135 in France, 76 in Libya, 50 in Australia, 13 in Spain and 10 in Lebanon), divided into 195 used in flight (those acquired in France, Australia and Lebanon) and 89 for parts (those purchased in Libya and Spain).

of the 195 used in flight, 70 were subject to a ROSE (Retrofit Of Strike Element) modernization, distributed as follows:

-37 were modernized ROSE I (5 III ordered new in France and 32 III ordered second-hand in Australia)

-19 have been modernized ROSE II (used M 5 ex French Armée de l'air)

-14 were modernized ROSE III (M 5 from OCCAZ ex French Armée de l'air too).

A few years ago, Pakistan requested further modernization from France, but this was refused due to political disagreements between the two states. For the same reason, France would have vetoed the purchase of Egyptian Mirage IIIs by Pakistan.

 

[F.L.]

76 in Libya

In what year did Pakistan buy the Libyan Mirage IIIs ?

 

[Deltafan]

In what year did Pakistan buy the Libyan Mirage IIIs ?

officially announced in July 2004.

”The deal has been finalised, the shipment has started.”

Pakistan buys Libya’s old fighter jets

Pakistan has turned to old ally Libya to purchase a fleet of Mirage fighter jets and spare parts, an air force spokesperson said on Monday. ''Libya had a fleet of Mirages, which was grounded for over a decade. We have purchased that fleet at a very reasonable price,'' Air Commodore Sarfraz Khan...

mg.co.za

 

[KwaZulu]

The story of the Israeli Nesher Fighter, the Mirage 5 Built by Rockwell (and Not by IAI)

The story of the Israeli Nesher Fighter aircraft, the Mirage 5 Built by Rockwell International (and Not by IAI)

theaviationgeekclub.com

 

[dan_inbox]

Ah, yes, Tom Cooper...

If you like that genre, there's also Rob Arnt, aka grey falcon.

 

[F.L.]

Ah, yes, Tom Cooper...

If you like that genre, there's also Rob Arnt, aka grey falcon.

What's wrong with Tom Cooper ?
And weren't the Nesher really delivered in kit form from France ?

 

[Archibald]

Never got the final word of that story - between what says Dassault, what says Israel, and what says... Switzerland.

The only thing I'm sure, is that the 50 Mirage V built for Israel WERE built BUT NOT delivered - and went into storage for a few months. Somewhat amusingly, they had to be dumped on the Armée de l'Air which didn't actually wanted them. The reason ? minimal avionics for clear weather... perfect for Israel, but not for nothern France... and still they gave stellar service until 1994.

L’Armée de l’Air en 1985 - Escadrilles

Les unités volantes de l’Armée de l’Air, fin-1985 En 1985, le contexte mondial n’est pas à la détente: aux USA, les présidences de Reagan ont conduit les USA à hausser le ton en matière de dépenses militaires: le traumatisme du Vietnam est oublié, place à la “guerre des étoiles”. Si la situation...

www.escadrilles.org

Escadron de chasse 2/13 Alpes — Wikipédia

fr.wikipedia.org

Escadron d'instruction en vol 3/13 Auvergne — Wikipédia

fr.wikipedia.org

 

[dan_inbox]

What's wrong with Tom Cooper ?

In my book, he has a personal agenda and very strong bias in his presentation of selective information, when it relates to conflicts between a Muslim army and anyone else.
Extremely so when the opponent happens to be those (Damn J..) Evil Zionists. But YMMV. Make your own opinion.
(Anyway, it's not a topic for this section of the forum)

And weren't the Nesher really delivered in kit form from France ?

Indeed, it is documented that some Mirage 5J / Nesher kits came more-or-less clandestinely among spares shipments from Bordeaux-Merignac. At least one Nesher on display had a manufacturer plate showing so.
Now how many kits, a single one as IAI says, or many more? As Archibald wrote, there are conflicting versions. Let's just keep in mind that in this time Mirage 5s were in full production for Arab countries, Israeli-designed improvements included. Libya received 85, and transferred some to Egypt, then the direct opponent. Oh well. Nations, friends, intererests...

As we know, a few years later IAI was manufacturing whole new-build planes, the KFIRs (a further development of the 5 with canards and a J79). Most likely there was a ramp-up from the first kit assembly, but the details are not public.
Again, everyone can make their own opinion.

Let's go back to prototypes and projects.