Dassault Mirage 5BA
The Israeli Air Force had flown Mirage IIIs quite successfully even before the Six-Day War of 1968, and liked the delta-winged fighter. However, the Mirage III had been designed as a point-defense interceptor, and not the multirole strike aircraft that the Israelis needed. The IDF therefore proposed to Dassault a development of the Mirage III, with the all-weather avionics removed and replaced with more fuel, and additional hardpoints under the wing; given the usually sunny and clear conditions in the Middle East, radar was considered at the time to be secondary. Dassault saw the potential in such a Mirage variant, and with Israeli input on the design, rolled out the first Mirage 5J in May 1967. Externally, it was nearly identical to the Mirage III, but had a narrower nose as it lacked radar.
After the Six-Day War, however, French President Charles de Gaulle, wanting to distance France from Israel in favor of increased ties to the Arab world, embargoed the 50 Mirage 5Js Israel had paid for, then in production. Instead, the Mirage 5Js were redesignated Mirage 5Fs and delivered to the Armee de l’Air, which did not want them: instrumentation had to be changed to French from Hebrew, and Europe’s weather, unlike the Middle East’s, was usually poor. Israel, for its part, would later obtain plans and engines through various means, and produce their own Mirage 5 version, the Nesher.
Dassault went ahead with continued production of the Mirage 5, sensing correctly that there would be a market for a low-cost alternative to the Mirage III. The Mirage 5 also came along at a time when electronics were becoming increasingly smaller, and less than a decade after initial production, Mirage 5s were being fitted with multimode radars, making them equal to and in some cases better than the Mirage III. When fitted with a more advanced engine, the Atar 9K-50 used by the Mirage F.1, this turned the Mirage 5 into a superlative interceptor. A dizzying amount of upgrade programs soon appeared in the 1980s, with better electronics, advanced avionics, canards for better low-speed handling, and all-weather capability. Ironically, many of these upgrade programs were offered by none other than Israel.
Today, the Mirage 5 remains in worldwide service, having been especially popular in the Middle East (among Arab air forces) and South America. 15 air forces operated the type, and remain in service in Argentina, Ecuador, Egypt, Gabon, and Pakistan, the latter becoming something of a clearing house for second-hand Mirage 5s. The type has seen some combat, in skirmishes between Ecuador and Peru in the 1990s, and between Pakistan and its neighbors in the same time period. Israeli Neshers were heavily employed during the Yom Kippur War and proved to be deadly opponents in the hands of their skilled pilots; some of these were later passed on to Argentina, which had less luck with them during the 1982 Falklands War due to range restrictions and their better-trained British opponents. 582 Mirage 5s were built.
Because of its general unsuitability for poor weather operations, the Mirage 5 never quite caught on in Europe, though France would operate its “Israeli” Mirage 5Fs until the mid-1990s. Belgium was the only other NATO nation to purchase the Mirage 5, license-building 62 of them for the Belgian Air Force. These were fitted with US avionics, allowing it to be integrated into the NATO common air plan and use the AIM-9 Sidewinder, as well as provide some all-weather capability. Belgian Mirage 5BAs were used primarily as interceptors and strike aircraft, with the BAF also flying tactical reconnaissance Mirage 5BRs and conversion trainer Mirage 5BDs. This particular aircraft belongs to 2 Squadron, based at Florennes. It carries a camouflage scheme of two shades of green and tan over light gray undersides. 2 Squadron reequipped with F-16As in the mid-1980s; its Mirage 5BAs were sent to other squadrons, retired in 1993, and sent to Chile, where they were upgraded to Mirage 5M standard.
Dassault Mirage 5BA
The Israeli Air Force had flown Mirage IIIs quite successfully even before the Six-Day War of 1968, and liked the delta-winged fighter. However, the Mirage III had been designed as a point-defense interceptor, and not the multirole strike aircraft that the Israelis needed. The IDF therefore proposed to Dassault a development of the Mirage III, with the all-weather avionics removed and replaced with more fuel, and additional hardpoints under the wing; given the usually sunny and clear conditions in the Middle East, radar was considered at the time to be secondary. Dassault saw the potential in such a Mirage variant, and with Israeli input on the design, rolled out the first Mirage 5J in May 1967. Externally, it was nearly identical to the Mirage III, but had a narrower nose as it lacked radar.
After the Six-Day War, however, French President Charles de Gaulle, wanting to distance France from Israel in favor of increased ties to the Arab world, embargoed the 50 Mirage 5Js Israel had paid for, then in production. Instead, the Mirage 5Js were redesignated Mirage 5Fs and delivered to the Armee de l’Air, which did not want them: instrumentation had to be changed to French from Hebrew, and Europe’s weather, unlike the Middle East’s, was usually poor. Israel, for its part, would later obtain plans and engines through various means, and produce their own Mirage 5 version, the Nesher.
Dassault went ahead with continued production of the Mirage 5, sensing correctly that there would be a market for a low-cost alternative to the Mirage III. The Mirage 5 also came along at a time when electronics were becoming increasingly smaller, and less than a decade after initial production, Mirage 5s were being fitted with multimode radars, making them equal to and in some cases better than the Mirage III. When fitted with a more advanced engine, the Atar 9K-50 used by the Mirage F.1, this turned the Mirage 5 into a superlative interceptor. A dizzying amount of upgrade programs soon appeared in the 1980s, with better electronics, advanced avionics, canards for better low-speed handling, and all-weather capability. Ironically, many of these upgrade programs were offered by none other than Israel.
Today, the Mirage 5 remains in worldwide service, having been especially popular in the Middle East (among Arab air forces) and South America. 15 air forces operated the type, and remain in service in Argentina, Ecuador, Egypt, Gabon, and Pakistan, the latter becoming something of a clearing house for second-hand Mirage 5s. The type has seen some combat, in skirmishes between Ecuador and Peru in the 1990s, and between Pakistan and its neighbors in the same time period. Israeli Neshers were heavily employed during the Yom Kippur War and proved to be deadly opponents in the hands of their skilled pilots; some of these were later passed on to Argentina, which had less luck with them during the 1982 Falklands War due to range restrictions and their better-trained British opponents. 582 Mirage 5s were built.
Because of its general unsuitability for poor weather operations, the Mirage 5 never quite caught on in Europe, though France would operate its “Israeli” Mirage 5Fs until the mid-1990s. Belgium was the only other NATO nation to purchase the Mirage 5, license-building 62 of them for the Belgian Air Force. These were fitted with US avionics, allowing it to be integrated into the NATO common air plan and use the AIM-9 Sidewinder, as well as provide some all-weather capability. Belgian Mirage 5BAs were used primarily as interceptors and strike aircraft, with the BAF also flying tactical reconnaissance Mirage 5BRs and conversion trainer Mirage 5BDs. This particular aircraft belongs to 2 Squadron, based at Florennes. It carries a camouflage scheme of two shades of green and tan over light gray undersides. 2 Squadron reequipped with F-16As in the mid-1980s; its Mirage 5BAs were sent to other squadrons, retired in 1993, and sent to Chile, where they were upgraded to Mirage 5M standard.