Collection
Dassault Mirage 2000 B
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France Two seat fighter trainer

-History

Mirage 2000 B belongs to the 3rd generation of Dassault fighters to bear this famous name; it continues the uninterrupted success of its predecessors, Mirage III and Mirage F1.

Result of the revision of an initially more ambitious program (the twin-jet aircraft Mirage G8A, Avion de Combat Futur "ACF"), the single engine Mirage 2000 is selected by the Conseil de la Défense de la République on December 18, 1975.

After the sweptback wing chosen for the Mirage F1 and ACF, Dassault returned to the delta wing, this one offering thanks to the modern means of design, an excellent compromise between structural simplicity, a reduced weight, high horizontal speeds, a high climbing speed, and a great handiness for a relatively limited plane in size and power. Profiting from new technologies, Mirage 2000 is very manoeuvrable in all flight configurations thanks in particular to the "fly-by-wire" controls and to the delta wing with variable camber.

The 1st prototype flies in Istres on March 10, 1978 by Jean Coureau.

September 20, 1977, the Direction Technique de Construction Aéronautique informs the Dassault company of the decision to equip the Armée de l'Air with Mirage 2000 B, two-seater version intended for air defense missions training. This aircraft, directly derived from the single-seater, comprises all the necessary equipment to the execution for air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, only the fuel volume is slightly decreased and the cannons installation is removed.

Mirage 2000 B 01 first flew in Istres on October 11, 1980 by Michel Porta, reaching on this occasion a speed about Mach 1,4.


-Production

Except the prototype, assembled in Istres, Mirage 2000 B are assembled in the Mérignac factory.

To date 52 Mirage 2000 B were produced including 33 for the Armée de l'Air (n501 with 533), with following specificities:
N 501 to 514: had equipped with SNECMA M53-5 turbofan and RDM radar (standard S3).
N 515 to 533: had equipped with SNECMA M53-P2 turbofan and RDI radar (standard S4).
The Mirage 2000 RDM S3 will see their career prolonged by conversion into Mirage 2000-5.


-Career

Mirage 2000 B forms part of Défense Aérienne units, just like 2000 C It is in service in the fighter squadron 330 in Mont-de-Marsan (Centre d'Expérimentations Aériennes Militaire) like in the 2nd, 5th and 12th squadrons, within the following :
E.C 2/2 "Côte d'Or" in Dijon-Longvic.
E.C 1/5 "Vendée", E.C 2/5 "Ile de France" and E.C "Comtat-Venaissin" in Orange-Caritat.
E.C 1/12 "Cambrésis" and E.C 2/12 "Picardie" in Cambrai-Epinoy.


-Export

Some Mirage 2000 purchasers countries took into account the 2000 B:
4 for Egypt,
7 for India,
2 for Peru,
6 for Abu-Dhabi.
Technical features
Wingspan9,13 m 3 view
Length14,85 m
Height5,20 m
Wingarea41 m2
Empty weight7600 kg
Gross weight10960 kg
Max speedMach 2,2
Climb305 m/s
Ceiling18000 m
Range3355 km while convoying
Limit load factor+9/-4,5 g
Turbofan1 SNECMA M53-P2 of 6565 kg thrust and 9700 kg thrust with afterburning


CAEA's specimen
The plane of the C.A.E.A, the 2000 B-01, is the prototype of the Mirage 2000 B series. This aircaft first flew on October 11, 1980 to the hands of Michel Porta, whose badge (SPA 153) is carried under the left side of the cockpit. After the 1st in-flight test of two-seater specificities (conditioning, fly by wire, flight qualities), the plane is presented to various air shows and was used as test bench for various armaments and RDY radar. At July 15, 1992 B-01 added up 1039h25mn flight in 1108 flights. It finishes its career at the CEV in Istres in 1995 before being delivered to us (November 95).

Not Visible, away from hangar until june 2007


Mirage IV P
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NC 702 Martinet