AC35068 MIRAGE V / DAGGER X 5

Dassault Mirage IIIV or Mirage III V was a French prototype fighter aircraft from the Cold War period. The prototype flight took place in February 1968, but the machine never entered mass production. In total, only two prototypes were built. Plane length ( Mirage III V-01) it was up to 18 m, with a wingspan of 8.72 mm and a height of 5.55 meters. The main propulsion was provided by a single Pratt and Whitney / SNECMA TF-104 engine with a thrust of 88.26 kN with an afterburner, and the auxiliary propulsion - 8 Rolls-Royce RB162 engines with a thrust of 19.61 kN each. The presented plane was developed at the Dassault Aviation factory for the needs of the French Air Force (French: Armee de l'Air). The entire project resulted from analytical work carried out within the NATO command structures in the early 1960s, which clearly indicated the need to acquire an aircraft with vertical take-off and landing properties (VTOL) and a maximum speed of 1.5-2 Ma. To meet this challenge, the Dassault company decided to redesign the already produced Mirage III plane and adapt it to these new needs. The changes concerned mainly the power unit, but also resulted in a complete change of the interior architecture of the hull. This seemingly minor change, however, required several years of research and development. Eventually, the plane took off vertically. He was also able to reach speeds of 2 Ma rows. However, it did not enter mass production. This decision was mainly due to the high costs of expslotation, the technical imperfection of the entire structure, as well as the expected short range of the machine determined by the limited take-off weight and its considerable wear and tear.