MIRAGE 4000 W/WEAPONS

The Dassault Mirage 4000 is an experimental French fighter from the Cold War period. The prototype flight took place in 1979. The machine, however, never entered mass production. The drive was provided by two SNECMA M53-2 engines with a thrust of 64.3 kN each and an afterburner of 95.1 kN each. The machine was 18.7 meters long with a wingspan of 12 meters. The maximum speed was around Mach 2.3. The on-board armament was to consist of two 30mm DEFA cannons, and the aircraft could carry an overhead load of up to 8,000 kilograms. The presented machine was developed primarily from Dassault Aviation's own resources as an enlarged and, above all, a twin-engine version of the Mirage 2000 aircraft. Originally it was to be a classic interceptor with a high airspeed and very good maneuverability. Along with the development of the project, the ability to attack land targets has also been added, and low-altitude flight characteristics have been improved. In general, efforts were made to create an aircraft with flight parameters and capabilities similar to the F-15 Eagle and Su-27. However, the rising costs of the entire project, as well as the withdrawal of interest by Saudi Arabia and the French military aviation led to the cancellation of the entire project in the 1980s. The resulting Mirage 4000 prototype later served as a test platform for new technical solutions.