The Mirage 2000 is one of the most successful fighters of the French Air Force.
Currently, Mirage 2000 is in service in 9 countries with more than 600 built. The weapons it is equipped with are mostly super powerful weapons that help the Mirage 2000 to destroy all targets in the air, on land and at sea.
The Mirage 2000 has both high maneuverability, accurate weapons, and is a nightmare for enemies wherever it appears. Many experts believe that this aircraft is more powerful than the US F-16 and Russian MiG-29.
The Dassault Mirage 2000 was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force. It was later developed into the Mirage 2000N and 2000D strike variants, the improved Mirage 2000-5, and several export variants. The Mirage 2000 had its first flight in March 1978, the aircraft was produced until 2007 with an estimated unit price of $30.6 million each.
Basically, the Mirage 2000 was designed as a fourth generation light fighter. The Mirage 2000 has a length of 14.36m, a wingspan of 9.13m, a height of 5.2m and a maximum takeoff weight of 17 tons. The aerodynamic configuration of the Mirage 2000 shares similarities with its predecessor, the Mirage III. The Mirage 2000 is designed with a triangular delta-wing configuration, it also doesn’t have a tail stabilizer.
To compensate for the lack of its tail stabilizer, and to improve maneuverability, The Mirage 2000 uses fly-by-wire technology to automatically stabilize the plane for the pilot. A pair of low-mounted thin triangular wings, swept an angle of 58 degrees, the wing-root blended into the fuselage, with two small nose wings fixed in front of the air intakes as canards. The air intakes are fitted with an adjustable half-cone-shaped centre body, which provides an inclined shock of air pressure for highly efficient air input.
The Mirage 2000 is powered by a single SNECMA M53-P2 afterburning turbofan engine, providing 64.3 Kilo Newtons of dry thrust and up to 95.1 Kilo Newtons with afterburner. The French plane can reach a maximum speed of Mach 2.2, operating range of 1,550 km, ferry range of 3,335 km, service ceiling of 17,000m and rate of climb of 285 meters per second.
Regarding armament, the Mirage 2000 is equipped with 2 DEFA 554 30 mm autocannons with 125 rounds each. The cannons have selectable fire rates of 1,200 or 1,800 rounds per minute.
Mirage 2000 has nine hard points for carrying weapon system payloads: five on the fuselage and two on each wing. It can be equipped with a variety of missiles including the MICA, R550 Magic air-to-air missiles and AM39 Exocet anti-ship missiles. The aircraft can carry four MICA missiles, two Magic missiles and three drop tanks simultaneously. Mirage 2000 is also equipped to carry a range of air-to-surface missiles and weapons, including laser-guided bombs.
The Mirage 2000s of the French air force first saw action during the Gulf War flying air superiority patrols, as did Peruvian Mirages during a 1995 border conflict with Ecuador and Indian Mirages during the Kargil War. At the time of launch, the Mirage 2000 was expected to be the main rival of the F-16.
