Argentina intends to Jordan Mirage F-1EJ rent by Dassault.

[bhramos]

28/04/2010 (Infodefensa.com) Buenos Aires - The Argentine government is willing to rent fighter Mirage F-1EJ currently in service in Jordan through the French manufacturer Dassault , as a temporary solution until you receive Mirage 2000 when they are removed by France , local sources.

The sources said that this agreement would be a first phase of a wider study which would include the final purchase of between 12 and 20 fighter Mirage 2000 S5 or 5F of the French Air Force , when it's removed from active duty. The sources did not specify the amount of finance that the operation would cost.

The potential agreement is still in negotiations, according to the blog Strategic Approach should cover the use of F-1EJ by a period of five or six years, according to Buenos Aires , would have to be guaranteed by Dassault.

In reaching an agreement, the Air Force Argentina (FAA) to start the withdrawal of the old Mirage acquired in the early 70s from next year, 2011, and have an acceptable solution to a much lower maintenance cost until they receive the Mirage 2000 that France move into retirement.

Local sources acknowledged, however, that the negotiations could still fail for several reasons.

First, Jordan does not want to rent a jet fighter and prefers to make a sale, because this will not be used in the future.

Moreover, the requirement of Buenos Aires that Dassault ensure the entire operation presents a complicated French manufacturer could not accept the aircraft as payment for a future operation, as Jordan has decided to replace its fleet of Mirage aircraft second by American labor origin F-16s acquired United States, Holland and Belgium.

Replacing soon

The defense minister, Nilda Garre , has been recognized repeatedly as one of its top priorities the need to renew the fleet of fighter jets, to understand that "life is about to expire and must be replaced on" short time " .

In an interview with the magazine " Action "at the end of last year, Garre framed the need for this renewal basically a national requirement and recalled that several countries in the area as Chile, , Colombia and Venezuela have recently renewed its fighter fleet.

"We," he emphasized, "must be prepared to defend ourselves against any attack and we must be able to defend our natural resources, which are coveted, in any case we have some kind of attempt to limit our disposition of them."

La Fuerza Aérea Argentina (FAA) has several types of fighter Mirage and it is uncertain how many are fully operational today.

Assigned to the VI Air Brigade (Tandil, Buenos Aires) are of different models, mainly Mirage IIIEA / DA -used in 1982 in the Falklands War. There are also several units Mirage V-5P Mara (purchased from Peru ) and IAI Finger - very similar to the Kfir -. Last year, for example, a IIIEA crashed near its base by officially unexplained causes.

In recent years, the FAA has evaluated several options. France has offered the Mirage 2000 and the United States some second-hand fighter F-16, and even the Spanish government also offered nearly a dozen Mirage F-1M . These aircraft, modernized during its lifetime, will be dropped gradually with the entry into service of Eurofighter 2000.

Some experts noted then that the incorporation of the Mirage F-1M Spanish, a plane intermediate between the first-generation fighter aircraft Mach 2 (like the F-104) and last ( F-18 and Typhoon) , would allow the FAA regain effective control of national airspace, which is currently very difficult to meet the shortage of air assets and low degree of operability.

Moreover, Argentina and Brazil have reached an agreement by which the FAA would spare parts and assemblies Mirage Brazilians, having discontinued its use in this country. In return, Argentina facilitate aircraft parts Boeing.

http://infodefensa.com/lamerica/not...alquilar-Mirage-F-1EJ-a-trav%E9s-de-Dassault-

 

[Armand2REP]

Mirage upgrade augments new fighter force
Posted on 28 April 2010 in Defence

Despite the ongoing acquisition of new F-16s to strengthen its fighter force, Morocco is pressing on with ambitious upgrades to its legacy types, which will remain in service for many years, augmenting the new aircraft.

Upgraded F-5s have already entered service and Morocco 's MF2000 Mirage F1 upgrade is now flying in prototype form.

The Moroccan Mirage F1 upgrade was designed and is being integrated by the new Association Sagem Thales pour la Rénovation d'Avions de Combat (ASTRAC) consortium. This is a joint venture between Thales and Sagem Défense Sécurité (SAFRAN) and was established in November 2005 at the request of the French Ministry of Defence.

ASTRAC aimed to provide an upgrade for remaining Mirage F1 export customers – principally Morocco – whose aircraft still enjoyed competitive performance characteristics but whose avionics were dated, and whose operational capabilities were somewhat limited.

Thales brought its experience of the Spanish Mirage F1M upgrade to the project, while SAFRAN has played a major role in a number of Mirage and other combat aircraft upgrades, including the upgrade of French Mirage F1C interceptors to multi-role F1CT fighter-bombers.

The ASTRAC consortium put together an upgrade (using the designation MF2000) which transforms the capabilities of the ageing Mirage F1 in both air-to-air and air-to-ground operations, providing a new multi-mode radar, a laser designation pod, new electronic warfare and self-protection systems and giving compatibility with a range of new weapons.

Much of the upgrade is based on technology developed for the latest Mirage 2000 versions (Mirage 2000-5 and 2000-9). The cockpit is transformed, becoming a modern, digital glass cockpit with two-colour multifunction displays replacing the analogue flight instruments and the old analogue Cyrano IV radar screen. The aircraft is also fitted with a new HUD with a broad panel up front control panel (UFCP) and features full HOTAS controls. The aircraft has two SAGEM mission computers interfaced with a MIL STD 1553B digital databus, and a hybrid Sigma IN/GPS. The MF2000 has new secure voice radios, and the cockpit is compatible with a helmet mounted sighting system. Finally, the pilot sits on a modern zero-zero capable ejection seat.

The upgraded Mirage F1 is fitted with a Thales RC400 (RDY3) multi-mode pulse Doppler radar. This is based on the Mirage 2000-5's RDY radar, but with a smaller antenna giving shorter range.

The Mirage F1's electronic warfare capabilities are similarly enhanced, with a new digital radar warning receiver (RWR) and an external PAJ FA ECM pod designed to detect, classify and counter search, fire-control, and missile seeker radars. The aircraft is also fitted with Corail flare launchers and Phimat chaff dispensers.

The upgraded Mirages retain their internal 30-mm DEFA cannon with 135 rounds per gun, and augment these with a variety of externally carried weapons. For use in the air-to-air role, the MF2000 can carry AIM-9L/M Sidewinder, Magic 2 or IR MICA missiles with MICA EM available for BVR use.

For air-to-ground missions, the MF2000 can carry a wide range of guided and unguided munitions. Use of the Damocles day/night laser designation pod allows the carriage of a variety of laser-guided bombs, but perhaps the greatest expansion to air-to-ground capabilities is provided by the new AASM precision-guided, stand-off rocket-boosted bomb, supported by a mission preparation system provided by Sagem Défense Sécurité and a debriefing system from Thales.

For more specialised missions, the MF2000 is compatible with the ARMAT anti-radiation missile, and with the MBDA AM39 Exocet anti-ship missile.

Though there have been proposals to re-engine the Mirage F1 (with South Africa successfully integrating a derivative of the MiG-29's RD-33 engine) the MF2000 retains the basic Snecma ATAR 9K50 engine, though this is 'optimised' under the so-called ATAR Gratification programme, with a new compressor module, a redesigned HP turbine, a six per cent increase in mass flow and a 40 per cent increase in turbine entry temperatures combining to increase thrust from 7,200 kg to 7,500 kg.

At the Paris Air Salon at Le Bourget, ASTRAC displayed what purported to be an example of the MF2000 in the aircraft static park though, in fact, the aircraft was a loaned Armée de l'Air Mirage F1CT (No.281), with some cockpit modifications. But though the aircraft wore an interesting black and grey camouflage scheme, it was not fully representative of the Moroccan upgrade configuration.

As it had done when undertaking the Spanish Mirage F1 upgrade programme, Thales gave responsibility for incorporating modifications on the real 'prototype' aircraft to Belgium 's SABCA at Charleroi , near Brussels .

In the case of the Moroccan upgrade, the first two aircraft (173 and one other) were upgraded at Charleroi , with the third (150) undergoing modifications in-country. The prototype made its maiden flight on October 19 2009, and flight tests and certification are expected to continue throughout the spring and summer of 2010, before activity transfers to Sidi Slimane.

Some 27 Mirage F1s (a mix of Mirage F1CH, F1EH and probe-equipped F1EH-200) will be upgraded to a common MF2000 standard under the 'F1 Renovation' programme, at an estimated cost of $420m US.

It has been claimed that with RDY-3 radar and MICA missiles, the upgraded Mirage F1 enjoyed the same BVR air combat capabilities as the Mirage 2000-5, while the combination of Damocles and AASM transforms the aircraft into a 'pocket Rafale' in the air-to-ground role.

Though the Mirage F1 has been retired from service in Greece , Jordan , and will soon bow out of Armée de l'Air service, further upgrade opportunities may exist in Gabon , Libya and perhaps Ecuador .

Also, new customers may emerge for the aircraft retired by Jordan (and France), perhaps including Argentina, which was recently reported to be examining a $100 million proposal to buy 12 ex-Jordanian air force Dassault Mirage F1CJ fighters and one F1BJ trainer, having rejected a Spanish offer for a similar number of F1s. The aircraft would replace the Fuerza Aerea Argentina 's surviving Mirage IIIEAs, which are scheduled to be retired in 2012.

ASTRAC hopes that many of the Mirage F1s that will be retired by France and Spain during the next five years will find new customers, and will provide them with a source of upgrade work.

http://www.arabianaerospace.aero/ar...cle=mirage-upgrade-augments-new-fighter-force

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Jordon isn't getting ALA Mirage-2000s. They are buying F-16s.