Chapter 993: Famous Machine Brilliant
The Mirage 4000 fighter is a twin-engine heavy air superiority fighter independently developed by Dassault Aviation of France. It made its first flight on March 9, 1979. During the test flight, the Mirage 4000 showed performance that was completely comparable to the F-15.
The Mirage 4000 fighter has a wingspan of 12 meters, a length of 18.7 meters, a wing area of 73 square meters, a total weight (full fuel in the aircraft, no external hanger) of 17-18 tons, a maximum external hanger weight of 8 tons, and a combat weight of 16.1 tons. It is equipped with two SNECMA M53 turbofan engines with a thrust of 2×64.3 kN and a thrust of 2×95.1 kN. The total fuel volume in the aircraft is three times that of the Mirage 2000. The maximum level flight speed (high altitude) is 2.3 Mach, the maximum sustained level flight speed is 2.2 Mach, the practical ceiling is 20,000 meters, and the maximum combat radius (with auxiliary fuel tanks and reconnaissance equipment compartment) is 1,850 kilometers.
French fighters are famous for being expensive, and heavy fighters like the Mirage 4000 fighter are even more expensive.
Speaking of which, the Mirage 4000 fighter has also had a rough fate. The Mirage 4000 fighter was originally invested by Saudi Arabia, but after the United States agreed to sell F15 to Saudi Arabia, the Mirage 4000 lost Saudi Arabia's funding.
It can be said that the United States has stabbed the French in the back, which makes the French feel heartbroken.
And because the Mirage 4000 fighter is too expensive, it is popular but not popular!
The French gritted their teeth and equipped 20 Mirage 4000 fighters, and then stopped purchasing Mirage 4000 fighters.
Now the international market price of the Mirage 4000 fighter is as high as 90 million US dollars, and it is still the starting price. The high-end version will even exceed the unit price of 120 million US dollars, which can be called the most expensive fighter in the world.
The Rafale fighter, also transliterated as the Rafael fighter, is a twin-engine, delta-wing, highly maneuverable, multi-purpose fighter developed by the French Dassault Company.
The real advantage of this fighter lies in its multi-purpose combat capability. The French promote this fighter as the world's "most comprehensive" fighter. It not only takes into account sea, land and air, but also has strong air combat and ground and sea attack capabilities.
The Rafale fighter first flew in 1986 and has not yet been put into service. After learning from the lessons of the Mirage 4000, the Rafale fighter is a medium-sized fighter.
But that's the case, because the total cost of the entire project is as high as 33 billion US dollars, so that the current Rafale Air Force model is priced at 82.8 million US dollars per aircraft, and the naval model is priced at 88.8 million US dollars per aircraft.
This is the characteristic of French fighters, expensive!
There is no market for fighters like this in most countries, only certain countries, after all, European countries, or a few countries, purchase French fighters for political considerations!
Shi Lao feels it is necessary to write an article specifically about French fighters.
Shi Lao came to the American exhibition area. This time, the American exhibition area has a wide variety of aircraft models, including various transport aircraft, tankers, early warning aircraft, etc. In terms of fighter aircraft, there are F4, F5, F20, F14, F15, F16, F18, F111, F117, A6, A10 and other aircraft.
Shi Lao watched with great interest. The US aviation industry has always been the world's number one and the most powerful. After World War II, the US Air Force has been the world's number one air force for most of the time. Only in a few years, the Soviet Air Force surpassed the first place.
Each aircraft is a famous aircraft!
Shi Lao came to the F14 'Panda' fighter and took a lot of photos with his camera.
Speaking of the F14 fighter, for the die-hard fans of the 'Panda', it has always been a beautiful dream for the F14 to return to the arena. Many military fans like the F14 because of the cartoon "Robotron". The prototype of the transformable fighter VF-1 in the play is the F14 'Panda' fighter. This fighter is even more beautiful in the cartoon, which is very suitable for the sci-fi theme of the film at that time.
The F14 'Panda' fighter is a two-seat, twin-engine supersonic multi-purpose fighter developed according to the requirements of the US Navy's fleet air defense and escort from the 1970s to the 1980s. It mainly performs fleet defense, interception, strike and reconnaissance tasks. The performance of the aircraft also made the US Navy very satisfied, and it placed a large order for 429 aircraft in one go.
However, the high price of the 'Panda' fighter, coupled with the depreciation of the US dollar, made the US military, which was rich and powerful, reluctant to purchase it. As early as 1987, the price of the F14 fighter exceeded 44 million US dollars per aircraft.
In addition to the United States, only Persia, which was a staunch ally of the United States at that time, imported 80 F14 fighters, and China, which was in its honeymoon period, imported dozens of F14 fighters. Other countries did not have equipment.
The high price of the F14 ‘Panda’ fighter jet made China feel that it was too expensive and that it could not afford it. The United States felt that China’s ability to copy was too strong and would not sell it even if China wanted to purchase it again. As a result, the F14 ‘Panda’ fighter production line had long been discontinued, and it was estimated that it had been dismantled for many years.
Even because the US military budget was cut every year, the US Navy decided to retire the F14 ‘Panda’ fighter jet and instead purchase the F/A18 Hornet fighter jet.
Moreover, the US military would rather retire the F14 ‘Panda’ fighter jet and put it in the aircraft graveyard than export the F14 ‘Panda’ fighter jet again.
China tried to express its desire to buy second-hand F14 ‘Panda’ fighter jets, but the Americans refused without hesitation.
Shi Lao, who is also a fan of Panda, was so excited when he saw the F14 ‘Panda’ fighter with his own eyes.
He has decided to write a good article about the F14 ‘Panda’ fighter.
Then he came to the F15 fighter, which is also a famous fighter of the generation. It can be said that it is comparable to the fame of the Su-27 fighter. Therefore, the debate about which one is more advanced between the F15 fighter and the Su-27 fighter has been going on, not only among the people, but also within the parties.
As for the Mirage 4000 fighter, which is also a heavy fighter, only France is equipped with 20 aircraft, which belongs to the level of a little brother.
Although China has also developed the J-11 fighter, which is also a third-generation heavy fighter, China’s aviation industry was too weak before. Everyone’s inherent impression of China cannot be eliminated in a short time. Many countries have doubts about the performance of the J-11 fighter.
From this, we can also see the terrible brand effect!
After watching the F15 fighter, Shi Lao looked at the F16 fighter.
The F16 fighter is also a classic aircraft of the generation!
Worldwide, the F16 fighter is the best-selling third-generation fighter. Because it is a single-engine medium-sized aircraft, the price is more attractive. Even the Americans allow technology transfer. As long as a certain number of F16 fighters are purchased, the production line of the F16 fighter can be directly introduced and assembled in their country.
There is no doubt that this is an irresistible temptation for some ambitious countries.
Shi Lao watched with relish in his heart. He was very interested in these fighters.
He even felt that if he could go up and fly a plane and fly in the air, he would be willing to live one year less.
In high school, as a military fan, he thought about applying for the Air Force Flight Academy to be a pilot, but he was too short, too thin, and nearsighted, and he couldn't pass the physical examination.