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D A S S A U LT A V I A T I O N S N E C M A M O T E U R S T H A L E S◆ ◆

MIRAGE 2OOOTHE BEST OF

airpowerment

Summary“Our last Exercise was held in July 2nd 2004,we have flown seven sorties in air defense and air to air combat missions against F 18’ssuper hornets from the Ronald Reagan nuclearaircraft carrier during the “Unitas 2004”Exercise. Proudly I can say that our mirages andtheir pilots have performed and outstandingwork in this “war game””.

Here is the third issue of “ENGAGE!”,mostly dedicated to the Peruvian Air Forceand their superb Mirage 2000P/DP, photosand videos of which you will find in theenclosed DVD at the end of this publication.

Many thanks to the Peruvian AF and especially to Squadron CommanderCarlos E. Chavez. They have taken aserious lead in the competition for providing“ENGAGE!” with Mirage 2000 operatorsmaterial. An example to follow!

We are looking forward to receiving articlesfrom other Mirage 2000 operators. We willbe happy to publish them in the forthcomingissues of “ENGAGE!”.

Enjoy!The “ENGAGE!” Team

Editorial

About our cover:Peruvian Mirage 2000P

Photo creditsPhotos by French Air Force, SIRPA-Air, A. Paringaux, F. Robineau,J.P. Jacqueline, Thales, Snecma-Moteurs, Dassault Aviation andPeruvian Air Force.

Restriction notice:This publication is intended for information only. Its contents neitherreplace nor revise any material in official manuals or publications.All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem, transmitted in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,photocopying, recording or otherwise - translating in other language -without prior written permission of Dassault-Aviation.

Three anniversaries in one !Three anniversaries were celebrated in one event by the French Air Force duringthe 26th and 27th June, 2004 Air Show at Dijon AFB, France: 20 years of servicefor the Mirage 2000, 70 years of existence for the FAF and 90 years since thecreation of the Dijon airbase.The meeting was presided by FAFChief of Staff Gal Wolsztynski. He was accompanied by some ofthe pilots among those who flewthe Mirage 2000 at the E.C.1/2"Cigognes" when it was firstinducted into the FAF.The Mirage 2000 has loggedmore than 1,200,000 flight hoursto date with more than 600 aircraft built for 8 countriesthroughout the world.

TraditionsTanagra AFB, Greece: 15 pilots whologged more than 1,000 flight hours on the Mirage 2000 were awardeddiplomas and trophies during a formalceremony taking place in Greece.

Dijon, Istres and Luxeuil AFB, France:110 pilots who logged more than 1,000and 2,000 flight hours on the Mirage2000 were awarded diplomas and trophies during formal ceremonies attheir Squadrons, E.C.1/2 "Cigognes",E.C.2/2 "Cote d'Or", E.C.1/4"Dauphine", E.C.2/4 "La Fayette" andE.C.3/4 "Limousin".Contact: D. Coulier (Dassault Aviation /Military Customer Support Division: deborah.coulier@dassault-aviation.fr)

3000 hours on Mirage 2000French Air Force WSO Capt Baudrand(EC 1/3"Navarre") wasgranted the3,000 hourspatch, diplomaand trophy afterflying more than3,000 hours on Mirage 2000Nand D, between 1984 and 2004.The ceremonytook place at EC2/3 "Champagne"located at NancyAir Force Base.

"Des ailes et des hommes""Des ailes et des hommes" ("Wings andmen") is Alexandre Paringaux'slatest book on French AirForce Unitspublished onthe occasionof the 70thanniversary ofthe French AirForce. Thissuperb bookcontains lots ofwonderful Mirage2000 pictures byA. Paringaux himself, a famousMirage aerial photographer.

40th anniversary of FASThe French Strategic Command (FAS)has celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2004. The FAS operate the Mirage

2000N and the famous Mirage IV Pwhich is to be retired from servicein June, 2005.

“Unitas” 2004 in Peru

Escuadron N° 412

Flight safety corner

Mirage 2000 User Conference

Focus on Mirage 2000 landing gear

A new era in missiondebriefing

Letters

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Squadron chat

Pitch Black 04Four Mirage 2000-5s from Dijon E.C.1/2 and E.C. 2/2 and a C-135 FR tankertook part in the "Pitch Black 04" exercise at RAAF Darwin last summer.The Royal Thai AF and the Republic ofSingapore AF were also contributingtheir F-16s and all invited parties were pitched against the AustralianF/A-18 A/Bs in a demonstration ofcoalition operations and interoperability.The FAF Mirage 2000-5s performed111 sorties in 20 days with an impressive 97% availability. Thedeployment to Australia was supported

by a single C-130 H and by a DC 8.Onlyfour legs were necessary for the ferryflight to Australia of the four Mirage2000-5s and their accompanying C-135FR.Details available on www.defence.gov.au

About our posters:R°: Peruvian Mirage 2000P over lagoon in PeruV°: E.C. N°412 Photos and 2005 calendar

ENGAGE! 1

At the southern part of

Peru over the Arequipa´s

desert raises “La Joya”

AFB which is the home

of the Fourth Air Group

and the 412th Fighter

Squadron where the Peruvian

Air Force Pilots proudly operate

the Mirage 2000.

Since 1986 this Squadron ensures the pro-tection of thesouth Peruvian

skies. This heavyduty is accomplis-

hed by experimen-ted Pilots who keepthe traditions and

legacy of CaptainJosé Quiñones the

Peruvian Air Force herowho was immortalized in

Peru-Ecuador war in 1941. ThisSquadron makes the training ofits Pilots in multirole missionsduring the year with a lot ofAir-to-Air, Air-to-Ground andAir-to-Sea missions. During the

Air-to-Air training, the Mirage2000P/DP engages with theMIG-29´s in dissimilar air combat exercises. This trainingis excellent to increase the skillsof fighter pilots into the aircombat scenarios.

With this combative spirit,on the 2nd of July over thesouthern skies was performedthe air phase of the "Unitas-2004" exercise. Thisphase consisted of air defenseand Air-to-Air combat missionsbetween the Mirage 2000P and F-18 E/F Super Hornet fromthe Ronald Reagan nuclear aircraft carrier.

The objective of Unitas is the integration and training ofAmerican Naval Forces duringseveral days of operations. Forthe first time in the Unitas history, Air-to-Air missions wereincorporated under the "Passex" call sign with specific purpose to practice airinterception and air combatmaneuvers (ACM) with a foreign Air Force.

In this "War Game" thePeruvian Falcons defended a Fighter Area of ResponsibilityFAOR with Combat Air Patrol(CAP) of Peruvian Mirages2000P and the F-18 E/F were

assigned to attack. After radio contact with ACI(E-2B) the fighters were guided to interceptionsand ACM.

The 412th Fighter Squadron "Halcones" participated in many sorties the same day withMirage 2000P loaded with A/A training missilesand a lot of Peruvian proud and brave fighterheart spirit. After each exercise the Mirages and Hornets were joined to take pictures toimmortalize this event and be able to show it to you.

During this exercise the Peruvian aircrew members have demonstrated their skills andexperience into an Air-to-Air environment withanother type of aircraft and they have the prideof the successful accomplishment: work withunknown foreign pilots during the exercise.

For the Peruvian Falcons it was very important to take part in this exercise because they haveshowed their excellent training level which willallow them to assist to multinational exercises in the near future.

And finally, the “Halcones” always have in their minds the courage, skill and combativemoral and without never forgetting that “When the moment comes, the aviator mustsacrifice himself”.

Fly Safe and keep the true nature of the Mirage2000 pilots around the world.

Long life to “ESCUADRON DE CAZA Nº 412”.

E.C. Nº 412 Squadron Commander Carlos E. Chavez

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Unitas-Passex exercise 2004with Peruvians Falcons

“Halcones” heritageIn 1986, with the acquisition of the Mirage2000P at the 4th Air Group, the Peruvian AirForce created the 412th Fighter Squadron. Fourpilots received the initial training in France, andbecame the first crew to fly over the southernskies of Peru with the most advanced combataircraft in South America. The following year,we started incorporating into the 412th FighterSquadron other experienced fighter pilots. Yearafter year, they have made it the best fightersquadron of the Peruvian Air Force, upgradingand updating the flight procedures in air combattactics, air strikes and air-to-sea missions.

In 1991, the pilots of the 412th FighterSquadron acquired even more proficiency andfighting capacity during a training period in the combat simulator of the French Air Force at Mont-de-Marsan. The skills they gainedduring the training, together with their highlycombative morale, were demonstrated duringthe Alto Cenepa armed conflict in 1995: duringseveral weeks they flew air escorts, combat airpatrol and strike missions without losing a single aircraft. Also contributing to the prestigeof the crew were the spectacular maneuvers

performed during the FIDAE 1994 International Air Show in Chile, where the Peruvian Air Forcepresentation was the principal attraction. The pilotskept improving their experience over the years with air deployments all over Peru, with its “hard”geography.

As of today, the 412th Fighter Squadron is underthe command of FAP Commander Carlos ChavezCateriano, who continues the experience legacyand heritage from previous Mirage 2000 pilots.Along with all “Halcones”, he is dedicated tomaking the sovereignty and integrity of ourPeruvian sky even more stronger.

Total air superiorityThe dream of every fighter pilot is to become a first line combat aircraft pilot. And for the new412th Fighter Squadron pilots, this is their goal,with excellence required in operative aspects, andin physiological and psychological conditions. Flyingthe best Peruvian fighter plane requires every daythe dedication, study, ability and professionalismwhich go with Mirage 2000 pilots.

The daily routine begins with a meeting where the pilots examine new interesting themes aboutthe Mirage 2000 aircraft systems, navigation andattack system, tactics, and general culture as wellas a CRM development in emergency exercises.They check the weather conditions, and then they are ready to fly. The pilots can do all types ofmission. They make their briefing and take off topractice Air-to-Air interceptions and dogfight,combat air patrol, ground strikes and sea strikes, asrequired by the mission schedule. In such conditionstheir skills, courage and valor are generously spent.Good physical condition is required to achieve agood performance under nine “G” forces. Beforethe mission ends, they practice instrument procedures

to stay current and trained to face any unusualsituation. During the debriefing every fact isanalyzed carefully to improve the next mission.

A fighter pilot feels very proud to be an “Halcon” as they are very brave and will defendthe integrity of the Peruvian Nation. These peo-ple overcome the limits and problems of livingfar away from the civilization under the very strong sun rays in the middle of thedesert. However, they carry into their hearts the bravery, the skills and the fighting spiritrequired to lead their squadron to the completevictory, always remembering that : “When thevery moment comes, the Peruvian aviator mustgo to the sacrifice”.

“The way you train,the way you will combattomorrow”This is a tenet of the 412th Fighter Squadron,and it is always on our minds during trainingsorties, even more when we perform Air-to-Airexercises along with the MiG-29’s and otherplanes to make the scenarios as realistic as possible.

Technology to manage the futureThe General Commander of the Peruvian AirForce is dedicated to maintaining the PeruvianAir Force as a very powerful and efficient AirPower, with very well trained personnel toaccomplish all present and future missions.From this perspective the Mirage 2000 is expected to contribute to the excellence of thePeruvian Air Force for many years to come.

E.C. Nº 412 Squadron Commander Carlos E. Chavez

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Flight safety corner

Circumstances...A short cut definition of Flight Safety could be: for the pilot/crew to always manage to have “a way out”.From this statement and going backward, the pilot/crew must stay within limits and keepsome margin regarding these limits. Then you haveto permanently check and monitor if these marginsare good enough and/or not deteriorating too fast,i.e. always have a good knowledge of where you are in the envelope and where you stand in relation with “the environment” (other a/c, theweather, the ground...), of what is your “globalenergy potential”, in other words, to always have a good SA.

Then you have "circumstances"...What are “circumstances” ? Everything unexpectedor particular which is going to suddenly leave youwith no margin, no time. Everything which is goingto disrupt or delay the relevant way to deal withthe new situation at hand.

Everything which can let you only with the “Martin-Baker ride” option, and sometimes,unfortunately, with no way out...“Circumstances”... like the unseen a/c which suddenly “fills” the windshield and the immediate,terrible, midair collision.... like the Red warninghorn when you're flying inverted, at low speed, inBFM... like the sudden loss of overall performanceof your a/c or engine cornering you... like the“knock-it-off” call and the necessary radio exchanges to tell your state and intentions... likethe cloud layer you have to deal with before oramid compliance with the emergency procedure...

“Circumstances” which can ruin your day in a split second.Yes, Flight Safety is a fragile thing. Unfortunately, this year statistics mirror this terrificand unmerciful truth of flying combat aircraft.

G. Dailloux (Dassault Aviation Flight Safety V.P.)

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The 412th Fighter Squadron

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MIRAGE 2000 user conference

The first Mirage 2000 User Conference took place in Parisfrom 4th to 8th October, 2004. This "Premiere" wasorganized in the wake of previous editions devoted tothe Alpha Jet and the Mirage F1. It has providedan opportunity to strengthen the relationship between Mirage 2000 operators and DassaultAviation by mutually learning lessons from accumulated flight hours and by exchanging info on maintenance and operation issues. All 8 countries operating the Mirage 2000 were attending

Taïwan

PeruQatar France

Egypt India

Greece

United Arab Emirates

Each user country was represented by two Chiefs of Maintenance and one Mirage 2000 Pilot who presentedtheir own Air Force and spoke onsubjects such as the salvaging of HAFMirage 2000EG 210 for Greece andthe FAF Mirage 2000Ds deploymentto Manas, Kyrgyzstan for France.

The Mirage 2000 User Conferencewas organized by the Military CustomerSupport Division of Dassault Aviation tocover the main technical events aboutthe airframe, excluding all weaponsystem issues for confidentiality reasons. Flight Safety was an obviousbackdrop to all the presentations.

This week long event ended by visiting the Air and Space Museum at Le Bourget with its restoration facilities. This outstanding Air Museum, the oldest one in the world, was created in 1919 and features 20,000 itemsdisplayed on 250,000 sq.m exposition space.

Examples of subjects addressed byDassault Aviation representatives were:

■ Airframe fatigue and ageing

■ Maintenance plans optimization

■ Airframe behavior (wing fittings...) and info feed back on doors issues.

■ Obsolescence

■ Main technical events (Landing gear,hydraulics, FCS, electrical, ECS, oxygen,Accessory drive box, and power takeoff)

■ CAS (Contractor Assisted Support)

■ Military Customer support products and Services (Speed, Door to Door,Maintenance Aids,...)

The Mirage 2000 madeits first flight in March 1978and went into operationalservice with the French Air Force in 1984 (for theMirage 2000C and B airdefense versions). The Mirage 2000 hassince been ordered byeight countries (France,Egypt, Greece, India, Peru,Qatar, Taiwan and UnitedArab Emirates).The Mirage2000 has logged morethan 1,200,000 flighthours, with more than500 aicraft into service to date.

Nose landing gear main characteristics :■ Dimensions of nose wheel tubeless tires =

14.2 x 5.3 - 6 inches■ Nominal tire pressure (aircraft on jacks) of

nose wheel = 9.5 bars (137.5 psi)■ Weight of nose wheel = 3 kg (6.6 lb)■ Nose wheel steering control effective over

a range of 45° on either side of the aircraftcentreline

■ Deflection during towing: + 45° (+ 360°swivel for maneuvering can be obtained by uncoupling the torque links)

■ Leg weight = 44 kg (97 lb)■ Shock absorber charging pressure = 23 bar

(334 psi)■ Wheel base: 5 meters (16.417 ft)■ Shock absorbers are nitrogen inflated.

Main landing gear main characteristics :■ Dimensions of main wheel tubeless tires =

29.5 x 9.1 - 15 inches■ Nominal tire pressure (aircraft on jacks) of

main wheel = 14.8 bars (214 psi)■ Weight of main wheel = 21 kg (46 lb)■ Leg weight = 75 kg (165 lb)■ Inflation pressure of upper low-pressure

chamber of shock absorber = 22 bar (319 psi)

■ Inflation pressure of lower high-pressurechamber of shock absorber = 100 bar(1,450 psi)

■ Under-carriage track: 3.4 meters (11.155 ft)■ Shock absorbers are nitrogen inflated.

8 ENGAGE! 9

Snecma Moteurs' M53-P2 engine powers the Mirage 2000 and another Snecma groupcompany, Messier-Dowty, designed the figh-ter's landing system (nose and main landinggear, equipped with brace actuators).

The world leader in landing systems, Messier-Dowty makes Mirage 2000 equipment at itsBidos production unit in Southwestern France.Nearly 550 series and spare landing gear setshave been manufactured.

The Bidos plant also makes spare parts.Maintenance work on Mirage 2000 landinggear is done either by the users (India andTaiwan, for example), or by Messier-Dowtysubsidiary Messier Services. In both cases,Dassault Aviation acts as intermediary,ordering spare parts from Messier-Dowty.

The Mirage 2000 landing gear systemat a glance

The aircraft is equipped with a tricycle landinggear:- a twin wheel nose gear, rearwards retractable,

is fitted with an electro-hydraulic wheelsteering system, at pilot's disposal, actuatedby the pedals,

- a single wheel main landing gear is hingedon each half-wing and is retractable partlyinto the fuselage and partly into the wing.

In flight, the gear housings are closed by doors. Doors and gears actuators arehydraulically operated. They are fed throughtwo independent systems corresponding to normal operation (retraction-extension) andemergency operation (extension only).

Focus on Mirage 2000 landing gear

ENGAGE! 1110

A new era in mission debriefing

Debriefing 2 vs 2 combat exercises onthe basis of audio and video recordingsand pilots' memories alone was still possible, albeit with an inevitable element of vagueness and subjectivity.However, the move to 4 vs 4 (or more!)training made the exercise simply toocomplicated. Thales' SERPAM missiondebriefing system arrived just at the right time to meet exactly this operational need. The system comprises a PC equippedwith two screens and a digital memorycard reader. It is totally air-transportableand can be linked to an MBDA simulationsof missile trajectories.

Prior to each mission, blank memorycards are programmed with the name andmission of each pilot, and are installed on each aircraft. The system taps into the

aircraft's databus and copies informationon trajectories, cockpit displays and weapons, if necessary, to the memorycard so that all aspects of the missioncan subsequently be reconstructed on the central PC. Once the aircraft areback on the ground, the information onthe cards can be downloaded in a matterof minutes. This information makes itpossible to visualise aircraft trajectoriesand review the indications provided bythe Mirage 2000-5F's various cockpitscreens throughout the correspondingmanoeuvres.

Accurate replay of trajectories provides animpartial perspective, making it possibleto determine whether tactical instructionsgiven at the pre-mission briefing wererespected to the letter. This, in turn, provides valuable input for refining these

tactics on the basis of their effective-ness, as demonstrated during post-mis-sion analysis using the SERPAM system.Analysis of onboard instrument readingsenables objective judgements on the per-tinence of decisions taken by each piloton the basis of the information availableat that moment, which is extremelyvaluable in pilot training.

This dimension is one of the major pluspoints of the SERPAM system in term of mission restitution and is absent from most of the systems used by other air fleets. Despite its manystrengths, however, the system is notwithout its limitations. For debriefingsrequiring extremely detailed analysis,squadrons still need to manually

synchronise audio recordings, includingthat of the controller, with SERPAMreconstructions in order to obtain all the necessary information. In addition, SERPAM can currently onlyreconstruct combat exercises once theyhave been completed. However, futuredevelopments are planned.

■ France is not the only country equipped with the SERPAM system: theTaiwanese Air Force also has it.

■ Thales is currently finalizing the implementation of an evolution of SERPAM: it will allow to add simultaneous video and audio data tothe system data recording.

"The SERPAM mission debriefing system has been good for our humility," jokes Captain Ducoin, (second from left) Flight Commander of 2/2 "Côte d'Or" Squadron, based in Dijon, France.

Visualisation of the aircraft's trajectories.

The arrival of the Mirage 2000-5 and itsentry into service with theFrench Air Force in 1998highlighted the fact thattraditional combat missiondebriefing methods hadreached their limits.

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Letters

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www.dassault-aviation.com www.snecma-moteurs.com www.thales-airbornesystems.com

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I discovered your magazine during a meeting with one of my customers,himself a Mirage 2000 operator. First of all I wish to congratulate you for the editorial content as well as for the layout that places it very close to"Code One".

Is it possible for a non-operator to beincluded in your mailing list?

V. Meslet, Guyancourt, France.

I have just got your 3-2004 ENGAGE!magazine in my hands with its enclosedDVD. I am really impressed by itsphotos and videos excellent quality. This publication is outstanding for people keen on Mirage 2000. How can I get it? Thanking you to answer quicklymy E-mail.

A. Strippe, Caen, France.

■ ENGAGE! can be sent to you free of charge. Please let us know the deliveryaddress. - Editor.

It is a pleasure to address you. Let meintroduce myself. My name isCommander Carlos Chavez and I’m theMirage 2000 Squadron Commander atla Joya AFB in Peru. I have just receivethe 3-2004 publication of your "ENGAGE!" paper along with a DVDvideo. I found it fascinating and I wouldlike to have contact with you and yourorganization.

The Mirage 2000 Squadron is named"Escuadron de Caza nº 412" in Spanish,and we are located in the south of Peru, we operate 12 Mirage 2000 and I command this great squadron sinceFebruary 2003.

Our last Exercise was held in July 2nd2004, we have flown seven sorties in airdefense and Air-to-Air combat missionsagainst F-18´s super hornets from theRonald Reagan nuclear aircraft carrierduring the "Unitas 2004" Exercise.Proudly I can say that our mirages and their pilots have performed andoutstanding work in this "war game".I´m going to attach a couple of picturesand maybe you can publish them in afuture publication (if you want to havemore information about this Exercise,just let me know).

Well, I hope to have a quick responseand your comments.

Very respectfully.

Carlos E. Chavez, Mirage 2000 SquadronCommander Peru.

■ This ENGAGE! publication is yours to write and publish what you want to. We are very proud to have such feed backfrom one of our great Mirage 2000 operators. - Editor.

I thank you very much for sending to me your ENGAGE! publication whichis a very good idea. I wish it a longlife!!! Your magazine is well designedand should satisfy all those who arekeen on this outstanding aircraft: the Mirage 2000.

E. Janssonne, Colmar-Houssen, France.

I would like to know if I could reproduceyour piece on the Mirage 2000 Displayfor the next issue of AFM, which comesout before Fairford. If so, could I get the some of the pics that you usedincluding the two pilots which runacross the page. Kind regards.

A. Warnes, Editor for Air ForcesMonthly.

■ ENGAGE! is honored by AFM's request.Permission granted !Editor's note: permission to reproducewritten material published in ENGAGE!should be requested from the Editor.Pictures contained in the DVDs can befreely reproduced, subject to mentioningthe photo credits listed on page 1 of eachissue. - Editor.

Send your letters to :Hervé Hamon, Dassault Aviation, (DGI), 78, quai Marcel Dassault, 92552 Saint-Cloud, Cedex 300 – France, Fax: (+33) 1 47 11 61 10

or at: engage@dassault-aviation.fr

Calendar 2005

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