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Dassault Mirage Milan (Kite)

1970 COLD WAR X-PLANE

History of Mirandaso's Phantom (Kite)

It seems natural to continue the successful series of French Dassault single-seat, single-engine supersonic jet fighters in various ways. The delta wing platform of the Cold War era, starting with the "Phantom III" model in 1961, reached a total mass production of 1,422 units in this entry, among military operators around the world - the French Air Force became the largest, let's say 348 The success of the Taiwan Mirage III is reflected in the fact that today (2019) the series continues to fly with the Pakistan Air Force as 89 are committed to service.

Other notable fighter forms in the Mirage series are the Mirage IIIV, Mirage 5, and the South African Atlas Cheetah - all details are elsewhere on this page.

Aircraft of the same family will inevitably continue to expand their business, striving to produce better end products for local or global customers. This was the case with the Mirage "Milan", a single-seat, single-engine attack aircraft proposed in the late 1960s.

The design was developed in a joint venture with the Swiss company "Fabrique Federale d'Avions" ("Swiss Federal Aircraft Factory" = SFAF), producing several airworthy prototypes to prove the sound of the aircraft - first flight record 27 September 1968 On record. At this point in history, the Swiss Air Force is racing to replace its aging fleet of British-born Hawker Hunter jet fighters.

The main change to the Mirage III design was the adoption of a retractable, forward-swept front wing, known as the "mustache". These are located on the sides of the forward fuselage section and are used to improve aircraft control in low-altitude, low-speed flight areas - primarily during take-off, landing and attack operations. The first base development airframe was the existing Mirage 5J No.

2 aircraft, then an improved Mirage IIIR model was added. Over time, the aircraft became known as the "Milan" ("Kite"), and finally a third prototype, converted from the Mirage IIIE, entered the development phase.

Relatively simple modifications were made to the existing, proven Mirage III design, resulting in the aircraft having a higher maximum take-off weight (MTOW) capability, resulting in greater wartime loads over that range. In addition, take-off roll times have been shortened and, as expected, low-altitude handling has been improved.

Broadly speaking, the main form (single-engine, single-sided vertical stabilizer, side air intakes, tricycle landing gear, etc.) and function of the aircraft have been preserved, retaining all the advantages of the original design evident throughout Milan. Early testing of the Mustache front wing was carried out on the Mirage platform with a fixed-wing version, and this phase was completed in March 1969.

Mirage IIIE prototype "Milan S-01" complete with improved avionics and powered by a SNECMA "Atar" 9K50 afterburning turbojet with 15,885 lbs of thrust (these changes are designed to better imitating production quality form) on May 29, 1970, she took to the air for the first time.

The production version of the aircraft will be identified as "Milan S" and will carry the Navigation Attack System already installed (and validated) in the SEPECAT "Jaguar" family of attack aircraft. Milan will be delivered to potential customers for the first time in 1972.

When complete, the Strike Fighter features standard armament with 2 x 30mm ADEN autocannons, with optional war loads up to 8,800 lbs, all in external cannon form. Weapon options include the usual array of conventionally thrown bombs of varying power, air-to-surface missile pods, and jettisonable fuel storage (the latter to increase combat range).

The guns were mounted at seven mounting points under the aircraft, including one location on the centerline of the fuselage and three locations under the root and under each wing.

The capable Milan was offered to the Swiss Air Force along with the American-born LTV A-7 Corsair II - the aircraft itself is a capable strike fighter - but the service ultimately opted to continue operating its hawker Hunter Fleet for now - leaving the Mirage Milan on the pages of military aviation history.