The Dassault Mirage 5 is a French supersonic attack aircraft/fighter-bomber designed by Dassault Aviation during the 1960s and manufactured in France and other countries. It was derived from Dassault's popular Mirage III fighter and spawned several variants of its own, including the IAI Kfir. In Pakistan's air force, the Mirage 5s are modified and are capable of nuclear weapons delivery.

Design and development

Early development

The Mirage 5 grew out of a request to Dassault from the Israeli Air Force. Since the weather over the Middle East is clear and sunny most of the time, the Israelis suggested removing the air intercept radar and its avionics, normally located behind the cockpit, from the standard Mirage IIIE to reduce cost and maintenance, and replacing them with more fuel storage for attack missions. In September 1966, the Israelis placed an order for 50 of the new aircraft. Due to customer preference, some variants of the Mirage 5 were radar-equipped.

Mirage 5

thumb|French Air Force Mirage 5F

The first Mirage 5 flew on 19 May 1967. It looked much like the Mirage III, except that it had a long, slender nose that extended the aircraft's length by about half a metre. A pitot tube was distinctively moved from the tip of the nose to below the nose in the majority of Mirage 5 variants. The Mirage 5 retained the IIIE's twin DEFA guns, but added two additional pylons, for a total of seven. Maximum warload was 4,000 kg (8,800 lb). Provision for the SEPR rocket engine was deleted.

Like the Mirage IIIE, the Mirage 5 was popular with export customers, with different export variants fitted with a wide range of different avionics. While the Mirage 5 had been originally oriented to the clear-weather attack role, with some avionic fits, it was refocused to the air-combat mission. As electronic systems became more compact and powerful, providing the Mirage 5 with increased capability became possible, though the rear avionics bay had been deleted; in some subvariants, the result was a "reinvented" Mirage IIIE.

Reconnaissance and two-seat versions of the Mirage 5 were sold, with the designation Mirage 5R, and Mirage 5D, respectively. The Mirage 5 was sold to Abu Dhabi, Belgium, Colombia, Egypt, Gabon, Pakistan, Peru, Venezuela, with the usual list of subvariant designations and variations in kit. The Belgian aircraft were fitted with mostly US avionics, and some Egyptian aircraft were fitted with the MS2 attack avionics system from the Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet. In total, 582 Mirage 5s have been built, including 51 Israeli Neshers.

Belgian production

thumb|Mirage 5BR of the [[Belgian Air Component takes off in 1989]]

In 1968, the Belgian government ordered 106 Mirage 5s from Dassault. All aircraft but the first one of each variant were to be license-built by SABCA in Belgium. Component production at the SABCA Haren plant near Brussels was followed by assembly at the SABCA plant at Gosselies airfield, near Charleroi. The ATAR engines were produced by FN Moteurs at this company's Liège plant. SABCA production included three versions: Mirage 5BA for the ground-attack role, Mirage 5BR for the reconnaissance role and Mirage 5BD for training and conversion. After completion, the Belgian government sold all 20 aircraft to Chile, together with 4 non-upgraded Mirage 5BRs, and one non-upgraded Mirage 5BD.

IAI Nesher

thumb|Israeli Nesher over the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur WarRising tensions in the Middle East led French President Charles de Gaulle to embargo the Israeli Mirage 5s on 3 June 1967. The Mirages continued to roll off the production line, though they were embargoed, and by 1968, the batch was complete and the Israelis had provided final payments. In late 1969, the Israelis, who had pilots in France testing the aircraft, requested that the aircraft be transferred to Corsica, in theory to allow them to continue flight training during the winter. The French government became suspicious when the Israelis also tried to obtain long-range fuel tanks and cancelled the move. The Israelis finally gave up trying to acquire the aircraft and accepted a refund.

Some sources claim that cooperation with France resumed outside the public's eye and Israel received 50 Mirage 5s in crates from the French Air Force, while the French took over the 50 aircraft originally intended for Israel, as Mirage 5Fs. Officially, Israel claimed to have built the aircraft after obtaining complete blueprints, naming them IAI Nesher and later developed it into the IAI Kfir.

Mirage 50

thumb|A Venezuelan Mirage 50DV

The development and subsequent installation of the new Atar 9K50 engine led to the next Mirage variant, the Mirage 50, during the 1970s. The uprated engine gave the Mirage 50 better takeoff and climb characteristics than its predecessors. The Mirage 50 also incorporated new avionics, such as a Cyrano IV radar system. However, despite these upgrades, it did not prove popular in export sales as the Mirage 5 itself was becoming obsolete.

Chile ordered a quantity of Mirage 50s, receiving both new production as well as updated Armée de l'Air Mirage 5s. The Chilean aircraft were later modernised along the lines of the IAI Kfir and were called the ENAER Pantera. The Pantera incorporates fixed canards and other aerodynamic improvements, as well as advanced avionics, an in-flight refuelling probe, a reinforced landing gear, and two additional harpoints under the fuselage. These aircraft have an extended nose to accommodate some of the new systems.

In the early 1990s, Dassault upgraded a batch of Venezuelan Mirage IIIEVs and 5s to Mirage 50 standards, in addition to some newly built aircraft.

Mirage 5 ROSE

thumb|Pakistan Air Force Dassault Mirage 5 ROSE III taking off

In the 1990s, the PAF launched a Mid-life update (MLU) program, codenamed as Project ROSE (Retrofit Of Strike Element), to its Mirage III and Mirage 5 aircraft with modern avionics provided by French, Italian, and Pakistani companies. The PAF acquired blueprint drawings of the aircraft from France, redeveloping and redesigning it at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.

In the first phase of the project, former Royal Australian Air Force Mirage III fighters received a modernisation designated ROSE I. Twenty of them were upgraded with new cockpit equipments including multifunction displays and a head-up display, navigation/attack suites, defensive aids systems, encrypted radios, a radar altimeter and a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor under the aircraft's nose, under the ROSE II program. All were retired in December of 2015. thumb|Argentine Air Force Mirage 5PA MARA, November 2005

Falklands War

The Argentines lost two Mirage IIIEAs and twelve Daggers during the Falklands War in 1982. As a measure of solidarity, the Peruvians transferred 10 of their Mirage 5Ps to Argentina, under the name Mirage Mara, to help alleviate its losses. At least one of these transferred Mirage 5Ps was lost during the war, with the remaining nine upgraded after the conflict along the aforementioned Finger upgrades.

Belgium

Gulf War

During the 1991 Gulf War, 18 Belgian Mirage 5s were deployed to Turkey alongside German Alpha Jets and Italian F-104s under a NATO-based operation to protect Turkey against potential Iraqi attacks.

Chile

Chile incorporated some Mirage 5s under name Mirage Elkan. They would be officially retired in 2006-2008 and Gabon would later acquire six ex-South African Mirage F.1s as replacements for the Mirage 5s.

Libya

The Libyan Airforce sought to improve its combat capability and looked to the weapon it viewed as the winning weapon of the Six Day War, the Dassault Mirage series. France–Libya relations were positive at this time and thus they placed a rather large order for Mirage Vs in December 1969 composed of 53 Mirage 5D fighter-bombers (serials 401 to 453), 32 Mirage 5DE radar-equipped interceptors (Serials 101 to 132), 10 Mirage 5DR Reconnaissance variants (Serials 301 to 310), 15 Mirage 5DD dual-seat trainers (201 to 215) alongside other French Arms including Mirage IIIs, ground simulators and spares for 25 years. Libya was the second Arab nation (after Lebanon) and the largest Arab operator of the type.

The first training squadrons established as OCUs (Operation Conversion Squadrons) were the 1010th "Jerusalem" OCU Squadron at Mitiga (Tripoli) supervised by French and Pakistani instructors, and the other was the Egyptian Operational Training Unit based at Nasser (Tobruk) Airbase overseen by Pakistani and Egyptian instructors recently trained in France. Egyptian Air Force MiG-21 pilots and MiG-21s also rotated to the airbase, serving as dissimilar combat aircraft for training to help them counter Israeli Mirages.

In response to an Egyptian raid on Gamel Abdel-Nasser Airfield near Benghazi (where the destruction of seven airframes on the ground was claimed), a formation of Libyan Mirage 5s, supported by Mi-8s with ECM gear, was sent to attack Egyptian towns, bases and supply points near the border. During this raid, the Egyptians claimed the downing of one Mirage 5 by an SA-7. The next morning, an Egyptian attack was thwarted when two Mirage 5Ds of the Libyan Air Force intercepted a strike package and downed at least one Egyptian MiG-21 flying escort. Some may have been lost on the ground.

In 1978, Mirage 5s were delivered that were originally acquired under the direction of Pakistan Chief of Air Staff ACM Anwar Shamim from France to provide effective support to the Navy, specifically Mirages built to the VPA2 and VPA 3 standard whose fabrication began in 1979. These jets equipped the newly reformed No.18 Squadron at Rafiqui and later No. 8 Squadron at Masroor in 1982, with the VPA3s being equipped with the AM-39 Exocet missiles (which that same year were employed to great effect by the Argentine Air Forces in the Falklands War) and the Thomson CSF Agave radar to employ them effectively. As of November 2025, about 90 Mirage VEFs,F,PAs in different ROSE Configurations are in active service with the PAF alongside 69 Mirage IIIs of various configurations.

Afghanistan

In 1985, the PAF elected to forward deploy Mirages to Kamra (Specifically the 18th Squadron) as, with the peak of Soviet involvement in Afghanistan, there was an increase in cross border incidents and the earlier deployed J-6s were deemed insufficient. On the 14th of May 1986, at 11:00 AM local time, two Mirage 5PAs (piloted by Sqd. Ldr Ro Qamar Sulemany and Flt. Lt. Nawaz) intercepted Mi-24s of the Soviet Air Forces when the GCI vectored them towards several slow flying targets closing at the border. After circling the targets, both made gun passes on the helicopters (Sulemany at 1.4 kilometers and 900 meters, Nawaz at 800-900 meters), but both missed. After returning to base, it was discovered that Nawaz had not removed the safety and Sulemany had a malfunction when the gun circuit breaker popped out because of short-cut in the gun pack. This deprived them of both kills.

Balakot Skirmishes

In February 2019, Indian Air Force jets violated Pakistani airspace and bombed an alleged terror camp in Balakot.

Consequently, Pakistan launched retaliatory airstrikes (Codenamed "Operation Swift Retort") on military installations at Indian Administered Kashmir. During the airstrikes, two Dassault Mirage-5PAs from the No. 15 Squadron dropped their H-4 SOW glide bombs which were guided to their specific targets by Weapon System Officers seated in Dassault Mirage-IIIDAs via data link. The operation was viewed as a success as munitions were delivered and the aircraft returned safely.

Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos

The Pakistani Air Force's participation in the 2025 India-Pakistan Standoff was under the overall code-name "Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos".The Indian Air Force displayed debris of what it claimed to be a PAF Mirage 5 shot down by air defense systems during Operation Sindoor press briefing on May 12, 2025. In late June 2025, claims emerged from Indian OSINT sources showing alleged Video Evidence (uploaded to X, but then since deleted) of a downed Mirage. A Swiss military think tank which produced a report on the conflict confirmed the use of Mirages by the PAF in the conflict and assess the loss of one Mirage III/5. The PAF denies any losses, calling them baseless.

South Africa

South Africa purchased five Nesher trainers for trials during its own Atlas Cheetah fighter programme. All the aircraft were eventually upgraded to Cheetah D standard.

Zaire (DR Congo)

Chad

Following the Libyan invasion of Northern Chad, Zaire (a customer of French arms at the time), deployed three of it's Mirage 5Ms alongside 1750 troops to N'Dajamena, also participating in the training of local troops to fight Libya.

Variants

  • Mirage 5 : Single-seat radarless ground-attack fighter aircraft.
  • Mirage 5AD : Export version of Mirage 5 for Abu Dhabi, UAE; 12 built.
  • Mirage 5EAD : Single-seat radar-equipped fighter-bomber version for Abu Dhabi, UAE. 14 built.
  • Mirage 5D : Export single-seat ground-attack aircraft of the Mirage 5 for Libya; 53 built. Eight aircraft withdrawn for conversion to Mirage 50C for Chile, with eight new-build 5Fs built as replacements.
  • Mirage 5G : Export version of the Mirage 5 for Gabon. Three built.
  • Mirage 5J : 50 aircraft were ordered by Israel, but the order was later embargoed by the French government. They were delivered instead to the French Air Force as the Mirage 5F.
  • Mirage 5MA Elkan : Upgraded Mirage 5BA aircraft sold to Chile.
  • Mirage 5P : Export version of the Mirage 5 for Peru; 22 built.
  • Mirage 5P Mara : Upgraded Mirage 5P for Argentina; 10 aircraft sold by Peru.
  • Mirage 5P4 : Upgraded aircraft for Peru, with all of the improvements found on the Mirage 5P3, as well as a head-up display, a laser rangefinder, HOTAS controls, in-flight refueling probe, and capable of using R.550 Magic missiles; two new-build plus upgraded older aircraft.
  • Mirage 5PA : Single-seat radarless version of the Mirage 5 for Pakistan; 28 built.
  • Mirage 5PA3 : New-build anti-shipping aircraft for Pakistan, also fitted with the Agave radar and compatible with the Exocet anti-ship missile. 12 built.
  • Mirage 5SDE : Single-seat radar-equipped fighter-bomber version for Egypt, equivalent to Mirage IIIE; 54 built.
  • Mirage 5E2 : Upgraded radarless attack version for Egypt, with a navigation and attack system identical to the one found on the Alpha Jet MS2. 16 built.
  • Mirage 5V : Single-seat ground attack aircraft 5 for Venezuela; six built. 2 survivors rebuilt to Mirage 50EV standard, and 1 to Mirage 50DV.
  • Mirage 5R : Single-seat reconnaissance aircraft.
  • Mirage 5BR : Reconnaissance version of 5BA for Belgium; 27 built, 23 in Belgium.
  • Mirage 5COR : Export version of the Mirage 5R for Colombia;
  • Mirage 5DR : Export version of the Mirage 5R for Libya; ten built.
  • Mirage 5RAD : Export version of the Mirage 5R for Abu Dhabi, UAE; three built.
  • Mirage 5SDR : Export version of the Mirage 5R for Egypt; six built.
  • Mirage 5COD : Two-seat trainer for Colombia. Two built.
  • Mirage 5DP : Two-seat trainer for Peru; four delivered.
  • Mirage 5DP4 : Upgraded trainer for Peru, with the same improvements as on the Mirage 5P4, except the in-flight refueling probe; one new-build plus upgraded older aircraft.
  • Mirage 50FC : Eight re-engined Mirage 5F aircraft sold to Chile.
  • Mirage 50EV : Single-seat fighter-bomber version for Venezuela. Fitted with canards, and an in-flight refueling probe. New Cyrano IVM3 radar, SAGEM inertial navigation system, and head-up display. Equipped with a Sherloc radar warning receiver, and an ALE-40 chaff/flare dispenser. Capable of using the Exocet anti-ship missile. Six new-build, as well as seven upgraded aircraft (two Mirage IIIEV, two Mirage 5V, and three ex-Zairian Mirage 5M).
  • Mirage 50DV : Two-seat training version for Venezuela. Similar standard to 50EV, save for the radar, and the refueling probe that can only be used for training (no fuel transfer possible). One new build plus two upgrades (one Mirage 5V and one Mirage 5DV).

Operators

thumb|400px|Current (blue) and former (red) operators of the Mirage 5. Former operators of the closely related IAI Nesher are denoted in orange.

<!--READ FIRST: This section is for operators of the Mirage 5 and its variants only. Please do not add entries into this list regarding operators of the related Mirage III and its variants. All entries without a citation will be removed. Thank you.-->

Current

  • : 92
  • Combat Commanders' School, PAF Base Mushaf, Mirage 5PA
  • No. 8 Squadron, PAF Base Masroor, Mirage 5PA2, 5PA3, 5DPA2 - (1979–2022)
  • 9 Squadron, PAF Base Rafiqui, Mirage 5PA - (1973–1984)
  • 15 Squadron, PAF Base Rafiqui, Mirage 5PA, 5DR (Converted to J-10C in 2022)
  • No.18 Squadron, PAF Base Masroor, Mirage 5PA2 - (1981–1989)
  • No. 22 Squadron, PAF Base Masroor, Mirage 5PA, 5PA2 - (1984–2004)
  • 25 Squadron, PAF Base Rafiqui, Mirage 5F ROSE II
  • 27 Squadron, PAF Base Rafiqui, Mirage 5F ROSE III

Former

  • / : 32
  • : 10 Mirage 5P and 39 IAI Nesher
  • : 106
  • : 42, 25 Mirage 5M ELKAN and 17 Mirage 50
  • : 18
  • : 50
  • : 11
  • : 40

|prime units?=met

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General characteristics

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|empty weight kg=7150

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Powerplant

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Performance

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|max speed kmh=2350

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|cruise speed kmh=956

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|never exceed speed kmh=

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|range km=

|range note=

|combat range km=1250

|combat range note=hi-lo-hi profile with 2x bombs and max external fuel

|ferry range km=4000

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|ceiling m=18000

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Armament

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|guns=2 × 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA 552 cannons with 125 rounds per gun

|rockets=2 × Matra JL-100 drop tank/rocket pack, each with 18 × SNEB 68 mm rockets and 66 US gallons (250 liters) of fuel

|missiles=2 × AIM-9 Sidewinder OR Matra R550 Magic

|bombs=4,000 kg (8,800 lb) of payload on five external hardpoints, including a variety of bombs, reconnaissance pods or Drop tanks

|avionics=

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

  • Atlejees, Leephy. Armscor Film by Armscor, SABC and Leephy Atlejees. Public broadcast by SABC Television, 1972, rebroadcast: 1982, 1984.
  • Baker, Nigel and Tom Cooper. www.acig.org, Air Combat Information Group Journal (ACIG), 26 September 2003. Retrieved: 1 March 2009.
  • Breffort, Dominique and Andre Jouineau. "The Mirage III, 5, 50 and derivatives from 1955 to 2000." Planes and Pilots 6. Paris: Histoire et Collections, 2004. .
  • Carbonel, Jean-Christophe. French Secret Projects 1: Post War Fighters. Manchester, UK: Crecy Publishing, 2016.
  • "Cheetah: Fighter Technologies". Archimedes 12, June 1987.
  • Cooper, Tom. www.acig.org, Air Combat Information Group Journal (ACIG), 24 September 2003. Retrieved: 1 March 2009.
  • "The Designer of the B-1 Bomber's Airframe". Wings Magazine, Vol. 30/No 4, August 2000, p.&nbsp;48.
  • Donald, David and Jon Lake, eds. Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1996. .
  • Donald, David and Jon Lake, eds. Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft. London: AIRtime Publishing, 2000. .
  • Duchateau, Phillipe and Mafe Huertas, Salvador. Mirage!. Osprey Publishing Limited, London. 1994
  • Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark Books, 1994, .
  • Jackson, Paul. Modern Combat Aircraft 23: Mirage. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan, 1985. .
  • Jackson, Paul. "Mirage III/5/50 Variant Briefing: Part 1: Dassault's Delta". World Air Power Journal Volume 14, Autumn/Fall 1993, pp.&nbsp;112–137. London: Aerospace Publishing. .
  • Jackson, Paul. "Mirage III/5/50 Variant Briefing: Part 2: Fives, Fifties, Foreigners and Facelifts". World Air Power Journal Volume 15, Winter 1993, pp.&nbsp;100–119. London:Aerospace Publishing. .
  • Jackson, Paul. "Mirage III/5/50 Variant Briefing: Part 3: The Operators". World Air Power Journal Volume 16, Spring 1994, pp.&nbsp;90–119. London: Aerospace Publishing. .
  • Lake, Jon. "Atlas Cheetah". World Air Power Journal 27, Winter 1966. pp.&nbsp;42–53.
  • Pérez, San Emeterio Carlos. Mirage: Espejismo de la técnica y de la política. Madrid: Armas 30. Editorial San Martin, 1978. .
  • Rogers, Mike. VTOL Military Research Aircraft. London: Foulis, 1989. .
  • Taylor, John W.R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. .

Further reading

  • Mirage-V MRO at Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC)
  • Mirage III/5/50 at FAS.org
  • Mirage Argentina, el sitio de los Deltas argentinos (in Spanish) (accessed 2016-08-06)