Mirage 2000

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Danny

Mirage 2000

Post by Danny »

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=146806

Wow.

I think its time to get some dog-fighting practice in

David Lindau

Re: Mirage 2000

Post by David Lindau »

Aye, looks like good fun.

Jim.Hall

Re: Mirage 2000

Post by Jim.Hall »

Pah it's french lol!

Jay44

Re: Mirage 2000

Post by Jay44 »

Hmmm French lol but the fighters are getting better which only spells trouble for the hog

David Lindau

Re: Mirage 2000

Post by David Lindau »

I look forward to the additional high-fidelity assets that are up-coming.

As for the Hog it think it will only become more apparent what a great ground pounding asset it is.
When supported by SEAD/CAP flights, it's allowed to do what it does best.

Teddy

Re: Mirage 2000

Post by Teddy »

I am just really excited about the hornet, although I don't think we will see it for a while, I think it will be the next A-10C fidelity ground pounder (that's the bit that interests me the most). Imagine an A-10 on station as a FAC(A) with hornets coming in as required to drop bombs lased down by the A-10.

Teddy

Re: Mirage 2000

Post by Teddy »

I saw somewhere that the Mirage 2000 could drop LGBs but not self-lase so would need a FAC on the ground or a FAC(A) in the air to lase for it. This could be really cool for our missions!

(This might have been about the F-14 actually, anyone know?)

Jim.Hall

Re: Mirage 2000

Post by Jim.Hall »

The tomcat did carry the latirn system.
Until the early 1990s, the F-14 Tomcat didn't have clearance to drop bombs even though all Tomcats were built with a Stores Management System (SMS) that included air-to-ground options as well as rudimentary software in the AWG-9. Early flight clearance work to clear the aircraft for air-to-ground were suspended due to development delays with the F-14 and it being shifted away from the air to ground mission. At the time, the Tomcat was so expensive (and lacked proper defensive electronic countermeasures (DECM) and radar homing and warning (RHAW) for overland operations) that the Navy did not want to risk it in the air-to-ground role. However, the TARPS mission had proven the Tomcat was survivable overland and upgrades to the Tomcat's DECM, expendables and RHAW gear were developed to increase its survivability. With the end of the Cold War and de-emphasis on the Fleet Air Defense mission, NAVAIR had renewed flight clearance work before Desert Storm so the F-14 could carry gravity bombs as well as laser-guided bombs if the target was lased by another jet (first Tomcat LGB drop in combat was made by VF-41 in 1995 during operations over Bosnia with an A-6 Intruder providing the requisite target illumination). Meanwhile, the decision had been made by OPNAV[jargon] to retire the A-6 altogether and allow the F-14 Block 1 Strike variant to take over as the precision strike platform for the air wing. However, the $1.6B Block 1 Strike program was canceled in budgetary cuts by 1994 with only enough funding to integrate the JDAM, which was years away. In late 1994, an unsolicited proposal from Martin Marietta was initiated to demonstrate how a USAF LANTIRN targeting pod could be rapidly integrated onto the Tomcat. This effort was done under the auspices of COMNAVAIRLANT[jargon] using a fleet aircraft to integrate the digital 1553-based pod on an analog F-14B. In March 1995 a VF-103 fleet aircraft successfully dropped the first laser-guided training rounds (LGTR) and quickly laser-guided bombs (LGB). Due to the early success and interest from Fleet Commanders, NAVAIR began to procure pods and control units for deployment, resulting in VF-103 receiving the first LANTIRN pod June 14, 1996 in time for its upcoming deployment.

The basic LANTIRN was modified into LANTIRN Targeting System (LTS), the navigation pod was removed from the two-pod system and the targeting pod was improved for Tomcat use. The LTS featured a Global Positioning System and inertial measurement unit that provided the pod line-of-sight cueing and weapon release ballistics and eliminated the need for external cumbersome and time consuming boresight equipment.

Unlike the early versions, the LTS performed all weapon release calculations and presented release cues that it had generated to the aircrew. The LTS also had a masking avoidance curve display (preventing firing the laser at the jet) and eventually a north orientation curve and 40,000 feet capable laser. The latter became very useful allowing F-14s to employ LGBs above potential threat systems and it came into its own in the higher terrain in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.

The LTS could also generate coordinates for any target located on the FLIR, and a latter software modification, known as T3 (Tomcat Tactical Targeting) increased the accuracy of the coordinates produced by the LTS and allowed generated coordinates for GPS/INS guided weapons (JDAM, JSOW and WCMD). The first combat use of this was in OEF[jargon] when an F-14 generated coordinates for a B-52 that dropped CBU-103 WCMD (Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser), which is basically an INS-guided cluster bomb from over 40,000 feet. These weapons scored hits on a vehicle convoy that had stopped after the first vehicle was destroyed by the Tomcat with LGBs.

The pod also featured an internal computer with ballistics data for the various precision munitions carried by the F-14. Data is fed to the pod by the Tomcat’s AWG-9 (F-14A and F-14B) and AN/APG-71 (F-14D) radar, but the LTS in turn only sends video and guidance symbology to the crew's cockpit displays. This means that few wiring and software changes had to be made to the Tomcat in order for it to operate the LTS. All pod controls are in the RIO’s cockpit, but the bomb release button is situated with the pilot. The LTS had a price tag of around 3 million US Dollars each and due to these high costs, only 75 were bought for fleet use. Typically, an F-14 squadron brought 6 to 8 pods with them on deployment, which would be permanently fitted to the non-TARPS jets.

The first combat use of the LTS was in December 1998 during Operation Desert Fox by VF-32.

Chilts

Re: Mirage 2000

Post by Chilts »

Very nice but it's yet another air superiority fighter - the D or N model would've been nice as they are ground pounders too.

David Lindau

Re: Mirage 2000

Post by David Lindau »

Looks like a 2000 C
http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=138730

So GBU's but no pod.
Also Exocet.

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