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Squadron chat

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Three anniversaries in one !

Traditions

Three anniversaries were celebrated in one event by the French Air Force during the 26th and 27th June, 2004 Air Show at Dijon AFB, France: 20 years of service for the Mirage 2000, 70 years of existence for the FAF and 90 years since the creation of the Dijon airbase.

The meeting was presided by FAF Chief of Staff Gal Wolsztynski.

He was accompanied by some of the pilots among those who flew the Mirage 2000 at the E.C.1/2 "Cigognes" when it was first inducted into the FAF. The Mirage 2000 has logged more than 1,200,000 flight hours to date with more than 600 aircraft built for 8 countries throughout the world.

Tanagra AFB, Greece: 15 pilots who logged more than 1,000 flight hours on the Mirage 2000 were awarded diplomas and trophies during a formal ceremony taking place in Greece.

Dijon, Istres and Luxeuil AFB, France: 110 pilots who logged more than 1,000 and 2,000 flight hours on the Mirage 2000 were awarded diplomas and trophies during formal ceremonies at their Squadrons, E.C.1/2 "Cigognes", E.C.2/2 "Cote d'Or", E.C.1/4 "Dauphine", E.C.2/4 "La Fayette" and E.C.3/4 "Limousin".

Contact: D. Coulier (Dassault Aviation / Military Customer Support Division: deborah.coulier@dassault-aviation.fr)

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“Unitas” 2004 in Peru Escuadron N° 412 Flight safety corner

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Mirage 2000 User Conference

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Focus on Mirage 2000 landing gear

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A new era in mission debriefing

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Letters

Pitch Black 04 Four Mirage 2000-5s from Dijon E.C. 1/2 and E.C. 2/2 and a C-135 FR tanker took part in the "Pitch Black 04" exercise at RAAF Darwin last summer.

The Royal Thai AF and the Republic of Singapore AF were also contributing their F-16s and all invited parties were pitched against the Australian F/A-18 A/Bs in a demonstration of coalition operations and interoperability.

The FAF Mirage 2000-5s performed 111 sorties in 20 days with an impressive 97% availability. The deployment to Australia was supported

by a single C-130 H and by a DC 8.Only four legs were necessary for the ferry flight to Australia of the four Mirage 2000-5s and their accompanying C-135 FR. Details available on www.defence.gov.au

"Des ailes et des hommes"

40th anniversary of FAS

"Des ailes et des hommes" ("Wings and men") is Alexandre Paringaux's latest book on French Air Force Units published on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the French Air Force. This superb book contains lots of wonderful Mirage 2000 pictures by A. Paringaux himself, a famous Mirage aerial photographer.

The French Strategic Command (FAS) has celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2004. The FAS operate the Mirage 2000N and the famous Mirage IV P which is to be retired from service in June, 2005.

2004

Editorial

“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’s super hornets from the Ronald Reagan nuclear aircraft carrier during the “Unitas 2004” Exercise. Proudly I can say that our mirages and their pilots have performed and outstanding work in this “war game””.

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

Many thanks to the Peruvian AF and especially to Squadron Commander Carlos E. Chavez. They have taken a serious lead in the competition for providing “ENGAGE!” with Mirage 2000 operators material. An example to follow!

We are looking forward to receiving articles from other Mirage 2000 operators. We will be happy to publish them in the forthcoming issues of “ENGAGE!”.

3000 hours on Mirage 2000 French Air Force WSO Capt Baudrand (EC 1/3 "Navarre") was granted the 3,000 hours patch, diploma and trophy after flying more than 3,000 hours on Mirage 2000N and D, between 1984 and 2004.

The ceremony took place at EC 2/3 "Champagne" located at Nancy Air Force Base.

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Restriction notice: This publication is intended for information only. Its contents neither replace nor revise any material in official manuals or publications.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise - translating in other language without prior written permission of Dassault-Aviation.

About our cover: Peruvian Mirage 2000P

About our posters:

Enjoy!

The “ENGAGE!” Team

MIRAGE 2OOO

THE BEST OF

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R°: Peruvian Mirage 2000P over lagoon in Peru V°: E.C. N°412 Photos and 2005 calendar

Photo credits Photos by French Air Force, SIRPA-Air, A. Paringaux, F. Robineau, J.P. Jacqueline, Thales, Snecma-Moteurs, Dassault Aviation and Peruvian Air Force.

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Unitas-Passex with Peruvians

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.

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Since 1986 this Squadron ensures the protection of the south Peruvian skies. This heavy duty is accomplished by experimented Pilots who keep the traditions and legacy of Captain José Quiñones the Peruvian Air Force hero who was immortalized in Peru-Ecuador war in 1941. This Squadron makes the training of its Pilots in multirole missions during the year with a lot of Air-to-Air, Air-to-Ground and Air-to-Sea missions. During the

Air-to-Air training, the Mirage 2000P/DP engages with the MIG-29´s in dissimilar air combat exercises. This training is excellent to increase the skills of fighter pilots into the air combat scenarios.

With this combative spirit, on the 2nd of July over the southern skies was performed the air phase of the "Unitas-2004" exercise. This phase consisted of air defense and Air-to-Air combat missions between the Mirage 2000P and F-18 E/F Super Hornet from the Ronald Reagan nuclear aircraft carrier.

exercise 2004 Falcons

The objective of Unitas is the integration and training of American Naval Forces during several days of operations. For the first time in the Unitas history, Air-to-Air missions were incorporated under the "Passex" call sign with specific purpose to practice air interception and air combat maneuvers (ACM) with a foreign Air Force.

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

In this "War Game" the Peruvian Falcons defended a Fighter Area of Responsibility FAOR with Combat Air Patrol (CAP) of Peruvian Mirages 2000P and the F-18 E/F were

During this exercise the Peruvian aircrew members have demonstrated their skills and experience into an Air-to-Air environment with another type of aircraft and they have the pride of the successful accomplishment: work with unknown foreign pilots during the exercise.

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

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

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

Fly Safe and keep the true nature of the Mirage 2000 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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The 412th Fighter Squadron

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

“Halcones” heritage In 1986, with the acquisition of the Mirage 2000P at the 4th Air Group, the Peruvian Air Force created the 412th Fighter Squadron. Four pilots received the initial training in France, and became the first crew to fly over the southern skies of Peru with the most advanced combat aircraft in South America. The following year, we started incorporating into the 412th Fighter Squadron other experienced fighter pilots. Year after year, they have made it the best fighter squadron of the Peruvian Air Force, upgrading and updating the flight procedures in air combat tactics, air strikes and air-to-sea missions.

In 1991, the pilots of the 412th Fighter Squadron acquired even more proficiency and fighting capacity during a training period in the combat simulator of the French Air Force at Mont-de-Marsan. The skills they gained during the training, together with their highly combative morale, were demonstrated during the Alto Cenepa armed conflict in 1995: during several weeks they flew air escorts, combat air patrol and strike missions without losing a single aircraft. Also contributing to the prestige of the crew were the spectacular maneuvers 4

As of today, the 412th Fighter Squadron is under the command of FAP Commander Carlos Chavez Cateriano, who continues the experience legacy and heritage from previous Mirage 2000 pilots.

Along with all “Halcones”, he is dedicated to making the sovereignty and integrity of our Peruvian sky even more stronger.

Total air superiority The dream of every fighter pilot is to become a first line combat aircraft pilot. And for the new 412th Fighter Squadron pilots, this is their goal, with excellence required in operative aspects, and in physiological and psychological conditions. Flying the best Peruvian fighter plane requires every day the dedication, study, ability and professionalism which go with Mirage 2000 pilots.

The daily routine begins with a meeting where the pilots examine new interesting themes about the Mirage 2000 aircraft systems, navigation and attack system, tactics, and general culture as well as a CRM development in emergency exercises.

They check the weather conditions, and then they are ready to fly. The pilots can do all types of mission. They make their briefing and take off to practice Air-to-Air interceptions and dogfight, combat air patrol, ground strikes and sea strikes, as required by the mission schedule. In such conditions their skills, courage and valor are generously spent.

Good physical condition is required to achieve a good performance under nine “G” forces. Before the mission ends, they practice instrument procedures

to stay current and trained to face any unusual situation. During the debriefing every fact is analyzed carefully to improve the next mission.

A fighter pilot feels very proud to be an “Halcon” as they are very brave and will defend the integrity of the Peruvian Nation. These people overcome the limits and problems of living far away from the civilization under the very strong sun rays in the middle of the desert. However, they carry into their hearts the bravery, the skills and the fighting spirit required to lead their squadron to the complete victory, always remembering that : “When the very moment comes, the Peruvian aviator must go to the sacrifice”.

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

Technology to manage the future The General Commander of the Peruvian Air Force is dedicated to maintaining the Peruvian Air Force as a very powerful and efficient Air Power, with very well trained personnel to accomplish all present and future missions.

From this perspective the Mirage 2000 is expected to contribute to the excellence of the Peruvian Air Force for many years to come.

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 keep some margin regarding these limits. Then you have to permanently check and monitor if these margins are 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, the weather, the ground...), of what is your “global energy potential”, in other words, to always have a good SA. Then you have "circumstances"...

What are “circumstances” ? Everything unexpected or particular which is going to suddenly leave you with no margin, no time. Everything which is going to disrupt or delay the relevant way to deal with the 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 warning horn when you're flying inverted, at low speed, in BFM... like the sudden loss of overall performance of your a/c or engine cornering you... like the “knock-it-off” call and the necessary radio exchanges to tell your state and intentions... like the cloud layer you have to deal with before or amid 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 terrific and unmerciful truth of flying combat aircraft.

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

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

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The first Mirage 2000 User Conference took place in Paris from 4th to 8th October, 2004. This "Premiere" was organized in the wake of previous editions devoted to the Alpha Jet and the Mirage F1. It has provided an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between Mirage 2000 operators and Dassault Aviation by mutually learning lessons from accumulated flight hours and by exchanging info on maintenance and operation issues.

MIRAGE 2000 user conference All 8 countries operating the Mirage 2000 were attending

United Arab Emirates

Taïwan

Egypt

India

Peru

France

Greece

Qatar Each user country was represented by two Chiefs of Maintenance and one Mirage 2000 Pilot who presented their own Air Force and spoke on subjects such as the salvaging of HAF Mirage 2000EG 210 for Greece and the FAF Mirage 2000Ds deployment to Manas, Kyrgyzstan for France.

The Mirage 2000 User Conference was organized by the Military Customer Support Division of Dassault Aviation to cover the main technical events about the airframe, excluding all weapon system issues for confidentiality reasons. Flight Safety was an obvious backdrop to all the presentations.

Examples of subjects addressed by Dassault 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

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 items displayed on 250,000 sq.m exposition space.

and Services (Speed, Door to Door, Maintenance Aids,...)

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Focus on The Mirage 2000 made its first flight in March 1978 and went into operational service with the French Air Force in 1984 (for the Mirage 2000C and B air defense versions).

The Mirage 2000 has since been ordered by eight countries (France, Egypt, Greece, India, Peru, Qatar, Taiwan and United Arab Emirates).The Mirage 2000 has logged more than 1,200,000 flight hours, with more than 500 aicraft into service to date.

Snecma Moteurs' M53-P2 engine powers the Mirage 2000 and another Snecma group company, Messier-Dowty, designed the fighter's landing system (nose and main landing gear, equipped with brace actuators).

The world leader in landing systems, MessierDowty makes Mirage 2000 equipment at its Bidos production unit in Southwestern France.

Nearly 550 series and spare landing gear sets have been manufactured.

The Bidos plant also makes spare parts.

Maintenance work on Mirage 2000 landing gear is done either by the users (India and Taiwan, for example), or by Messier-Dowty subsidiary Messier Services. In both cases, Dassault Aviation acts as intermediary, ordering spare parts from Messier-Dowty.

The Mirage 2000 landing gear system at a glance

Mirage 2000 landing gear

The aircraft is equipped with a tricycle landing gear: - a twin wheel nose gear, rearwards retractable, is fitted with an electro-hydraulic wheel steering system, at pilot's disposal, actuated by the pedals, - a single wheel main landing gear is hinged on each half-wing and is retractable partly into the fuselage and partly into the wing.

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

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-pressure chamber of shock absorber = 100 bar (1,450 psi) ■ Under-carriage track: 3.4 meters (11.155 ft) ■ Shock absorbers are nitrogen inflated.

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 aircraft centreline ■ 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.

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A new era in

The arrival of the Mirage 2000-5 and its entry into service with the French Air Force in 1998 highlighted the fact that traditional combat mission debriefing methods had reached their limits.

Debriefing 2 vs 2 combat exercises on the basis of audio and video recordings and 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 too complicated. Thales' SERPAM mission debriefing system arrived just at the right time to meet exactly this operational need.

The system comprises a PC equipped with two screens and a digital memory card reader. It is totally air-transportable and can be linked to an MBDA simulations of missile trajectories.

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

aircraft's databus and copies information on trajectories, cockpit displays and weapons, if necessary, to the memory card so that all aspects of the mission can subsequently be reconstructed on the central PC. Once the aircraft are back on the ground, the information on the cards can be downloaded in a matter of minutes. This information makes it possible to visualise aircraft trajectories and review the indications provided by the Mirage 2000-5F's various cockpit screens throughout the corresponding manoeuvres.

Accurate replay of trajectories provides an impartial perspective, making it possible to determine whether tactical instructions given at the pre-mission briefing were respected to the letter. This, in turn, provides valuable input for refining these

mission debriefing tactics on the basis of their effectiveness, as demonstrated during post-mission analysis using the SERPAM system.

Analysis of onboard instrument readings enables objective judgements on the pertinence of decisions taken by each pilot on the basis of the information available at that moment, which is extremely valuable in pilot training.

This dimension is one of the major plus points of the SERPAM system in term of mission restitution and is absent from most of the systems used by other air fleets. Despite its many strengths, however, the system is not without its limitations. For debriefings requiring extremely detailed analysis, squadrons still need to manually

synchronise audio recordings, including that of the controller, with SERPAM reconstructions in order to obtain all the necessary information.

In addition, SERPAM can currently only reconstruct combat exercises once they have been completed. However, future developments are planned.

Visualisation of the aircraft's trajectories.

■ France is not the only country

equipped with the SERPAM system: the Taiwanese 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 to the 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.

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Letters

ENGAGE! 4

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2004

It is a pleasure to address you. Let me introduce myself. My name is Commander Carlos Chavez and I’m the Mirage 2000 Squadron Commander at la Joya AFB in Peru. I have just receive the 3-2004 publication of your "ENGAGE!" paper along with a DVD video. I found it fascinating and I would like to have contact with you and your organization.

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 since February 2003.

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´s super hornets from the Ronald Reagan nuclear aircraft carrier during the "Unitas 2004" Exercise.

Proudly I can say that our mirages and their pilots have performed and outstanding work in this "war game".

I´m going to attach a couple of pictures and maybe you can publish them in a future publication (if you want to have more information about this Exercise, just let me know).

ENGAGE! 4

I thank you very much for sending to me your ENGAGE! publication which is a very good idea. I wish it a long life!!! Your magazine is well designed and should satisfy all those who are keen on this outstanding aircraft: the Mirage 2000.

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".

E. Janssonne, Colmar-Houssen, France.

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

I would like to know if I could reproduce your piece on the Mirage 2000 Display for the next issue of AFM, which comes out before Fairford. If so, could I get the some of the pics that you used including the two pilots which run across the page. Kind regards.

V. Meslet, Guyancourt, France.

A. Warnes, Editor for Air Forces Monthly.

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ENGAGE! is honored by AFM's request.

Permission granted !

Editor's note: permission to reproduce written material published in ENGAGE! should be requested from the Editor.

Pictures contained in the DVDs can be freely reproduced, subject to mentioning the photo credits listed on page 1 of each issue. - Editor.

I have just got your 3-2004 ENGAGE! magazine in my hands with its enclosed DVD. I am really impressed by its photos and videos excellent quality.

This publication is outstanding for people keen on Mirage 2000. How can I get it? Thanking you to answer quickly my E-mail.

A. Strippe, Caen, France.

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

Well, I hope to have a quick response and your comments.

Very respectfully.

Carlos E. Chavez, Mirage 2000 Squadron Commander Peru.

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This ENGAGE! publication is yours to write and publish what you want to.

We are very proud to have such feed back from one of our great Mirage 2000 operators. - 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

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www.thales-airbornesystems.com

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2004

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2004

Calendar 2005