Mirage Milan S

Mirage Milan S

The latest variant of the basic Mirage III/5 family is the Milan (this name does not refer to the Italian city, but to a bird known in English as the "kite"). It is similar to the Mirage IIIE, but is equipped with retractable fore-planes - these being nicknamed "moustaches". This innovation was developed jointly by Dassault and the Federal Aircraft Factory, of Switzerland, and leads to radically improved take-off and low-speed handling characteristics. Each foreplane has a span of 0.8m and features fixed leading-edge slats and slotted trailing-edge flaps. The whole installation is extremely light and only takes up a small amount of space forward of the cockpit.

Foreplanes were first tested in a fixed installation on a Mirage III during 1968; then followed a retractable installation on a Mirage IIIR, this aircraft being shown at the Paris Air Show in June 1969. Finally, a definitive prototype, known as the Milan S-01, was converted from a Mirage IIIR and first flown on May 29, 1970. The Milan S is powered by a 7,200kg SNECMA 09K-50 and has a greater external load capacity than the Mirage IIIE. It also has improved avionics, including the navigation/attack system developed for the Anglo-French BAC/Breguet Jaguar.

No orders for the Milan had been announced at the time of writing (May 1971) but Dassault has said that deliveries could be started in 1972. Switzerland is being strongly wooed with the type and it is reported that South Africa has been discussing a possible order with the manufacturer.

Requirements: DLC Mirage IIIO

Texture Temp by Ludo.m54
data.ini - Coupi
3D mod - Denis Oliveira