The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 993: Famous Machine

The Mirage 4000 fighter is a twin-engine heavy air superiority fighter independently developed by the French company Dassault. It made its first flight on March 1979, 3. During the test flight, the performance displayed by the Mirage 9 was completely comparable to that of the F-4000.

The Mirage 4000 fighter has a wingspan of 12 meters, a length of 18.7 meters, a wing area of ​​73 square meters, a gross weight (full fuel, no external loads) of 17 to 18 tons, a maximum external load weight of 8 tons, a combat weight of 16.1 tons, and is equipped with two SNECMA M53 turbofan engines with a thrust of 2×64.3 kN and an afterburner thrust of 2×95.1 kN. The total fuel volume in the aircraft is three times that of the Mirage 2000. The maximum level flight speed (at high altitude) is 3 Mach, the sustained maximum level flight speed is 2.3 Mach, the practical ceiling is 2.2 meters, and the maximum combat radius (with auxiliary fuel tanks and reconnaissance equipment bay) is 20000 kilometers.

French fighter jets are famously expensive, and heavy fighter jets like the Mirage 4000 are even more expensive.

Speaking of it, the Mirage 4000 fighter jet also has a rough fate. The Mirage 4000 fighter jet was originally invested by Saudi Arabia, but after the United States agreed to sell F15 to Saudi Arabia, the Mirage 4000 lost Saudi Arabia's funds.

It can be said that the United States has severely stabbed the French in the back in this matter, making the French heartbroken.

But because the Mirage 4000 fighter is too expensive, it is well received but not popular!

The French gritted their teeth and equipped themselves with twenty Mirage 4000 fighter jets, and decided not to purchase any more Mirage 4000 fighter jets.

The current international market price of the Mirage 4000 fighter is as high as 9000 million US dollars, and this is just the starting price. The high-end version will even exceed 1.2 million US dollars per unit price, making it the most expensive fighter in the world.

The Rafale fighter, also transliterated as Rafael fighter, is a twin-engine, delta-wing, highly maneuverable, multi-purpose fighter developed by the French company Dassault.

The real advantage of this fighter lies in its multi-purpose combat capability. The French promote this fighter as the "most comprehensive" in the world. It not only has capabilities in land, sea and air, but also has very strong air combat and ground and sea attack capabilities.

The Rafale fighter jet made its first flight in 1986 and has not yet entered service. Learning from the lessons of the Mirage 4000, the Rafale fighter jet is a medium-sized fighter jet.

But this is the case, because the total cost of the entire project is as high as 330 billion US dollars, so that the Rafale Air Force version is now priced at 8280 million US dollars per aircraft, and the Navy version is priced at 8880 million US dollars per aircraft.

This is the characteristic of French fighter jets, expensive!

There is no market for fighter jets like this in most countries. Only certain countries, after all, European countries, or a few countries, purchase French fighter jets for political considerations!
Shi Lao felt it necessary to write a special article about French fighter planes.

施佬来到了美国展区，这次美国展区机型可就非常丰富了，各种运输机、加油机、预警机等等应有尽有，在战机方面，有F4、F5、F20、F14、F15、F16、F18、F111、F117、A6、A10等飞机。

Shi Lao watched with great interest. The American aviation industry has always been the best in the world and the most powerful. After World War II, the US Air Force was the best air force in the world most of the time. Only in a few years was the Soviet Air Force surpassed it to become the best.

Each and every aircraft is a famous one!
Shi Lao came in front of the F14 'Panda' fighter jet and took up his camera to take a lot of pictures.

Speaking of the F14 fighter, for the die-hard fans of the "Panda", it has always been a beautiful dream for the F14 to return to the arena. Many military fans like the F14 because of the cartoon "Robotron". The prototype of the transformable fighter VF-1 in the play is the F14 "Panda" fighter. This fighter is moved into the cartoon, and it looks even more beautiful, which is very suitable for the sci-fi theme of the film at that time.

The F14 'Panda' fighter is a two-seat, twin-engine, supersonic multi-purpose fighter developed in accordance with the US Navy's fleet air defense and escort requirements from the 20s to the 70s. It is mainly used for fleet defense, interception, strike and reconnaissance missions. The performance of the aircraft also made the US Navy very satisfied, and it placed a large order for 80 aircraft.

However, the high price of the "Panda" fighter, coupled with the depreciation of the US dollar, made even the wealthy US military reluctant to purchase it. As early as 1987, the price of the F14 fighter exceeded 4400 million US dollars per unit. Apart from the United States, only Persia, which was a staunch ally of the United States at the time, imported 80 F14 fighters, and China, which was in the honeymoon period, imported dozens of F14 fighters. Other countries did not have any equipment.

The F14 'Panda' fighter jet was so expensive that China later complained that it could not afford it. The United States felt that China's ability to copy was too strong and would not sell it even if China wanted to purchase more. As a result, the F14 'Panda' fighter jet production line had long been discontinued, and it is estimated that no one knows how many years it has been dismantled.

Because the US military budget has been cut year after year, the US Navy has decided to retire the F14 "Panda" fighter jets and instead purchase F/A18 Hornet fighter jets.

Moreover, the US military would rather retire the F14 "Panda" fighter and send it to the aircraft graveyard than export it again.

China tried to express its desire to buy second-hand F14 'Panda' fighter jets, but the Americans rejected it without hesitation.

Shi Lao is also a big fan of Panda. He was so excited when he saw the F14 'Panda' fighter jet with his own eyes.

He has decided to write a good article about the F14 'Panda' fighter.

Then he came to the F15 fighter jet, which is also a famous aircraft of its generation. It can be said that its fame is comparable to that of the Su-15 fighter jet. Therefore, the debate over which one is more advanced, the F27 fighter jet or the Su-15 fighter jet, has been going on endlessly, not only among the public, but also within the parties.

As for the Mirage 4000 fighter, which is also a heavy fighter, only France is equipped with 20 of them, making it a little brother.

Although China has also developed the J-11 fighter, which is also a third-generation heavy fighter, China's aviation industry was too weak in the past. It will take time to eliminate people's inherent impression of China. Many countries have doubts about the performance of the J-11 fighter.

From this we can also see the terrible power of brand effect!
After watching the F15 fighter jet, Shi Lao started to look at the F16 fighter jet.

The F16 fighter is also a classic aircraft of that generation!

Worldwide, the F16 fighter is the best-selling third-generation fighter. As it is a single-engine medium-sized aircraft, its price is more attractive. The Americans even allow technology transfer. As long as you purchase a certain number of F16 fighters, you can directly introduce the F16 fighter production line and assemble it in your country.

There is no doubt that this is an irresistible temptation for some ambitious countries.

Shi Lao watched with great interest; he was very interested in these fighter planes.

He even felt that if he could fly a plane in the air, he would be willing to live a year less.

When he was in high school, as a military fan, he thought about applying to the Air Force Flight Academy to become a pilot, but he was too short, too thin, and too nearsighted, so he couldn't even pass the physical examination.

(End of this chapter)