It is suspected that Israeli industry went ahead and reproduced the Mirage 5 by way of blueprints in bringing about their IAI "Nesher" model while others claim collusion between the governments of France and Israel to have the Mirage 5 aircraft delivered in parts as a way around the embargo - the Israelis simply assembling the aircraft upon delivery. The Israelis were refunded their paid portion for the aircraft batch and were forced to fulfill their strike role by other means.
#X MIRAGE V 2.3.9 CODE SERIAL#
With serial production already ongoing, it was decided to retain the new aircraft for French Air Force service and this begat the "Mirage 5F" designation upon formal introduction. By and large, the form of the Mirage III was preserved including physical characteristics such as swept-back wing surfaces, a single vertical tail fin, single engine installation, and low-mounted delta wing planform.īecause of rising tensions across the Middle East theater, the French government (led by President Charles de Gaulle) was forced to restrict the sale of the new aircraft - now named the "Mirage 5" - to Israel through embargo in 1967 - this despite the aircraft having been paid for. As finalized, the aircraft resembled the earlier Mirage III to an extent though it incorporated some slight changes to its design such as a relocated pitot tube and the introduction of two external hardpoints for broader weapons support. The Israeli government contracted Dassault for a batch of 50 aircraft in September of 1966 and a prototype went airborne for the first time on May 19th, 1967.
The changes would help simplify both maintenance and operation of the new jet fighter, making for a cost-effective solution for the IAF. As such, it was decided to essentially refine the existing Mirage IIIE production model for the specific role - and this meant that the Cyrano radar set and avionics kit were removed. The Mirage V was developed to help fulfill a new Israeli Air Force (IAF) requirement centered on a daytime, clear weather attack aircraft.
Production of this aircraft saw 1,422 built in total and operators went on to range from Argentina to Zaire. The Dassault Mirage 5 saw the continuing evolution of the classic and successful Mirage III delta-winged platform introduced in 1961 (and detailed elsewhere on this site).
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