Post by ukron on Dec 3, 2020 13:35:17 GMT
The first Mach 3 fighter projects were launched by the Air Force in June 1958. Nord Aviation and Dassault presented draft Super Griffon or Mirage VIA projects (the latter weighing 13 tonnes at takeoff, and was powered by a Super Atar of 9 tons of thrust.The program was abandoned, then relaunched with the appearance in 1964 of the MiG-25 and the SR-71.
The CPE (Center for Prospective and Evaluation) was created in February 1964 by Pierre Mesmer, Minister of the Armed Forces of De Gaulle. It was directed by Hughes de l'Estoile, who issued a note on May 25, 1965 on the study of "an airplane piloted at high Mach". It is a question of imagining what such a device could be around 1980, and its possible missions (air defense, distant reconnaissance, strategic attack). The CPE will become BPE (Replacing Center Center) in August 1967. The Air Force collaborates quickly, but the officers quickly note that the study is vague and that producing a missile capable of this speed is easier. In fact, a Mach 3 or 4 aircraft is only of interest for performing air policing missions if the civilian aircraft themselves have a speed of Mach 3.
The Air Force's BPA (Prospective Air Office) gave a favorable opinion on November 22, 1965, specifying that it should remain a study, and not a program sheet. This led to a call for tenders launched on December 14, 1965 by the CPE at Breguet, Dassault, Nord and Sud Aviation. Proposals from Dassault and Sud Aviation were accepted in May 1966. Matra and Thomson were asked to design the corresponding missiles and radar. Matra is already imagining the fixed electronic scanning antenna, now operational on Rafale, and Thomson's studies will ultimately serve as a basis for the Super 530. 10 types of engines (including turbojet / ramjet combinations) are being considered, including 8 by Snecma. A project was also designed around the J58 which equips the SR-71. Others are based on the TF306: this engine, derived from the TF30 and fitted to the Mirage F2 and G, will give the Snecma the experience necessary to work on the successor to the Atar, the M53. One of the projects, the LZ1-43, has 2 M53s.
If Sud-Aviation quickly gave up, Dassault, for its part, embarked on a large number of Mach 4 class pre-projects and the first proposals arrived on October 19, 1966. It was the first time that engineers had used a computer for calculate the trajectories and performance of airplanes. The heat resistance is studied and a steel and titanium structure, with honeycomb coating, is considered. Panels will also be tested in an oven.
However, Dassault's projects met with disbelief and skepticism within the Air Force, doubts which were expressed as early as June 1967. Building a Mach 4 fighter, with the work that this represents in terms of materials, reactors and mass at the take-off (one of the projects, the MZ1-46Q, exceeds 40 tons), seems beyond the industrial capacity of the country. In addition, a![]()
jet fighter flying at Mach 3 can already be 400 km inside France before interception. Consequently, the projects remain very discreet, even secret. We just admit that there are, at least on paper, studies on the subject.
After the work carried out in 1967-1968, Dassault received a contract of 5 million francs for a program called SAME (High Mach Aircraft System), more precise and less ambitious: it was no longer a question of Mach 4, but of Mach 2 , 5 to 3 or Mach 3 to 3.5.
On February 19, 1969, Dassault offered a twin-engine delta wing: its maximum speed would be Mach 3.5 and it would be able to climb to 16,000 meters in 5 or 6 minutes, and finally to fly at Mach 3.2 for 10 minutes.
It is in this context that a 3-view plan of the MD-750 drawn by Alain Ratineau in Aviation Magazine, in June 1969 appears, without further comments. A model is also on display at the Dassault stand at the Paris Air Show that year. It is also given the nicknames of "Super Mirage 6000" or "Mega Mirage".
This aircraft would be an interception fighter, single-seater, it is similar in size to the Mirage IV. Like the latter, it is twin-engine (two M-53 engines), single-fin and has a low delta wing.
The similarities end there, the MD 750 has a fuselage of rectangular section except for the part forward of the air intakes (cockpit and nose cone) which are of conventional section. Rather high perched, it would seem possible to pass under the canopy without stooping.
The two air inlets, reminiscent of those of the MiG-25, are of rectangular sections, the upper part of these starts just behind the cockpit to dive at an angle of about - 20 ° with respect to the RHF towards the lower part.
The main gears (1 wheel per train) are located under the wings in the extended position and stow inward. The wheels coming into the train compartments located in the fuselage.
The CPE (Center for Prospective and Evaluation) was created in February 1964 by Pierre Mesmer, Minister of the Armed Forces of De Gaulle. It was directed by Hughes de l'Estoile, who issued a note on May 25, 1965 on the study of "an airplane piloted at high Mach". It is a question of imagining what such a device could be around 1980, and its possible missions (air defense, distant reconnaissance, strategic attack). The CPE will become BPE (Replacing Center Center) in August 1967. The Air Force collaborates quickly, but the officers quickly note that the study is vague and that producing a missile capable of this speed is easier. In fact, a Mach 3 or 4 aircraft is only of interest for performing air policing missions if the civilian aircraft themselves have a speed of Mach 3.
The Air Force's BPA (Prospective Air Office) gave a favorable opinion on November 22, 1965, specifying that it should remain a study, and not a program sheet. This led to a call for tenders launched on December 14, 1965 by the CPE at Breguet, Dassault, Nord and Sud Aviation. Proposals from Dassault and Sud Aviation were accepted in May 1966. Matra and Thomson were asked to design the corresponding missiles and radar. Matra is already imagining the fixed electronic scanning antenna, now operational on Rafale, and Thomson's studies will ultimately serve as a basis for the Super 530. 10 types of engines (including turbojet / ramjet combinations) are being considered, including 8 by Snecma. A project was also designed around the J58 which equips the SR-71. Others are based on the TF306: this engine, derived from the TF30 and fitted to the Mirage F2 and G, will give the Snecma the experience necessary to work on the successor to the Atar, the M53. One of the projects, the LZ1-43, has 2 M53s.
If Sud-Aviation quickly gave up, Dassault, for its part, embarked on a large number of Mach 4 class pre-projects and the first proposals arrived on October 19, 1966. It was the first time that engineers had used a computer for calculate the trajectories and performance of airplanes. The heat resistance is studied and a steel and titanium structure, with honeycomb coating, is considered. Panels will also be tested in an oven.
However, Dassault's projects met with disbelief and skepticism within the Air Force, doubts which were expressed as early as June 1967. Building a Mach 4 fighter, with the work that this represents in terms of materials, reactors and mass at the take-off (one of the projects, the MZ1-46Q, exceeds 40 tons), seems beyond the industrial capacity of the country. In addition, a
After the work carried out in 1967-1968, Dassault received a contract of 5 million francs for a program called SAME (High Mach Aircraft System), more precise and less ambitious: it was no longer a question of Mach 4, but of Mach 2 , 5 to 3 or Mach 3 to 3.5.
On February 19, 1969, Dassault offered a twin-engine delta wing: its maximum speed would be Mach 3.5 and it would be able to climb to 16,000 meters in 5 or 6 minutes, and finally to fly at Mach 3.2 for 10 minutes.
It is in this context that a 3-view plan of the MD-750 drawn by Alain Ratineau in Aviation Magazine, in June 1969 appears, without further comments. A model is also on display at the Dassault stand at the Paris Air Show that year. It is also given the nicknames of "Super Mirage 6000" or "Mega Mirage".
This aircraft would be an interception fighter, single-seater, it is similar in size to the Mirage IV. Like the latter, it is twin-engine (two M-53 engines), single-fin and has a low delta wing.
The similarities end there, the MD 750 has a fuselage of rectangular section except for the part forward of the air intakes (cockpit and nose cone) which are of conventional section. Rather high perched, it would seem possible to pass under the canopy without stooping.
The two air inlets, reminiscent of those of the MiG-25, are of rectangular sections, the upper part of these starts just behind the cockpit to dive at an angle of about - 20 ° with respect to the RHF towards the lower part.
The main gears (1 wheel per train) are located under the wings in the extended position and stow inward. The wheels coming into the train compartments located in the fuselage.
