Dassault Mirage 5

The Dassault Mirage 5 is a French supersonic attack aircraft and fighter-bomber that Dassault Aviation designed during the 1960s from its popular Mirage III fighter. It grew out of an Israeli request: because the weather over the Middle East is mostly clear, the Israelis suggested removing the intercept radar and its avionics from the Mirage IIIE and using the space for more fuel, and in September 1966 they ordered 50 of the new aircraft. The first Mirage 5 flew on 19 May 1967 and looked much like the Mirage III apart from a longer, slender nose. A single SNECMA Atar 9C turbojet powered it. It kept the twin DEFA guns, gained extra pylons and was sold with a range of avionics to Abu Dhabi, Belgium, Colombia, Egypt, Gabon, Libya, Pakistan, Peru, Venezuela and Zaire; 582 were built in all, including the Israeli Nesher.