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Re: Pakistani Mirages in Egypt for Bright Star 2009
They are going to Egypt because they have in flight refueling via the probes fitted on the nose along with upgraded radars. In all honesty ROSE upgraded Mirages are more important to PAF right now than F-16 Blk 15. What I would like to see is their full use in Waziristan along with the A-5 Fantans and rest the airframes of the precious few F-16 we have for conventional threats. Right now the use of jet training aircraft which can be used for COIN ops as well as the bulk fleet of the bomber squadrons are not being used due to fear of civilian casualties. Personally I think people had ample time to get out.There should be constant sorties on the Talibunny a**, wish they'd spend less time in Egypt more time on Al Qaeda!
Mirage IIIO ROSE I
33 of the ex-Australian Dassault Mirage IIIO/D aircraft of the PAF were modified to ROSE I standard. The cockpit was modernised with a new head-up display (HUD), "hands on throttle and stick" (HOTAS) controls and new multi-function displays (MFD). New navigation systems, including an inertial navigation system and GPS system, were also installed. Defensive systems upgrades consisted of a new radar warning receiver (RWR), electronic counter-measures (ECM) suite and counter-measure dispensing system, dispensing decoy flares and chaff to confuse enemy missiles and radar.
In 1991, the PAF bought 50 Australian Mirage IIIO/D, 45 of which were refurbished and put into PAF service. The FIAR Grifo M3 radar was then to be fitted to 33 of the Mirage IIIEA/DA fighters which were procured from Australia, following on from the earlier ROSE avionics upgrade integrated by Sagem. It was stated that ROSE I fighters could easily be in service beyond 2010. In early 1999 it was stated that problems in "certain parameters - and errors in certain modes" had surfaced during flight trials of the Grifo M radar in the Mirage III, but these were later solved.[2]
45 of the 50 Dassault Mirage III fighters received from Australia were found to be suitable for service with the PAF, 12 of them were overhauled at PAC and made operational. After being inspected, the remaining 33 were selected for upgrade under Project ROSE. In June 1998 the cockpit upgrades for the 33 Mirage III fighters was completed, including installation of multi-function displays (MFD), head-up display (HUD), HOTAS controls, radar altimeter and a Sagem nav/attack system. The Grifo M multi-mode radar was installed later in a second phase of the upgrade project.[6]
The integration of a new Italian fire-control radar, the FIAR (now SELEX Galileo) Grifo M3, gave Mirage III ROSE I fighters the ability to fire advanced beyond visual range (BVR) radar guided air-to-air missiles. PAF's standard short range air-to-air missile at the time, the AIM-9L Sidewinder, was integrated with the Grifo M3 radar.
The Grifo M3 was developed specifically to fit the Mirage III and has been in full operation on the Mirage III since 2001. It has a power consumption of 200 W, operates in the X-band and is compatible with IR guided, semi-active and active radar guided missiles. The circular antenna has a diameter of 47 cm. The radar has over 30 different operational air-to-air/air-to-surface mission and navigation modes. Air to air modes include Single/Dual Target Track and Track While Scan. Air to surface modes include Real Beam Map, Doppler Beam Sharpening, Sea Low/High, Ground Moving Target Indicator, Ground/Sea Moving Target Track. Other optional modes include Raid Assessment, Non Cooperative Target Identification, SAR (synthetic aperture radar) and Precision Velocity Update. Low, medium and high pulse repetition frequencies reduce effects of ground clutter. Digital adaptive pulse compression technology, dual channel receiver, scanning coverage +/-60 degrees in both azimuth and elevation, air cooling, weighs less than 91 kg, MTBF (flight guaranteed) over 220 hours. Extensive ECCM (electronic counter-counter-measures) provisions and built in test equipment (BITE). IFF interrogators can also be integrated.[7] [8]
The PAF is currently installing in-flight refuelling probes to 30 of its Mirage III ROSE I aircraft, stating that it is a pilot programme for the induction of aerial refuelling capability into the PAF.
Mirage 5F ROSE II
40 surplus Mirage 5F/DF from the French Air Force were undergoing delivery to the PAF in February 1999, around 20 of which were upgraded with enhanced night-time surface strike capability.[2]
ROSE II fighters were fitted with a new SAGEM Forward-Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) system, mounted in a pod under the nose. This gave ROSE II fighters the capability to fly safely in the dark at very low level to avoid radar.
The French air force supplied a total of 40 fully overhauled Mirage 5, 34 single and 6 dual seat aircraft. Of the 40, 20 were upgraded to ROSE II standard. Their engines were overhauled for a four year and 300 hour minimum life span. This package included installation of chaff and flare dispenser, radar warning receiver and GPS navigation systems as well as all required ground support, LRU (line replaceable units) and alternate mission equipment.[9]
Mirage 5F ROSE III
In the late 1990s, 33 Dassault Mirage 5F fighters were bought from France, 14 of them upgraded to ROSE III standard with a FLIR and other systems/modifications circa 2004.[10] A follow-up to ROSE II, this upgrade gives an improved night-time precision strike capability to the Mirage with the addition of a new SAGEM navigation/attack avionics suite. A new PAF squadron was raised on 19 April 2007, No.27 Tactical Attack "Zarrar" Squadron, to operate the Mirage 5 ROSE III fighters and specialise in night-time surface strike missions.[11][12]
Aircraft bought from Lebanon (Mirage IIIEL) were shipped to Karachi in 2002, each having around 600-1000 flying hours on their airframes, stated to be "airworthy and in good shape". These were inducted into PAF service circa 2004. In mid 2004, PAC was in the process of upgrading 14 of 33 Mirage 5F procured from France with FLIR and other modifications, to be known as ROSE III.[10]
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