Dassault Super Etendard
| Dassault Super Etendard | ||
|---|---|---|
| Description | ||
| Role | Carrier-borne strike fighter | |
| Crew | One, pilot | |
| First Flight | November 24 1977 | |
| In Service | September 1978 | |
| Manufacturer | Dassault | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Length | 14.31m | 45' 10" |
| Wingspan | 9.60m | 31' 6" |
| Height | 3.85m | 12' 4" |
| Wing area | 29m² | 312ft² |
| Weights | ||
| Empty | 6,460kg | 14,212 lbs |
| Loaded | ||
| Maximum takeoff | 11,500kg | 25,300 lbs |
| Powerplant | ||
| Engines | 1 × SNECMA Atar 8 K-50 | |
| Thrust | 49.03kN | 10,995 lbs |
| Performance | ||
| Maximum speed | 1,180km/h | 733 mph |
| Ferry Range | 3,400 km | 2,125 miles |
| Service ceiling | 14,046m | 44,950 ft |
| Rate of climb | 6,000m/min | 19,685 ft/min |
| Wing loading | 396kg/m² | 81 lb/ft² |
| Thrust/Weight | 1:2.3 | |
| Avionics | ||
| Avionics | ||
| Armament | ||
| Guns | 2x 30mm cannon | |
| Stores | 2,100kg (4,620 lbs) of bombs and rockets | |
It is a development of the earlier Etendard IVM that was originally to have been replaced by a navalised version of the SEPECAT Jaguar, the Jaguar M, until this plan was stalled by political problems. The French Navy initially ordered 60 of the new model, and the Argentinian Navy ordered 14. The Super Etendard had been developed in parallel with a new air-launched version of AÃÂérospatiale's anti-shipping missile, the AM 39 Exocet, and these were supplied to Argentina as well.
At the time of the Falklands War, Argentina had taken delivery of five Super Etendards and five Exocets. All five of the missiles were used during the conflict, with one missile destroying the HMS Sheffield and one the supply ship MV Atlantic Conveyor (the Exocet that damaged HMS Glamorgan was a land-launched version).
Five Super Etendards were loaned to Iraq in 1983 while the country waited on deliveries of the Dassault Mirage F1s that had been ordered. These aircraft used Exocets to great success against Iranian tankers in the Persian Gulf before being returned to France in 1985.
From 1991, the original Etendard IVMs were withdrawn from French service, and the Super Etendards underwent continuous modernisation through the 1990s to enable them to use the latest generation of laser-guided precision weapons. These uprated aircraft, designated Super Etendard ModernisÃÂée (SEM) participated in NATO's "Allied Force" operations over Kosovo in 1999, flying over 400 combat missions.
All Super Etendards are expected to be retired from French service by 2010, to be replaced from 2006 onwards with a navalised version of the Dassault Rafale.
| Related content | |
|---|---|
| Related Development | Etendard II - Etendard IV - Etendard VI |
| Similar Aircraft | A-7 Corsair II - Blackburn Buccaneer |
| Related Lists | List of military aircraft of France - List of fighter aircraft |
| List of Aircraft - Aircraft Manufacturers - Aircraft Engines - Aircraft Engine Manufacturers |
| Airlines - Air Forces - Aircraft Weapons - Missiles - Years in Aviation |