Editing Dassault Mirage 2000N/2000D (section)

==Variants==
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2012}}

===Mirage 2000N===
[[File:Dassault Mirage 2000N silhouette showing external stores configuration.png|thumb|right]]

The Mirage 2000N was the [[nuclear warfare|nuclear strike]] variant which was intended to carry the Aerospatiale Air-Sol Moyenne Portee (ASMP) nuclear stand-off missile. Initial flight tests of two prototypes began on 3 February 1983, and the Mirage 2000N entered operational service in 1988. A total of 75 were built.<ref name="Newdick2015">{{cite book|author=Thomas Newdick|title=The World's Greatest Military Aircraft: An Illustrated History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Pg_CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT320|date=22 December 2015|publisher=Amber Books Ltd|isbn=978-1-78274-277-7|pages=320–}}</ref> The fighter had strengthened wings for low-altitude operations, as well as low-level precision navigation/attack systems, built around the Dassault/Thales Antilope 5 radar, which was designed for the strike role and featured a terrain-avoidance capability.{{Citation needed|date=January 2013}}

The [[Air-Sol Moyenne Portée|ASMP]] missile is 5.38 meters long with a [[kerosene]]-powered [[ramjet]] that allows it to cruise at [[Mach number|Mach]] 3 to a maximum range of 300&nbsp;km carrying a [[nuclear warhead]] with a yield of 300&nbsp;kt.{{Citation needed|date=January 2013}}

====Upgrades====
* The existing kit was enhanced to provide an [[electronic intelligence]] (ELINT) capability, allowing the aircraft to record data on adversary emitters for post-flight intelligence analysis.{{Citation needed|date=January 2013}}
* A SAT Samir "Detecteur de Depart Missile (DDM)" missile-warning system was also added, being attached to the back of the Magic AAM pylons.{{Citation needed|date=January 2013}}
* Future upgrades include the addition of a Pod Reco NG (''Pod de Reconnaissance Nouvelle Generation'') to provide digital reconnaissance capabilities, with both day and night imagers, a digital data recorder system, and a [[datalink]] to provide real-time relay of imagery to battlefield commanders. It is being developed by Thales for service introduction in 2006.{{Citation needed|date=January 2013}}

Aircraft with the updated [[countermeasure]]s system and capable of carrying both the ASMP-A missile and the Pod Reco NG will be redesignated "Mirage 2000N-K3".

As it is forbidden to export them, they are being dismantled for parts with some being donated to French museums. 3 remain with the [[Direction générale de l'armement|DGA]] for testing.

Currently, four aircraft are preserved: 305-116-CS,<ref>https://www.airhistory.net/photo/699050/305</ref> 336-116-BI,<ref>https://www.airhistory.net/photo/470221/336</ref> 337-116-BF,<ref>https://www.airhistory.net/photo/705757/337</ref> and 349-116-BM,<ref>https://www.airhistory.net/photo/682200/349</ref> all of which are in good condition with no missing parts.

===Mirage 2000D===
[[File:Dassault Mirage 2000D silhouette showing external stores configuration.png|thumb|right]]

Delays in the Dassault Rafale fourth-generation fighter program led to a development program for an updated Mirage 2000N dedicated to conventional attack, originally designated Mirage 2000N cousin. It was to complement SEPECAT Jaguar daylight strike fighters by providing a night/bad weather attack capability.

Formal development began in 1988. The designation was changed to Mirage 2000D in 1990, with the "D" standing for "Diversifie/Multirole". Initial flight of the Mirage 2000D prototype, a modified Mirage 2000N prototype, was on 19 February 1991. That led to first flight of a production aircraft 31 March 1993 and introduction to service in April 1995. 86 Mirage 2000Ds were built in all to last delivery in 2001.{{Citation needed|date=January 2013}}

The Mirage 2000D featured:{{Citation needed|date=January 2013}}
* An NVG-compatible cockpit, with improved "hands on throttle and stick (HOTAS)" controls and a partial "glass cockpit" arrangement. The pilot obtained a second display, and the back-seater received two more for a total of three in the rear.
* A modernized ULISS 52P navigation system with Global Positioning System (GPS) capability,
* An improved Antilope 50 terrain-following system.
* An updated "ICMS 2" countermeasures system, with SERVAL RWR, Chameleon jammer, and Spirale dispensers.

Full-specification Mirage 2000D-R1 aircraft could carry stores such as:
* All major dumb munitions, such as iron bombs, Belouga cluster bombs, Durandal runway breaker bombs, BAP 100 and BAP 120 clusters, Matra 68 millimeter rocket pods, and cannon pods.
* Laser-guided weapons such as the AS-30L ASM or French and US LGBs, with the munitions directed by an ATLIS II or improved optical-infrared PDLCT and high-resolution PDLCTS targeting pods, attached to a pylon under the right air intake. The navigator/WSO in the back seat handled laser targeting while the pilot in the front flew the aircraft. Carriage of the next-generation Damocles pod is now under consideration.
* The [[ARMAT]] antiradar missile, though this is rarely carried.

====Upgrades====

The Mirage 2000D remains in service, with various improvements such as the MICA IR. A general upgrade designated Mirage 2000D-R2 machine was delivered from 2001. A second upgrade program was begun in 2009, with better support for the strike role and improvement of air-to-air capabilities. This provided a multirole capability that compensated for the eventual retirement of the Mirage 2000Cs.

55 aircraft are undergoing a mid-life upgrade known as Mirage 2000D RMV (Rénovation Mi-Vie) until 2024 with the objective of keeping them in service until well after 2030.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theaviationist.com/2021/08/02/faf-mir2000-test-djibouti/|title = French Air Force Completes Upgraded Mirage 2000D Test Campaign in Djibouti|date = 2 August 2021}}</ref> This involves updating the [[avionics]], providing a CC422 [[gun pod]], replacing the [[Matra R550 Magic|Magic]] missiles by [[MICA (missile)|MICA]], and integrating the [[Paveway|GBU-48]] and [[Paveway|GBU-50]], at a total cost of 532.5 million euro.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.senat.fr/rap/a18-149-8/a18-149-811.html|title=Projet de loi de finances pour 2019 : Défense : Équipement des forces}}</ref>

A pair of Mirage 2000D RMV was [https://www.africanmilitaryblog.com/2021/09/hot-weather-tests-for-french-mirage-2000d-rmv-in-djibouti deployed in early September 2021 to Djibouti] to evaluate their performance in hot-weather climatic conditions. The two Mirage 2000D RMV stayed for 20 days at the Base Aérienne (Air Base) 188 Djibouti with the Escadron de Chasse et d’Expérimentation (Fighter and Experimental Squadron) 1/30 “Côte d’Argent”.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kazim|first=Abdul|date=7 September 2021|title=Hot-weather tests for French Mirage 2000D RMV in Djibouti|url=https://www.africanmilitaryblog.com/2021/09/hot-weather-tests-for-french-mirage-2000d-rmv-in-djibouti|url-status=live|website=Military Africa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907075426/https://www.africanmilitaryblog.com/2021/09/hot-weather-tests-for-french-mirage-2000d-rmv-in-djibouti |archive-date=7 September 2021 }}</ref>