Dassault Mirage IV

The Dassault Mirage IV is a French jet-propelled supersonic strategic bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. For many years it was the linchpin of the Force de frappe, France's nuclear deterrent programme. Work on a supersonic bomber able to carry a nuclear bomb started in France in 1956 as part of the development of France's independent nuclear deterrent. The final specifications, jointly defined by government authorities and Dassault staff, were a... more

The Dassault Mirage IV is a French jet-propelled supersonic strategic bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. For many years it was the linchpin of the Force de frappe, France's nuclear deterrent programme. Work on a supersonic bomber able to carry a nuclear bomb started in France in 1956 as part of the development of France's independent nuclear deterrent. The final specifications, jointly defined by government authorities and Dassault staff, were approved on 20 March 1957. Dassault's resulting prototype, dubbed Mirage IV 01, looked a lot like the Mirage IIIA, even though it had double the wing surface, two engines instead of one, and twice the unladen weight. The Mirage IV also carried three times more internal fuel than the Mirage III. The aircraft's aerodynamic features were very similar to the III's but required an entirely new structure and layout. The 01 was an experimental prototype built to explore and solve the problems stemming from prolonged supersonic flight. The sizable... less