Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
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 | 14.31 m | 45′ 10″ |
| Wingspan | 9.60 m | 31′ 6″ |
| Height | 3.85 m | 12′ 4″ |
| Wing area | 29 m² | 312ft² |
| Weights | ||
| Empty | 6,460 kg | 14,212 lb |
| Loaded | ||
| Maximum takeoff | 11,500 kg | 25,300 lb |
| Powerplant | ||
| Engines | 1 × SNECMA Atar 8 K-50 | |
| Thrust | 5000 kgf 49.0 kN | 11,000 lbf |
| Performance | ||
| Maximum speed | 1,180 km/h | 733 mph |
| Ferry Range | 3,400 km | 2,125 miles |
| Service ceiling | 13,700 m | 44,900 ft |
| Rate of climb | 6,000 m/min | 19,700 ft/min |
| Wing loading | 396 kg/m² | 81.1 lb/ft² |
| Thrust/Weight | 4.3 N/kg | 1:2.3 lbf/lb |
| Avionics | ||
| Avionics | ||
| Armament | ||
| Guns | 2x 30 mm cannon | |
| Stores | 2,100 kg (4,620 lb) of bombs and rockets | |
The Dassault Super Etendard is a French carrier-borne "strike" fighter in service with the French and Argentine Navy. A small number were also flown by the Iraqi Air Force for a brief period during the Iran-Iraq War.
It is a development of the earlier Etendard IVM that was originally to have been replaced by a navalised version of the SEPECAT Jaguar, the Jaguar M, until this plan was stalled by political problems.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 Aérospatiale'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From 1991, the original Etendard IVMs were withdrawn from French service, and the Super Etendards underwent continuous modernisation through the 1990s to enable them to use the latest generation of laser-guided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 Modernisée (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.
 A Super-Etendard in the aviation hangar of the FS Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier (5 June 2004) |
 A Super-Etendard ready for launching of the flying deck of the FS Clémenceau (16 July 1997) |
 Super Etendard's on the flying deck of the Clémenceau aircraft carrier |
 A modernised standard 4 Super Etendard with full weapon complement. |
| 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 |
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