Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard

Super Étendard
A Super Étendard in 1988.
Role Attack aircraft
National origin France
Manufacturer Dassault-Breguet
First flight 28 October 1974
Introduction June 1978
Status Active
Primary users French Navy
Argentine Navy
Iraqi Air Force
Produced 1974–1983
Number built 85
Developed from Dassault Étendard IV

The Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard (Étendard is French for "battle flag") is a French carrier-borne strike fighter aircraft designed by Dassault-Breguet for service with the French Navy. The aircraft is an advanced development of the Étendard IVM. The Super Étendard first flew in October 1974 and entered French service in June 1978. French Super Étendards have served in several conflicts such as the Kosovo War, the War in Afghanistan and the military intervention in Libya.

The Super Étendard was also operated by Iraq and Argentina, who both deployed the aircraft during wartime. The Super Étendard was used by Iraq to attack oil tankers and merchant shipping in the Persian Gulf during the Iraq-Iran War. Argentina's use of the Super Étendard and the Exocet missile during the 1982 Falklands War led to the aircraft gaining considerable popular recognition. In French service, the Super Étendard is to be replaced by the Dassault Rafale by roughly 2016.[1]

Development

The Super Étendard is a development of the earlier Étendard IVM which been developed in the 1950s. The Étendard IVM was originally to have been replaced by a navalised version of the SEPECAT Jaguar, designated as the Jaguar M; however the Jaguar M project was stalled by a combination of political problems and issues experienced during trial deployments onboard carriers. Specifically, the Jaguar M had suffered handling problems when being flown on a single engine and a poor throttle response time that made landing back on a carrier after an engine failure difficult.[2] In 1973, all development work on the Jaguar M was formally cancelled by the French government.[3]

There were several proposed aircraft to replace the Jaguar M, these included the LTV A-7 Corsair II and the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, Dassault also had its own proposal to meet the requirement.[4] According to Bill Gunston and Peter Gilchrist, Dassault had played a significant role the cancellation of the Jaguar M with the aim of creating a vacancy for their own proposal - the Super Étendard.[5] The Super Étendard was essentially an improved version of the existing Étendard IVM, outfitted with a more powerful engine, a new wing and improved avionics. Dassault's Super Étendard proposal was accepted by the French Navy in 1973, leading to a series of prototypes being quickly assembled.[6]

The first of three prototypes to be built, an Étendard IVM which had been modified with the new engine and some of the new avionics,[6] made its maiden flight on 28 October 1974.[7][8][9] The original intention of the French Navy was to order a total of 100 Super Étendards, however the order placed was for 60 of the new model with options for a further 20; further budget cuts and an escalation in the aircraft's per unit price eventually led to only 71 Super Étendards being purchased.[9] Dassault began making deliveries of the type to the French Navy in June 1978.[7][10]

In the first year of production, 15 Super Étendards were produced for the French Navy, allowing the formation of the first squadron in 1979. Dassault produced the aircraft at a rough rate of two per month.[11] The Argentinian Navy placed an order for 14 aircraft to meet their requirements for a capable new fighter that could operate from their sole aircraft carrier.[7] In 1983, all manufacturing activity was completed, the last delivery to the French Navy taking place that year.[9][12]

Design

Underside of a Super Étendard in-flight. The protruding tail hook is towards the rear of the fuselage

The Super Étendard is a small, single-engined, mid-winged aircraft with an all-metal structure. Both the wings and tailplane are swept, with the folding wings having a sweepback of about 45 degrees, while the aircraft is powered by a non-afterburning SNECMA Atar 9K-50 turbojet with a rating of 49 kN (11,025 lbf). The main new weapon of the Super Étendard was the French anti-shipping missile, the Aérospatiale AM 39 Exocet.[6] It featured a Thomson-CSF Agave radar which, amongst other functions, was essential to launch the Exocet missile.[6] One of the major technical advances of the Super Étendard was its onboard UAT-40 central computer; this managed most mission-critical systems, integrating navigational data and functions, radar information and display, and weapons targeting and controls.[13]

In the 1990s, significant modifications and upgrades were made to the type, including an updated UAT-90 computer and a new Thomson-CSF Anemone radar; which provided nearly double the range of the previous Agave radar.[14] Other upgrades at this time included an extensively redesigned cockpit with HOTAS controls, and airframe life extension work was undertaken; a total of 48 aircraft received these upgrades, at a rate of 15 per year.[14] During the 2000s, further improvements included significantly improved self-defence ECM capability to better evade enemy detection and attacks,[15] cockpit compatibility with night vision goggles, a new inertial data system partly integrating GPS, and compatibility with the Damocles Laser designator pod.[14]

The Super Étendard could also deploy tactical nuclear weapons;[16] initially these were unguided gravity bombs only, however, during the 1990s the Super Étendard was extensively upgraded, enabling the deployment of the Air-Sol Moyenne Portée, a ramjet-powered air-launched nuclear missile.[6] The aircraft was also refitted with the ability to operate a range of laser-guided bombs and, to enable the type to replace the retiring Étendard IV in the reconnaissance mission, the Super Étendard was fitted to carry a specialist reconnaissance pod as well.[15] However, the aircraft is unable to perform naval landings without jettisoning unexpended ordnance.[14]

Operational history

Argentina

During the 1982 Falklands War, the Argentinian Super Étendards were used as a launch platform for Exocet anti-ship missiles

The Argentine Naval Aviation decided to buy 14 Super Étendards in 1979, after the United States put an arms embargo in place—due to the Dirty War—and refused to supply spare parts for their A-4Q Skyhawks. Between August and November 1981, five Super Étendards and five anti-ship sea skimming Exocet missiles were shipped to Argentina.[17] The Super Étendards, armed with Exocet anti-ship missiles, would play a key role in the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982. The squadron was stationed at an air base on the Rio Grande; during the conflict, the threat posed to British naval forces led to the planning of Operation Mikado and other proposed infiltration missions to raid the air base, aiming to destroy the Super Étendards to prevent their use.[18][19] A total of four Super Étendards were operational during the conflict.[9]

A first attempt to attack the British fleet was made on 2 May 1982, but this was abandoned due to flight-refuelling problems.[20] On 4 May, two Super Étendards, guided by a Lockheed P-2H Neptune, launched one Exocet each at the British destroyer HMS Sheffield, with a single missile crippling Sheffield.[20][21] On 25 May, another attack by two Super Étendards resulted in two missiles hitting the merchant ship Atlantic Conveyor, which was carrying several helicopters and various other supplies to the front line.[21][22][23] The Exocets that struck Atlantic Conveyor had been inadvertently redirected by decoy chaff deployed as a defensive measure by other ships;[24] Sheffield was scuttled and Atlantic Conveyor sunk as a result of the Exocet strikes.[25] The fifth missile was launched in an attack intended to strike against the British aircraft carrier HMS Invincible.

Following the end of the conflict, by 1984 Argentina had been able to complete the delivery of the full 14 Super Étendards ordered as well as Exocets with which to arm them.[26] Super Étendards performed qualifications on aircraft carrier ARA 25 de Mayo until the ship's final retirement.[27] Since 1993, Argentinian pilots have practised on board the neighbouring Brazilian Navy's aircraft carrier São Paulo. Touch-and-go landing exercises were also common on US Navy carriers during Gringo-Gaucho manoeuvres and joint exercises.[28]

In 2009, an agreement was signed between Argentina and France to upgrade Argentina's remaining fleet of Super Étendards.[29] An earlier proposal to acquire former French Naval Super Étendards was rejected due to high levels of accumulated flight hours; instead equipment and hardware would be removed from retiring French airframes and installed into Argentinian aircraft, effectively upgrading them to the Super Étendard Modernisé (SEM) standard.[30] By March 2014, while the Argentine Navy continued to seek the upgrade kits for their ten of its eleven remaining Super Étendards, this ambition appears to have been complicated by several factors, France has been non-committal regarding the sought sale; critically, political developments between France and the UK may potentially allow the UK to obstruct the supply of military equipment to Argentina such as the upgrade kits and the Exocet missile.[31]

France

A formation of Super Étendards in flight, one of which is receiving fuel from another

Deliveries of the Super Étendard to the French Navy started in 1978, with the first squadron, Flottille 11F becoming operational in February 1979. In total, three operational squadrons and a training unit were equipped with the Super Étendard.[6] The Super Étendards would operate from both of France's aircraft carriers at that time, Clemenceau and Foch; either carrier's air wing typically comprised 16 Super Étendards, 10 F-8 Crusaders, 3 Étendard IVPs, 7 Breguet Alizé anti-submarine aircraft, as well as numerous helicopters.[32]

The first operational missions took place in Lebanon during Operation Olifant. On 22 September 1983, French Navy Super Étendards operating from Foch bombed and destroyed Syrian forces positions after a few artillery rounds were fired at the French peace keepers.[33] On November 10, a Super Étendard escaped from being hit by a Syrian SA-7 MANPADS near Bourj el-Barajneh while flying over Druze positions.[34] On 17 November 1983, the same airplanes attacked and destroyed an Islamic Amal training camp in Baalbeck after a terrorist attack on French paratroopers in Beirut.[35]

From 1991, the original combat-orientated Étendard IVMs were withdrawn from French service;[36] though the reconnaissance version of the Étendard IV, the IVP remained in service until July 2000.[37] In response, the Super Étendards underwent a series of upgrades throughout the 1990s to add new capabilities and update existing systems for action in the modern battlefield. Designated Super Étendard Modernisé (SEM), the first combat missions for the type came during NATO's Allied Force operations over Serbia in 1999; it was reported that over 400 combat missions were flown with 73% of the assigned objectives destroyed  : the best performance of all the air forces involved in the missions over Serbia.

Launch from Charles de Gaulle

The SEM also flew strike missions in Operation Enduring Freedom. Mission Héraclès starting 21 November 2001 saw the deployment of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and its Super Étendards in Afghanistan. Operation Anaconda, starting on 2 March 2002 saw extensive use of the Super Étendard in support of French and allied ground troops. Super Étendards returned to operations over Afghanistan in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010-2011. One of their main roles was to carry laser designation pods to illuminate targets for Dassault Rafales.[38]

In March 2011, Étendards were deployed as a part of Task Force 473, during France's Opération Harmattan in support of UN resolution 1973 during the Libyan conflict.[39] They were paired again with Dassault Rafales on interdiction missions.[40] Today, all Super Étendards in French naval aviation are in one "flottille" (squadron) called flottille 17F. All Super Étendards are expected to be retired from French service by 2016,[1] to be replaced from 2006 onwards with Dassault's Rafale M.[41] The Super Étendard's last operational deployment is expected to be off the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier fighting Islamic State militants, which began in late 2015.[42]

Iraq

A total of five Super Étendards were loaned to Iraq in 1983 while the country was waiting for deliveries of Agave-equipped Dassault Mirage F1s capable of launching Exocet missiles that had been ordered; the first of these aircraft arrived in Iraq on 8 October 1983.[43] The provision of Super Étendards to Iraq was politically controversial, the United States and Iraq's neighbour Iran were vocal in their opposition while Saudi Arabia supported the loan; the aircraft were seen as an influential factor in the 1980–88 Iraq-Iran War as they could launch Exocet strikes on Iranian merchant shipping traversing the Persian Gulf.[44][45] The Super Étendards began maritime operations over Persian Gulf in March 1984; a total of 34 attacks were carried out on Iranian shipping through the rest of 1984.[46] Tankers of any nationality that were carrying Iranian crude oil were also subject to Iraqi attacks.[47]

Iraq typically deployed the Super Étendards in pairs, escorted by Mirage F1 fighters from bases in Southern Iraq; once inside the mission zone, the Super Étendards would search for targets using their onboard radar and engage suspected tankers at long range without visual identification.[48] While tankers would typically be struck by a launched Exocet, they were often only lightly damaged.[49] In April 1984, an Iraqi Super Étendard was claimed to have been shot down by an Iranian F-4 Phantom II over Khark Island.[50] Separately, on 26 July and 7 August 1984, claims of Super Étendard losses to Iranian Grumman F-14 Tomcats were reported.[51] Iran claimed a total of three Super Étendards to have been shot down by Iranian interceptors; France stated that four out of the five leased aircraft were returned to France in 1985.[51]

Operators

Argentine Navy's Super Étendard
 Argentina
 France
 Iraq

Accidents and incidents

Argentina

France

Specifications

DEFA 552 cannons on display
External images
Numerous Super Étendards on Foch
Two Super Étendards being prepared
Super Étendard before takeoff
Moments before catapult is fired
Super Étendard landing
Super Étendard launching an Exocet
AM39 under a Super Étendard
Super Étendard prior to takeoff
Super Étendard with Exocet
Iraqi Air Force Super Étendard

Data from All The World's Aircraft 1982–83 ;[16] Air Power Classics ,[64] Jet Bombers[47]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

Current squadrons

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 3 "La flotille 11f à bien été qualifée sur Rafale fin 2012" [The 11f squadron has been qualified for the Rafale end 2012], Mer et marine (in French).
  2. ↑ Jackson 1992, p. 77.
  3. ↑ Bowman 2007, p. 26.
  4. ↑ "An Embarrassment of Aeroplanes", New Scientist 56 (824), 14 December 1972, pp. 660–61.
  5. ↑ Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 169.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Grolleau 2003, p. 40.
  7. 1 2 3 Taylor 1982, p. 65.
  8. ↑ Polmar 2006, p. 330.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 170.
  10. ↑ Friedman 2006, p. 159.
  11. ↑ "France's Aerospace Industry – Programme by Programme." Flight International, 4 November 1978. p. 1647.
  12. ↑ Michell 1994, p. 65.
  13. ↑ Friedman 2006, pp. 159–60.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Friedman 2006, p. 160.
  15. 1 2 Grolleau 2003, pp. 40–41.
  16. 1 2 Taylor 1982, pp. 65–66.
  17. ↑ Burden et al 1986, p. 34.
  18. ↑ Smith, Michael (8 March 2002), "SAS 'suicide mission' to wipe out Exocets", The Daily Telegraph (London, ENG, UK).
  19. ↑ "Thatcher in the dark on sinking of Belgrano", The Times (London, ENG, UK), 27 June 2005.
  20. 1 2 Burden 1986, p. 35.
  21. 1 2 Huertas 1997, pp. 22–29.
  22. ↑ Burden 1986, p. 36
  23. ↑ Burden 1986, pp. 434, 438.
  24. ↑ Freedman 2005, p. 482.
  25. ↑ Freedman 2005, pp. 438, 482, 778.
  26. ↑ Freedman 2005, p. 701.
  27. ↑ Qualification Ops on YouTube
  28. ↑ Polmar 2006, pp. 329–30.
  29. ↑ Cooperación argentino-francesa en defensa [French-Argentinian defense cooperation] (news) (in Spanish), Argentine Ministry of Defence, 2 November 2011, archived from the original on 2011-07-18, retrieved 5 May 2012
  30. ↑ "Argentine Navy plans Super Étendard upgrade: Update." Jane's International Defence Review, 5 May 2009.
  31. ↑ Gonzalez, Diego (10 March 2014). "Argentine Super Etendard modernisation hits major snags". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly.
  32. ↑ Jackson 2010, p. 76.
  33. ↑ Jackson 1986, p.66.
  34. ↑ Acig.
  35. ↑ Koven, Ronald. "France: Shiites Planned More Strikes." Boston Globe, 18 November 1983.
  36. ↑ Grolleau 2003, p.39.
  37. ↑ Grolleau 2003, pp. 39–40.
  38. ↑ Wall, Robert (9 June 2008). "Super Étendards in Afghanistan". Aviation Week.
  39. ↑ "Libye : première mission aérienne pour la TF 473" [Libya: first TF 473 aerial mission]. Opération Harmattan (in French). French Ministry of Defense. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
  40. ↑ "Libye : point de situation opération Harmattan n°6" [Libya: status of operation Harmattan nº 6] (in French). French Ministry of Defense. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
  41. ↑ "L'aviation navale européenne" [The European naval aviation] (in French). Mer et Marine. 20 June 2011.
  42. ↑ French Carrier Strike Group to Deploy to Eastern Mediterranean with Largest Airwing Ever - Navyrecognition.com, 16 November 2015
  43. ↑ Jackson 1986, p.69.
  44. ↑ "Étendards in Iraq since October 8." Flight International, 19 November 1983. p. 1342.
  45. ↑ Raj, Christopher S. "Shadow of Super Étendards over the Gulf." Strategic Analysis, 7(10). 1984. pp. 799–808.
  46. ↑ Kupersmith 1993, p. 29.
  47. 1 2 Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 171.
  48. ↑ Kupersmith 1993, p. 30.
  49. ↑ Kupersmith 1993, p. 43.
  50. ↑ Cooper and Bishop 2003, pp. 87—88.
  51. 1 2 Cooper 2004, p. 48.
  52. ↑ "Disparition d'un pilote aero en 1987" [Disappearance of an aircraft pilot in 1987] (in French). Air defense. 2007-03-30. Archived from the original on 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  53. 1 2 Histoire [History] (in French), Net Marine.
  54. ↑ Public report of the technical inquiry (PDF) (in French) (M-2004-009-IA), Bureau d'enquêtes et d'analyses de la Défense, December 2004.
  55. ↑ Accident aérien survenu à un Super Étendard Modernisé de la Marine Nationale, le 7 décembre 2005, dans le golfe d'Ajaccio [Aerial accident of a modernised Super Étendard of the national Navy the 7 December 2007 at the Ajaccio gulf] (in French), FR: Défense.
  56. ↑ Public report of the technical inquiry (PDF) (in French) (M-2005-019-A), Bureau d'enquêtes et d'analyses de la Défense, June 22, 2006.
  57. ↑ Public report of the technical inquiry (PDF) (in French) (M-2006-007-I), Bureau d'enquêtes et d'analyses de la Défense, June 28, 2006.
  58. ↑ Public report of the technical inquiry (PDF) (in French) (M-2006-016), Bureau d'enquêtes et d'analyses de la Défense, April 25, 2007.
  59. ↑ Un Super Étendard perdu en mer [A Super Étendard lost at sea] (in French), Opex 360, 2008-03-25.
  60. ↑ Accident aérien de 2 Super-Étendard de la Marine nationale [Aerial accident with two Super Étendards of the national Navy] (in French), Ministère de la Défense français, 2008-10-01, retrieved 2008-10-01
  61. ↑ Merchet, Jean-Dominique (2008-10-02), "Crash d'un Super-Étendard: plus d'espoir de retrouver le pilote vivant" [Crash of a Super Étendard: no more hope of finding the pilot alive], Libération (in French), ISSN 0335-1793, retrieved 2008-10-02
  62. ↑ "La Marine localise des débris de Super-Étendard au nord de l'île de Batz" [The Navy finds the rests of an Super Étendard north of the Batz isle], Ouest-France (in French), 2008-10-15, OCLC 405970499, retrieved 2008-10-16
  63. ↑ Recherche du pilote et des Super Étendards disparus en mer [Search for the pilot and Super Étendards lost at sea] (in French), Ministère de la Défense français, 2008-10-17, retrieved 2008-10-18
  64. ↑ "Super Étendard" (PDF), Air Force Magazine, October 2012, p. 76.
  65. ↑ Flight International 25–31 May 2004, p. 53.
  66. ↑ Donald and Lake 1996, p. 142.
  67. ↑ Jackson 1986, p. 62.
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Further reading

External links

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