What could have become of Dassault Mirage III V/STOL ...

[Archibald]

I wonder (since 2007 at least) whether it might be feasible in the long term...
...to swap the 8*RB.162s for
- in the rear: tilting the TF306E exhaust downards, F-35 style (was ready in '72 through the Convair 200 and its F401 turbofan)
- in the front: replace them by two RB.189s, the third generation of RR lift jet after the Balzac RB.108s and this one RB.162s.

By this point the Mirage III-V would be no worse than a Convair 200, a Yak 36/38/41 or the Bae/MDD JSF entry (the one that lost to Boeing X-32 and Lockmart X-35).

 

[Archibald]

I did it ! I stitched the rear end of a Convair 200 on a III-V, then shortened the fuselage and removed a pair of lift jet doors in the front just to leave one.

Top: Convair-Mirage Delta-V (a pun at the rocket equation !)

Bottom: Mirage III-V as flown, 1965-66.

 

[Archibald]

More fun... the logical evolution:
a) add a refueling probe
b) Mirage F1 pointy nose
c) Mirage 4000 "bulbous" canopy (which uncannily looks like the Convair 200's, the irony ! )

 

[F.L.]

Really nice, I always liked the idea of seeing how the Mirage IIIV could have evolved.
If the IIIV had been put into service in the French Air Force, and with success, perhaps in later years, it would have been modernized to the IIING standard. I really like the idea of a "Mirage IIIV-2000" or "Mirage IIIV-5F".
It is frustrating to think that the AdA has never been able to put VTOLs into service. That would have really made a difference in aviation history. The Soviet Union had VTOL, the USA too, England too...

 

[Archibald]

This is getting weirder and weirder by the minute.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORbseYAkzRM


First THIS happened...

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/dassault-mirage-iii-v-stol-derivatives-balzac-iiiv.10281/page-3#post-593460

Then THIS...
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...ivatives-balzac-iiiv.10281/page-3#post-593462

@F.L.

And then I saw the new thread pop out in the corner of my screen, lost it, realized it was a moderator split, and then just found it back here, thanks to your answer.

 

[F.L.]