The SAAF Forum

Hi All

Why did SA not buy the Mirage 2000-5 Mk 2 when we did the arms deal?
We all ready had experience with the Mirage family of fighters.

Thanks

I have no insight into the minds of the decision makers but objectively there is no commonality between the Mirage 2000 and the Mirage 3 or Mirage F1 family.

Maybe the possible kickbacks were less than from SAAB

I think the Mirage 2000 series was already nearing the end of its development cycle, whilst the Gripen was a much newer design with significant development potential, allowing SA to have design input.

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Thanks Dean

But there are a lot of specific upgrades for the Mirage 2000 for specific countries so surely we could have had input in the upgrades same as with the F1 AZ that was specifically built for SA?

I remember hearing a suggestions at the time that the ANC government was not keen on doing business with the French because they had supported the Apartheid government. That was unfair, of course - the French did sell equipment to the old government, but they would sell to anyone who was prepared to hand over money. . . .

Some of us at Denel Aviation had a leaning towards the DASA AT-2000 Mako, because that was the youngest (paper-only) design, so DenAv would have got the most design work out of it. It was also the highest risk option because it was immature. Maybe it would actually have got to the prototype stage if South Africa had bought it.

Ultimately, the decision was political and economic - the aim was to strengthen ties with as many countries as possible, and get as much in the way of offset investment in South Africa as possible. All the final contenders were technically "good enough".

I suggest that the real reason the French supplied the Mirage F1 (talking 1976) was that it was an incentive for SAA to buy the Airbus A300 which at the time was struggling to gain market share and the SAA purchase would boost the profile of Airbus significantly. . There was also the French involvement in supplying the nuclear technology for the Koeberg power plant at a similar time. A bit of a quid pro quo for supporting civilian French industries for help in sanctions busting.

Your point stands, of course, but it is on a much wider scale.

Easy answer. At the hourly cost of $ 4700, the Gripen was cheapest world wide. Closest was the F-16 for almost double that.