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	Dassault Super Etendard Multi-Role Fighter

DESCRIPTION: The Etendard was originally envisioned as a NATO strike fighter, but was ultimately accepted only as a carrier-based fighter for the French Navy in 1956. Though nearly replaced by a variant of the Jaguar, the French later authorized Dassault to build an improved Super Etendard with a new navigation/attack system, a better engine, and improved aerodynamics. Though the Super Etendard ended up having far worse performance than the Jaguar, it was accepted by the French Navy and is expected to continue in service until 2015 when replaced by the Rafale M. The greatest success of the Super Etendard came in the Falklands War of 1982 when Argentine aircraft carrying Exocet missiles sank two British ships. The Etendard was also leased to Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. Data below for Super Etendard Last modified 29 March 2011
HISTORY:
First Flight	28 October 1974
Service Entry	June 1978
CREW:	one: pilot
ESTIMATED COST:	unknown
AIRFOIL SECTIONS:
Wing Root	unknown
Wing Tip	unknown
DIMENSIONS:
Length	46.96 ft (14.31 m)
Wingspan	31.50 ft (9.60 m)
Height	12.67 ft (3.86 m)
Wing Area	305.7 ft² (28.4 m²)
Canard Area	not applicable
WEIGHTS:
Empty	14,220 lb (6,450 kg)
Normal Takeoff	20,835 lb (9,450 kg)
Max Takeoff	26,455 lb (12,000 kg)
Fuel Capacity	internal: unknown external: unknown
Max Payload	4,360 lb (2,100 kg)
PROPULSION:
Powerplant	one SNECMA Atar 8K-50 afterburning turbojet
Thrust	11,265 lb (50.1 kN) with afterburner
PERFORMANCE:
Max Level Speed	at altitude: 855 mph (1,380 km/h) at 36,090 ft (11,000 m), Mach 1.3 at sea level: 745 mph (1,200 km/h)
Initial Climb Rate	24,600 ft (7,500 m) / min
Service Ceiling	44,950 ft (13,700 m)
Range	typical: 710 nm (1,300 km) ferry: unknown
g-Limits	unknown
ARMAMENT:
Gun	two 30-mm DEFA 553 cannons (125 rds ea)
Stations	five external hardpoints
Air-to-Air Missile	Matra 550 Magic
Air-to-Surface Missile	AS.39 Exocet, AS.30, Pescador, ASMP cruise missile
Bomb	AN52 nuclear bomb
Other	rocket pods
KNOWN VARIANTS:
	none
KNOWN COMBAT RECORD:	Falklands War (Argentina, 1982) Lebanon - Operation Olifant (France, 1983) Iran-Iraq War (Iraq, 1983-1984) Bosnia - Operation Deliberate Force (France, 1995) Kosovo - Operation Allied Force (France, 1999) Afghanistan - Operation Enduring Freedom (France, 2001-2008) Libya - Operation Harmattan (France, 2011)
KNOWN OPERATORS:	Argentina, Comando de Aviación Naval Argentina (Argentine Naval Aviation) France, Aéronautique Navale (French Naval Air Arm) Iraq, Al Quwwat Al Jawwiya al Iraqiya (Iraqi Air Force)
3-VIEW SCHEMATIC:
SOURCES: Bishop, Chris, ed. The Encyclopedia of Modern Military Weapons: The Comprehensive Guide to Over 1,000 Weapon Systems from 1945 to the Present Day. NY: Barnes & Noble, 1999, p. 344. Donald, David, ed. The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. NY: Barnes & Noble, 1997, p. 298-299. Gunston, Bill and Spick, Mike. Modern Air Combat: The Aircraft, Tactics and Weapons Employed in Aerial Combat Today. NY: Crescent Books, 1983, p. 100-101. Munro, Bob and Chant, Christopher. Jane's Combat Aircraft. Glasgow: Harper Collins Publishers, 1995, p. 88-89. Paul Nann's Military Aviation Photo Gallery