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An Alpha Jet of the French Air Force | |
Role | Light attack and advanced trainer aircraft |
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National origin | France/Germany |
Manufacturer | Dassault Aviation/Dornier Flugzeugwerke |
First flight | 26 October 1973 |
Introduction | 4 November 1977 |
Status | In service |
Primary users | French Air and Space Force Nigerian Air Force Egyptian Air Force Royal Thai Air Force |
Produced | 1973–1991 |
Number built | 480 |
Both the French Air and Space Force and German Air Force procured the Alpha Jet in large numbers, the former principally as a trainer aircraft and the latter choosing to use it as a light attack platform. As a result of post-Cold War military cutbacks, Germany elected to retire its own fleet of Alpha Jets in the 1990s and has re-sold many of these aircraft to both military and civilian operators. The Alpha Jet has been adopted by a number of air forces across the world and has also seen active combat use by some of these operators.
The Alpha Jet is a light twin-engine aircraft equipped with an intentionally simple airframe despite the performance delivered. Both the leading edges and air intakes are fixed; while the aerodynamic shape of the aircraft, which was developed with the aid of computer aided design (CAD), conforms with the area rule. Fully powered controls are used, comprising a dual-hydraulic systems and load-factor limited dynamic feel system arrangement attached to conventional flight control surfaces. The cockpit is pressurised for greater comfort during training. The Alpha Jet is designed to accommodate ten-minute turn around times with minimal ground equipment, using features such as pressurised single-point refueling, ladder-less entry/exit of the cockpit, and a ten-hour endurance of the liquid oxygen system.
The Alpha Jet was designed to perform a diverse range of roles. The principal users of the type, Germany and France, operated their Alpha Jets in different capacities, the former as a ground attack platform and the latter as a trainer aircraft. Beyond performing different roles, the Alpha Jet fleets of France and Germany noticeably differed in their specification and equipment; German aircraft were fitted with a more extensive weapon-aiming system, a different fuel system, a yaw damper, different brakes, nosewheel steering, an arrester hook, and Stencel ejector seats in place of Martin-Baker. According to aerospace publication Flight International, the majority of the specialised equipment used on the ground attack-orientated variant of the Alpha Jet was provided by German firms
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In the early 1960s, European air forces began to consider their requirements for the coming decades. One such area of consideration was the requirement for a new generation of jet-powered trainer aircraft to replace such aircraft as the US-built Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star and French-built Fouga Magister.
A total of three groups of manufacturers produced proposals in response to the requirement; these were Dassault, Breguet and Dornier submitted the "TA501",
The Top Aces Dornier Alpha Jet aircraft combine high performance, fuel endurance, reliability and modern avionics to be a superb platform for all mission profiles