Project ROSE

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Mirage III
E

Project ROSE ("Retrofit of Strike Element"

SELEX consortia.[3][4]

Conceived in 1992 by the Pakistan Air Force, the program started in 1995 on main considerations of retiring the

Spain at prices reported to be within the Ministry of Defence's budget.[5] Over 90% of the aircraft were retrofitted at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex in Kamra with the remaining being upgraded in France.[5] Between 1996 and 2000, several Mirage IIIs and Mirage 5s were bought from other countries and were upgraded under this program at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.[5]

The upgrade package included the installation of a

Ra'ad Mk-2 were integrated with the weapons suite of the aircraft. Further considerations for upgrades were recommended but the program was terminated due to the increasing cost of spare parts and the condition of the second-hand airframes at the time of their procurement.[5]

It is currently expected that the upgraded fighter jets will remain in service with the

Project Azm; but there are no publicly confirmed timelines or details about any of these programs.[1][6]

History

Program overview

In the 1990s, the United States placed an economic and military

atomic bomb program. During this time, the Indian Air Force began to modernize its fleet of fighter aircraft, thus putting stress on the Pakistan Air Force. Furthermore, the United States indefinitely delayed the procurement of F-16 fighter jets, which were already paid for by Pakistan. Restrictions on the Pakistan Air Force, which relied heavily on American-built infrastructure, prompted the development of solutions to maintain combat readiness.[3]

In 1992, the Pakistan Air Force devised a strategy on increasing its self-reliance and immediately launched the ROSE program, as well as

Spain from 1992 till 2003.[3]

Mirage 5 fighter jets for conducting night operations.[7]

A Pakistan Air Force Mirage III fitted with the ROSE-III upgrade package drops bombs on a target during Falcon Air Meet 2010 at Azraq Royal Jordanian Air Base, Jordan

In 1998, Margalla Electronics,

DESTO, GIDS and NIE joined the program after the departure of SAGEM and SELEX. In the second stage of the project named ROSE–II, around 20 Mirage fighter jets were upgraded and 14 aircraft were upgraded under ROSE–III.[3] Newer Mirages bought from Australia and Belgium were in good condition with low flight hours to supplement the PAF's own fleet of 34 Mirage IIIs and 32 Mirage 5s acquired directly from France between 1967 and 1982.[8] The ROSE project was set up to buy as many second-hand aircraft as possible and to upgrade them with the latest avionics and other modern systems. During 1998, the Pakistan Air Force bought the entire fleet of grounded Mirage IIIs from Lebanon and upgraded them indigenously at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.[5]

A project team was formed to manage the program and held review meetings frequently in both Pakistan and France where problems were discussed. The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and its technical personnel were involved with parts manufacturing and quality control. PAF test pilots validated performance of the new equipment during test flights.[7] In 2003, the PAF bought a total of about 50 grounded Mirage 5 fighter jets from Libya along with 150 engines still in sealed packaging and a huge quantity of spare parts.[9] Most of these aircraft were to be broken up for spare parts required by the Mirage fleet already in PAF service.[9] With this purchase, the PAF became the largest operator of Dassault Mirage III/5 fighters in the world.[10]

Mirage IIIO ROSE I

A Dassault Mirage IIIO, upgraded to ROSE I standard, takes part in an alert scramble competition during the Falcon Air Meet 2010 exercise in Jordan
The FIAR Grifo M3 radar was installed in the black nose cone of this ROSE I aircraft

In 1990, the PAF bought 43 Mirage IIIOs and seven Mirage IIIDs, which had been retired from the

GPS, were also installed. A new radar warning receiver was installed.[12]

The FIAR Grifo M3 multi-mode radar was installed in the second phase of the upgrade project.[13] It was stated that ROSE I fighters could easily be in service beyond 2010. In early 1999 it was stated that problems in "certain parameters - and errors in certain modes" had surfaced during flight trials of the Grifo M3 radar in the Mirage III, but these were later solved.[8]

A new Italian fire-control radar, the FIAR (now SELEX Galileo)

AIM-9L Sidewinder, was integrated with the Grifo M3 radar.[12]

The Grifo M3 was developed specifically to fit the Mirage III and has been in full operation on the Mirage III since 2001. It has a power consumption of 200 W, operates in the X-band and is compatible with infrared-guided, semi-active and active radar guided missiles. The circular antenna has a diameter of 47 cm. The radar has over 30 different operational air-to-air/air-to-surface mission and navigation modes. Air to air modes include Single/Dual Target Track and Track While Scan. Air to surface modes include Real Beam Map, Doppler Beam Sharpening, Sea Low/High, Ground Moving Target Indicator, Ground/Sea Moving Target Track.[14][15]

Other optional modes include Raid Assessment, Non Cooperative Target Identification, SAR (synthetic aperture radar) and Precision Velocity Update. Low, medium and high pulse repetition frequencies reduce effects of ground clutter. Digital adaptive pulse-compression technology, dual channel receiver, scanning coverage +/-60 degrees in both azimuth and elevation, air cooling, weighs less than 91 kg, MTBF (flight guaranteed) over 220 hours. Extensive ECCM (electronic counter-countermeasures) provisions and built-in test equipment (BITE). IFF interrogators can also be integrated.[14][15]

The in-flight refueling probes of South African origin were also installed on the upgraded Mirage III ROSE I aircraft,[16] stating that it is a pilot program for the induction of aerial refueling capability into the PAF.[needs update]

Mirage 5F ROSE II

Mirage 5s with a CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder
at a PAF base, circa 2006

In 1996,

French Air Force Mirages (35 single-seat Mirage 5Fs and nine dual-seat Mirage IIIBEs) to the PAF. Only 34 Mirage 5Fs and six Mirage IIIBEs were intended to fly again, the others serving as spare parts sources. 20 Mirage 5Fs were overhauled and upgraded in France to ROSE II standards. In total, 29 Mirage 5Fs and six Mirage IIIBEs (respectively designated Mirage 5EF and Mirage IIIDF with the PAF) were delivered to Pakistan by air between 1999 and 2001, with five other aircraft delivered by boat to be overhauled by PAC (one single-seater crashed during an acceptance flight in France).[11][12]

ROSE II Mirages are similar to ROSE I examples, but they are fitted with a navigation

FLIR in place of the Grifo M3 radar. It is mounted in a pod under the nose. Moreover, a new inertial navigation system was installed, together with an encrypted radio.[12]

ROSE III

14 ex-

No. 27 Tactical Attack "Zarrar" Squadron, to operate the Mirage 5 ROSE III fighters and specialize in night-time surface strike missions.[17]

ROSE IV

A ROSE IV upgrade was also offered, but not taken up. It was based on the ROSE III upgrade standard, but it also included the installation of the

Litening. A chaff/flare dispenser and a radar warning receiver were also planned to be added.[12]

Conclusion of the program

The ROSE program was successful and saved

Qatar.[18]

Acquisitions of Mirage 2000s from Qatar were bypassed by the

Mirage 5's role in naval variant for the Navy. However, this was eventually solved with the procurement of spare parts. Because of the program, the PAF gained an international reputation of expertise in maintaining and upgrading the Mirage for both air and naval versions.[5]

The ROSE program provided the PAF with experience in aircraft technology and the capability to undertake similar projects in the future. The Mirage received new capabilities, thus improving its performance dramatically.[7] The program contributed to maintaining the operational relevance of Mirage aircraft in Pakistan’s air defense strategy.[5] The program was meant to be continued for some time after 2003, but the Pakistan Air Force had to terminate it due to a combination of high costs and aging Mirage III/5 airframes.[1]

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d "Project ROSE". grandstrategy.com. Grand Strategy. 22 June 2013. Archived from the original on 24 November 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  2. ^ Pike, John. "Mirage-III and Mirage 5". global security.org. Global Security. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-9698553005
    .
  4. ^ "Untrained US woman lands plane safely after pilot-husband suffers stroke mid-flight". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Mirage-III/Mirage-5". paffalcon.com.pk. PAF Falcon. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  6. ^ "Pakistan Air Force".
  7. ^ a b c d e Khan, Air Cdre (ret.) Azfar A. (30 Nov 2009). "Turning the Old Into New". Airforce Technology. airforce-technology. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  8. ^ a b Paul Lewis "Improvise and modernise" (Date published online unknown. Published in Flight International magazine on 24/02/1999) URL: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/1999/02/24/48468/improvise-and-modernise.html Retrieved: 28 June 2009
  9. ^ a b From the Newspapers (6 July 2004). "PAF purchases Mirage jets from Libya". Dawn newspaper. Dawn newspaper. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  10. ^ "Delivery of Libyan Mirages begins". Dawn newspapers, 2004. Dawn newspapers, 2004. 6 July 2004. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  11. ^ a b Chenel, Liébert & Moreau 2014, p. 152
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Chenel, Liébert & Moreau 2014, p. 155
  13. ^ Paul Lewis, "Building a base: Pakistan builds on the capabilities of local support for combat aircraft", Flight International, published: 24 February 1999, URL: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/1999/02/24/48539/building-a-base.html Retrieved: 25 September 2009
  14. ^ a b Products. Grifo family selex-sas.com [dead link‍]
  15. ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-11-02. Retrieved 2004-11-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^ "Mirage III". Retrieved 6 May 2011.[dead link‍]
  17. ^ "Pakistan Times | Top Story: New Fighter Squadron added to Pakistan Air Force". Archived from the original on 2007-07-07. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
  18. ^ a b c From the newspapers (11 October 2003). "New weaponry aimed at neutralizing India". Dawn newspapers, 2003. Dawn newspapers. Retrieved 24 November 2014.

Bibliography

  • Chenel, Bernard; Liébert, Michel; Moreau, Eric (2014). Mirage III/5/50 en service à l'étranger. Le Vigen, France: Editions LELA Presse.
    ISBN 978-2-914017-76-3
    .
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