The Atlas Cheetah is a South African fighter aircraft produced by the aviation company Atlas Aircraft Corporation (later Denel Aeronautics). It was primarily developed and operated by the South African Air Force (SAAF).
The Cheetah was developed amid the Border War of the 1980s as a major upgrade of the French-built Dassault Mirage III fleet operated by the SAAF. The programme integrated technology from the Israeli-built IAI Kfir,"Ex-South African Air Force Cheetah fighter jets arriving in Ecuador." AmericasForum.com, 20 April 2011. which had been derived from the Mirage 5/IAI Nesher. The upgrade programme, which was known as Project Cushion, produced three variants; the two-seat Cheetah D, the single-seat Cheetah E, and the single-seat Cheetah C. All three models were inducted into the SAAF, functioning for a time as the service's most capable fighter and strike aircraft. A single Cheetah R, intended for aerial reconnaissance, was built as a prototype, but this variant never entered service.
During 1992, the Cheetah E model was withdrawn from SAAF service; both the Cheetah Cs and Cheetah Ds were retired during April 2008, having been being replaced by the Swedish-built Saab Gripen. Since its retirement by the SAAF, a limited number have still operated in South Africa as flight test aircraft. Some have been exported, such as to the Ecuadorian Air Force (EAF) as a source of spare parts. The privately owned company Draken International intends to use the Cheetah as an adversarial aircraft for combat training services in the United States.
Development Background
The Atlas Cheetah programme originated during the 1980s out of South Africa's requirement for more capable fighter and strike aircraft. At the time, the SAAF was confronted by the need for more advanced aircraft to attain an edge over the ever-more sophisticated Soviet-built aircraft, such as the MiG-23, that were being supplied to both Angolan and Cuban forces. These aircraft were being deployed against South Africa's own military during the lengthy conflict commonly known as the Border War.Beckhusen, Robert. "The Cheetah Was South Africa’s ‘Good Enough’ Fighter." War is boring, 14 December 2017. Furthermore, the increasing cost of maintenance due to international sanctions and the increasing age of existing aircraft in the SAAF's inventory also needed to be addressed. As a consequence of the arms embargo being imposed at the time under United Nations Security Council Resolution 418, South Africa was prevented from purchasing new aircraft from almost any other country in the world; accordingly, the upgrading of existing aircraft became the only viable option available.
Companies involved By the 1980s, the South African aviation industry had attained the level of technical capability to make a large and sophisticated upgrade possible. These factors contributed to the SAAF making the decision to authorise an extensive upgrade programme involving one of the existing types in service. Furthermore, the development of an advanced indigenously developed fighter, known as the Atlas Carver, was also initiated around the same time.
During the 1980s, the SAAF's fast jet fleet consisted of multiple variants of the French-built Dassault Mirage III (EZ/CZ/BZ/DZ/D2Z/RZ/R2Z) and Mirage F1 (AZ/CZ) aircraft. Although the Mirage F1 was considered to be the most modern aircraft type in the fleet, deliveries having commenced during 1977, the type comprised the primary element of South Africa's air defence and strike fleet. Withdrawing the Mirage F1 to perform an extensive upgrade would have necessitated opening a major gap in that nation's air defence and strike capability, which was deemed to be unacceptable by senior SAAF officials.
In addition, various features could be integrated into the Mirage III from related, pre-existing upgrades that had been made to similar aircraft, such as the Mirage 5/IAI Nesher/IAI Kfir lineage and Mirage IIING project, the latter being based on the Mirage III. Consequently, the SAAF's Mirage III fleet was chosen as the recipient for this upgrade programme, which was initially referred to as Project Cushion.
The work was carried out by Atlas Aviation (formerly Atlas Aircraft Corporation and lately Denel Aviation). Atlas was also able to acquire skilled technicians with relevant knowledge from Israel, following the cancellation of an advanced Israeli fighter project, known as the IAI Lavi. Prior to the programme, Israel had already established itself as a source of military technology for South Africa, cumulating in the Israel–South Africa Agreement. The two nations had engaged in multiple arrangements specifically involving SAAF's Mirage III fleet, including the procurement of spare parts by Israel and the embedding of Israelí advisors within SAAF units. According to some aviation publications, foreign aviation company Israel Aircraft Industries had been involved in at least the initial stages of the upgrade, and that some components were sourced directly from Israel. IAI themselves have acknowledged their involvement in the joint development of related projects, such as an active-radar development programme."Python 3 in South African service." Flight International, 29 November 1995. According to ACIG, a total of five IAI Nesher fighters may have been acquired from the Israeli Air Force for Cheetah trials and later absorbed into the existing fleet. According to aviation author John W. Golan, a potentially large number of IAI Kfirs may have been provided to South Africa for the programme.Golan 2016, p. 374.
Details The upgrade consisted of a complete refurbishment of the airframe down to zero flight hours condition; to achieve this, roughly 50% of the original airframe was reportedly replaced, according to statements made by Atlas. Aerodynamic changes included the installation of non-moving canards just aft of the engine intakes, the Cheetah D & E models were fitted with slightly smaller (70%) canards than that of the Cheetah C and IAI Kfir. Other airframe alterations included two additional stores pylons at the wing roots, an aerial refuelling probe, new ejection seats, a new main wing spar along with a new "drooping" leading edge and a dog-tooth incision on each wing, modern elevons controlled by a twin computer-based flight control system, and strakes on the nose to improve the Cheetah's high-Angle of attack (AoA) performance. Reportedly, the Cheetah could carry three times as much ordinance (in terms of weight) as the Mirage III while possessing superior agility as well. However, according to aviation author Dick Lord, the Mirage F1 remained capable of superior performance in areas such as fuel efficiency, ease of handling, and range.Lord 2008, pp. 217, 291.
In terms of its electronics and systems, the Cheetah was provisioned with new avionics, radar set, electronic warfare (EW) and self-protection suites.Chenel, Liébert and Moreau 2014, pp. 128-131 As many of these were accommodated within the nose, this necessitated its lengthening to provide more internal space. The EW suite incorporated a missile approach warning system and radar warning receivers, while the aircraft's self-protection system, which consisted of electronic jammers and chaff/flare dispensers that were automatically activated. An indigenously developed helmet-mounted sight (HMS) and an oversized head-up display (HUD) were also installed in the cockpit, along with other sophisticated cockpit instrumentation. The upgrade involved the fitting of a new and capable Pulse-Doppler radar system. While both the Cheetah D and the Cheetah E were still equipped with the SNECMA Atar 9C turbojet engine, the Cheetah C used the more powerful Atar 9K50.Chenel, Liébert & Moreau 2014, pp. 128, 130
Operational history
On 16 July 1986, the first Cheetah D was publicly unveiled although a number of Cheetah Ds had already entered service with 89 Combat Flying School at AFB Pietersburg. During 1987, the Cheetah D was declared to be operational with the SAAF. The second and third aircraft to be delivered to Atlas were both Mirage IIIEZs, following their conversion of the Cheetah E configuration, these aircraft went into service with 5 Squadron at AFB Louis Trichardt.Lord 2008, p. 217. Early experiences with the Cheetah found it to be markedly more difficult to successfully perform in-flight refuelling than the Mirage F1 fleet.Lord 2008, p. 235. While the type had been developed in response to the increasing pressure of the Border War, there is no evidence that any Cheetahs of any variant actually conducted offensive operations in the final years of the conflict.
By 1991, 16 of each type were reported in service when the Cheetah D and E conversion lines closed. This same year, the production of the Cheetah C started, the first such aircraft being rolled out during January 1993. All the Cheetah Cs entered service with 2 Squadron, which was also stationed at AFB Louis Trichardt.Chenel, Liébert and Moreau 2014, p. 131 The type continued to be used during the post-Apartheid peacetime, but became increasingly obsolete in comparison to international fighter aircraft over the course of two decades. The Cheetah was eventually withdrawn from SAAF service during the 2000s in favour of newly procured Swedish Saab JAS-39 Gripens, which has succeeded the Cheetah as the service's principal fast jet fighter."Nation Building." Flight International, 14 September 2004.
Retired Cheetahs were typically stored rather than scrapped, and during 2003, South Africa began seeing buyers for these surplus aircraft."South Africans put older aircraft on the block." Flight International, 19 June 2003. Accordingly, the Cheetah has been exported to various customers. In South America, Ecuador decided to acquire the type.Hoyle, Craig. "Ecuador signs for 12 ex-South African Cheetahs." Flight International, 13 December 2010. During late 2017, it was announced that a privately owned company, Draken International, had made a deal with Denel Aviation to procure much of the ex-SAAF fleet; the company reportedly intended to use the Cheetah as an aggressor aircraft for dissimilar combat training services for customers in the United States.Pocock, Chris. "Adversary Air Contractors Still Expanding—and Expecting." AIN Online, 4 January 2018.
Variants
Cheetah C The Cheetah C was the final development in the Cheetah series and was the only fighter aircraft in service with the SAAF until replaced by the Swedish-built Saab JAS 39 Gripen during 2008. In addition to the upgrades described above, the Cheetah C incorporated more sophisticated avionics and navigation suite and an improved pulse-doppler multi-mode radar (ELTA). The aircraft was also fitted with a data link and updated versions of the helmet-mounted sight, HUD and improved HOTAS controls.
Other improvements included the fitting of a single-piece wrap-around windshield in place of the previous three-piece version, a revised in-flight refuelling probe with less external piping, new undercarriage and suspension, the deletion of the wing fences, an Atar 9K50 engine and a new nose to incorporate the more sophisticated electronics and radar.Chenel, Liébert and Moreau 2014, p. 130
Like the Cheetah D, the Cheetah C was capable of delivering precision-guided munitions (PGMs), ranging from laser-guided bombs (LGBs), to GPS-guided weapons and TV-guided bombs. It also had the capability of using stand-off air-to-ground weapons such as the MUPSOW and TORGOS. In addition, it was able to carry a wide range of air-to-air weapons including the V4 R-Darter radar-guided missile and the infra-red homing V3S-Snake (Rafael Python 3) and U-Darter.
Cheetah D