On September 15, 1967, Jean-Claude Brabant’s team was assigned the task of defining the initial specifications for a twin-engine swing-wing aircraft. One year later, an order was placed for two experimental two-seaters with twin Atar 9 K 50 engines, christened Mirage G4.
Nuclear weapon
On October 11, 1968, the Air Force’s Materials Program Bureau issued a set of technical specifications, 'The aircraft must be capable of carrying either a nuclear weapon or a large number of conventional weapons.'
'The main launching mode for the nuclear weapon is to be low-altitude launching, at high subsonic speeds to begin with, and later at low supersonic speeds. At a later date, we envisage equipping the aircraft with a nuclear air-to-ground missile.'
Twin-engine single-seater
Air Force general staff wanted a twin-engine single-seater, with a shorter range than the G4
After several developments in the program, the Air Force general staff wanted a twin-engine single-seater for interception missions, with a shorter range than the G4, since a smaller aircraft would be less expensive.
These aircraft took the name G8 and were to be equipped with M 53 turbo-jets. The two-seat Mirage G4 01 changed its name to G8 01.
Swing-wing in conjunction
G8 01's first flight, at Istres on May 8, 1971, was piloted by Jean-Marie Saget. On the 13th, during its 4th sortie, it reached Mach 2.03 with a 70º sweepback angle.
It touched down at 118 knots, demonstrating the type of velocity differential that could be achieved with the swing-wing in conjunction with sophisticated high-lift devices, as compared with a delta wing.
Highest speed ever
The second prototype, G4 02, then under construction, was transformed into the single-seat Mirage G8 02 by taking out the rear seat. It was equipped with Snecma 9 K 50 turbo-jets and given a simplified weapons system – that of the F1 supplemented by the navigation system of Milan.
For its first anniversary and its 74th sortie on July 13, 1973, it achieved the highest speed ever for an aircraft in Western Europe: Mach 2.34 at 42,000 ft. In 1995, that record still stands.