Dassault-Breguet Super Etendard

The Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard is a French carrier-borne strike fighter aircraft developed by Dassault-Breguet for the French Navy. It represents an advanced iteration of the Étendard IVM, which it succeeded. The Super Étendard first took to the skies in October 1974 and officially entered service with the French Navy in June 1978. Throughout its operational life, the aircraft participated in several major conflicts, including the Kosovo War, the Afghanistan War, and the military intervention in Libya.

The Super Étendard also saw international service with Iraq and Argentina. Argentina’s use of the Super Étendard, particularly during the 1982 Falklands War in conjunction with the Exocet missile, brought the aircraft significant attention and recognition. Iraq employed the Super Étendard to target oil tankers and merchant vessels in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War. The Dassault Rafale ultimately replaced the Super Étendard in French service in 2016.

The Super Étendard emerged as an evolution of the Étendard IVM, which had been developed during the 1950s. The Étendard IVM was initially slated for replacement by the naval version of the SEPECAT Jaguar, known as the Jaguar M. However, the Jaguar M program faced numerous setbacks, including political hurdles and technical difficulties during carrier trials. Specifically, the Jaguar M encountered handling issues when flown on a single engine and demonstrated poor throttle response, complicating carrier landings after an engine failure. Consequently, the French government formally canceled the Jaguar M project in 1973.

In the wake of the Jaguar M’s cancellation, several aircraft were proposed as replacements, including the LTV A-7 Corsair II and the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Dassault, leveraging its influence with the French government, proposed the Super Étendard as a fully French-made and cost-effective alternative. According to aviation historians Bill Gunston and Peter Gilchrist, Dassault played a significant role in the Jaguar M’s cancellation to create an opening for the Super Étendard. The new aircraft was essentially an enhanced version of the Étendard IVM, featuring a more powerful engine, new wing design, and improved avionics. The French Navy accepted the Super Étendard proposal in 1973, leading to the rapid assembly of prototypes.

The first prototype, an Étendard IVM modified with the new engine and avionics, made its maiden flight on October 28, 1974. Initially, the French Navy intended to order 100 Super Étendards, but budget cuts and rising costs reduced the final order to 71 aircraft. Dassault began delivering the Super Étendards to the French Navy in June 1978, with 15 aircraft produced in the first year, allowing the formation of the first operational squadron in 1979. Production continued at a rate of approximately two aircraft per month.

Argentina was the sole export customer for the Super Étendard, ordering 14 aircraft to meet their need for a capable carrier-based fighter. By 1983, all manufacturing activities were completed, with the last delivery to the French Navy occurring that year.

The Super Étendard is a small, single-engine, mid-wing aircraft with an all-metal structure. Both the wings and tailplane are swept, with the folding wings having a sweepback of about 45 degrees. The aircraft is powered by a non-afterburning SNECMA Atar 8K-50 turbojet engine, producing 49 kN (11,025 lbf) of thrust. While its performance was not significantly superior to the Étendard IV, its avionics were markedly improved.

One of the primary weapons of the Super Étendard was the French anti-shipping missile, the Aérospatiale AM 39 Exocet. The aircraft was equipped with a Thomson-CSF Agave radar, an updated version of the Cyrano IV radar used on the Dassault Mirage F1, which was crucial for launching the Exocet missile. A major technological advancement in the Super Étendard was its onboard UAT-40 central computer, which managed most mission-critical systems, integrating navigational data, radar information, and weapons targeting.

In the 1990s, the Super Étendard underwent significant upgrades, including the installation of an updated UAT-90 computer and a new Thomson-CSF Anemone radar, which nearly doubled the range of the previous Agave radar. Other enhancements included a redesigned cockpit with HOTAS (Hands On Throttle-And-Stick) controls and airframe life-extension work. A total of 48 aircraft received these upgrades at a rate of 15 per year. Further improvements in the 2000s included advanced ECM (Electronic Countermeasures) capabilities for better self-defense, night vision goggle compatibility, a new inertial data system partially integrating GPS, and compatibility with the Damocles Laser designator pod.

The Super Étendard was also capable of deploying tactical nuclear weapons. Initially, these were unguided gravity bombs, but in the 1990s, the aircraft was upgraded to deploy the Air-Sol Moyenne Portée, a ramjet-powered air-launched nuclear missile. Additionally, the Super Étendard was modified to carry laser-guided bombs and equipped with a specialist reconnaissance pod to replace the retiring Étendard IV in reconnaissance missions. However, the aircraft could not perform naval landings without jettisoning unexpended ordnance.