Raytheon wins $17.4M contract for GBU-48/50 integration on Mirage 2000D fighter jet.

By Nathan Gain

Raytheon Systems France was recently awarded a 14.2M€ (USD17.4M) contract for integration of new weapons on the French Air Force Mirage 2000D fighter jets, the European Tenders electronic daily (Ted) announced on March 17, 2018.

A Mirage 2000D equipped with GBU-12 munitions over Gao (Mali)
(Credit: French Air Force/R. Nicolas-Nelson)

Awarded on December 29, 2017, this order includes “integration of GBU-48 and GBU-50 on the Mirage 2000D”. Accordingly, Raytheon will enhance the EPAK kit to enable the crew to launch up to four air-to-ground munitions, in comparison to merely two today.

The GBU-48 Paveway II is an enhanced variant of the GBU-16 which integrates the MAU-169K/B inertial guidance system in case of laser guidance failure. The designation GBU-50/B covers Raytheon Enhanced Paveway II GPS/INS-equipped GBU-10/B variants.

After years of delay, this could be the official launch of the long-awaited Mirage 2000D Mid-Life Update program. 

In July, 2016, the French defence procurement agency launched the MLU program for 55 of the 71 Mirage 2000Ds being flown by the French Air Force. This contract, awarded to MBDA and Dassault Aviation, will allow the aircraft to operate beyond 2030. 

Besides modernization of the avionics, the MLU program includes integration of an automatic cannon for air-to-ground gunnery and replacement of aged Magic missiles with MBDA MICA air-to-air missiles.