Dassault Super Etendard

Dassault-Breguet · France · first flew 1974 · fighter

A navalised strike fighter for the French Aeronavale, the Super Etendard became famous as the launch platform for the Exocet anti-ship missile.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, swept
E — Engines	1 × turbojet, fuselage-mounted
F — Fuselage	14.31 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Compact carrier fighter with moderately swept folding wings
Cheek intakes either side of the cockpit and a pointed radar nose
Naval undercarriage with an arrestor hook

A small, clean carrier jet with moderately swept folding wings, cheek intakes beside the cockpit and a pointed radar nose. The arrestor hook and naval gear mark its shipboard role.

Specifications

The Dassault Super Etendard has a length of 14.31 m (47 ft).
It has a wingspan of 9.6 m (31 ft).
Its maximum speed is 1205 km/h (749 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Dassault-Breguet developed the type from the earlier Etendard IV after the naval Jaguar was cancelled, and it first flew in 1974, entering French Navy service in 1978. The compact carrier aircraft paired a single SNECMA Atar turbojet with Agave radar and Exocet capability.

Variants

The major upgrade was the Super Etendard Modernise of the 1990s, which introduced new avionics, electronic countermeasures and compatibility with modern precision weapons, extending the type's service life considerably.

Where you'll see it

Operated mainly by the French Navy from 1978 to 2016, the Super Etendard also served with Argentina, whose aircraft sank HMS Sheffield and Atlantic Conveyor with Exocets during the 1982 Falklands War, and was briefly leased to Iraq. It is a French naval aircraft rather than a British one.

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