Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet
| Alpha Jet | |
|---|---|
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| An Alpha Jet of the French Air Force | |
| Role | Light attack jet aircraft and advanced trainer |
| Manufacturer | Dassault Aviation/Dornier Flugzeugwerke |
| First flight | 26 October 1973 |
| Introduction | 4 November 1977 |
| Status | Active |
| Primary users |
French Air Force Cameroon Air Force Royal Thai Air Force Portuguese Air Force |
| Produced | 1973-1991 |
| Number built | 480 |
| Unit cost |
$4.5 million (1978)
|
| Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet cutaway | |
 Hi-res cutaway of the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet by Flight Global
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The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced trainer aircraft co-manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France and Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany. It was developed specifically to perform the trainer and light attack missions, as well as to perform these duties more ideally than the first generation of jet trainers that preceded it. Following a competition, a design submitted by a team comprising Breguet Aviation, Dassault Aviation, and Dornier Flugzeugwerke, initially designated as the TA501, was selected and subsequently produced as the Alpha Jet.
Both the French Air Force and German Air Force procured the Alpha Jet in large numbers, the former principally as a trainer aircraft and the latter choosing to use it as a light attack platform. As a result of post-Cold War military cutbacks, Germany elected to retire its own fleet of Alpha Jets in the 1990s and has re-sold many of these aircraft to both military and civilian operators. The Alpha Jet has been adopted by a number of air forces across the world and has also seen active combat use by some of these operators.
In the early 1960s, European air forces began to consider their requirements for the coming decades. One such area of consideration was the requirement for a new generation of jet-powered trainer aircraft to replace such aircraft as the US-built Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star and French-built Fouga Magister. Britain and France established a collaborative program to pursue development of what was initially intended to become a supersonic jet aircraft. This aircraft was to be produced in two distinct variants for different roles: trainer and light attack aircraft. The result of this collaboration, the SEPECAT Jaguar, proved to be an excellent aircraft, but its definition had changed in the interim, and the type emerged as a full-sized, nuclear-capable strike fighter, whose two-seat variants were used for operational conversion to the type. As such, the Jaguar was not well suited for the general training mission.
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