The Dassault Mirage III/5/50 is a French single-engine delta-wing attack fighter aircraft without a horizontal stabilizer. In late 1955, Dassault began building a unique prototype that retained the delta wing and featured an enlarged fuselage capable of housing a SNECMA Atar 101G1 engine. The resulting Mirage III-001 made its first flight on November 17, 1956, reaching a flight speed of Mach 1.52 after only two months.
The use of manually operated cones in fixed side air intakes and the Atar 101G2 engine, which offered increased thrust of 4,490 kg, allowed the speed to be pushed to Mach 1.65. Later, by using the SERP rocket booster, it reached Mach 1.8. To achieve even higher speeds, Dassault modified the wing, and after the first flight on May 12, 1958, the Mirage IIIA reached Mach 2.2 with an additional rocket engine.
This led to the production of a tandem two-seat trainer version — the Mirage IIIB, and the single-seat interceptor Mirage IIIC. The latter was equipped with a built-in Cyrano AI radar, and its two 30 mm cannons could be supplemented with Matra R.530 or AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.
The next major version was the long-range fighter-bomber Mirage IIIE, powered by the Atar 9C engine housed in a slightly extended fuselage. This variant was equipped with the Cyrano II radar which, in combination with a Doppler radar and TACAN navigation system, enabled low-altitude attacks in all weather conditions, even without visual contact with the target.
Mirage III (and its V and 50 derivatives) upgrade programs included the installation of modern navigation and weapon control systems, as well as adaptation to modern weapon types. Another key area of modification was the installation of Atar 9K-50 engines, offering around 20% more thrust, adaptation to centralized pressurized refueling and in-flight refueling, installation of zero-zero ejection seats, improved cockpit visibility, addition of forward canards to enhance maneuverability in air combat, and the capability to carry pods for electronic warfare, laser target designation, reconnaissance, or infrared target imaging.
Technical specifications (IIIC version):

• Length: 14.77 m
• Wingspan: 8.22 m
• Height: 4.25 m
• Maximum speed: Mach 2.2
• Climb rate: 83 m/s
• Maximum range (with drop tanks): 4,000 km
• Service ceiling: 17,000 m
• Armament:
  • Fixed: two DEFA 552 30 mm cannons
  • External (Mirage 5): up to 4,200 kg of payload

HELLER - 1/48 - MIRAGE IIIE/RD 30422 is categorised MODELS KITS / VEHICLE SCALE MODEL KITS / MILITARY VEHICLES and sold by l'Imaginaire, a store and specialised website.