Alpha Jet

The Alpha Jet is a lightweight, twin‑engine trainer and light attack aircraft that emerged from a Franco‑German collaboration in the mid‑1970s. Developed jointly by Dassault Aviation and Dornier Flugzeugwerke, the first prototype flew on 26 October 1973 and series production began in 1976 under the joint designation ‘Alpha Jet’. Dornier built the majority of the airframes at its MBB plant in Augsburg, delivering more than 300 units to the French, German, and Belgian air forces, as well as to export customers such as Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. The aircraft’s key features include a low‑wing monocoque structure, two turbo‑fan engines (the Turbomeca Aubisque for early models, later the more powerful Garrett TFE731), a tandem cockpit with fully side‑by‑side ejection seats, and a simple yet robust avionics suite that can be upgraded to modern glass‑cockpit standards. Its high roll rate, responsive handling, and relatively low operating cost made it an ideal platform for advanced pilot training, weapons‑delivery drills, and even aerobatic teams. The Alpha Jet’s continued service, especially with the French Air Force’s Patrouille de France, underscores its lasting impact on military aviation training and its role as a bridge between basic trainers and frontline fighters.

Dornier

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