Atlas Cheetah The Atlas Cheetah is a South African fighter aircraft , developed for the South African Air Force ( SAAF ) and currently operated by the Ecuadorian Air Force ( FAE ) . It was first built as a major upgrade of the Dassault Mirage III by the Atlas Aircraft Corporation ( later Denel Aviation ) of South Africa ( established 1965 ) in South Africa and is based on the Israeli Kfir fighter . Three different variants were created , 16 dual - seat Cheetah D , 16 single - seat Cheetah E and 38 single - seat Cheetah C . The Cheetah Es were retired in 1992 , and the Cheetah Cs and Cheetah Ds in April 2008 , being replaced by the Saab Gripen . A limited number are still operated in South Africa as flight test aircraft . Development . The Atlas Cheetah programme grew out of South Africa ' s requirement for a modern fighter and strike aircraft in the 1980s . There was a need for more advanced aircraft to attain an edge over the ever more sophisticated Soviet aircraft such as the MiG - 23 being supplied to Angolan and Cuban forces in action against South African forces in the Border War . Furthermore , the increasing cost of maintenance due to sanctions and the age of the aircraft used by the SAAF had to be addressed . The arms embargo imposed at the time by United Nations Security Council Resolution 418 prevented South Africa from purchasing new aircraft from other countries , thus making an upgrade of existing aircraft the only option . By this stage , the South African aviation industry had reached the level of technical capability to make a large and sophisticated upgrade possible , leading the SAAF to make the only possible decision : to extensively upgrade one of the existing types in service while an advanced indigenous fighter , the Carver , was under development . At the time the SAAF ' s fast jet fleet consisted of Dassault Mirage III ( EZ / CZ / BZ / DZ / D2Z / RZ / R2Z ) and Mirage F1 ( AZ / CZ ) aircraft . Though the Mirage F1s were the most modern of the fleet , having been delivered from 1977 onwards , they were the primary element of South Africa ' s air defence and strike fleet and to withdraw them for an upgrade would have left an unacceptable gap in its air defence and strike capability . In addition there were already a few successful Mirage III upgrades from which to learn , such as the Kfir and Mirage III NG , so the SAAF ' s Mirage III fleet was chosen as the basis for the upgrade , to be known initially as " Project Cushion " . The work was carried out by Atlas Aviation ( formerly Atlas Aircraft Corporation and lately Denel Aviation ) , using expertise partly gained by recruiting technicians from Israel ' s aborted Lavi jet fighter project . The upgrade consisted of a complete refurbishment of the airframe down to zero hours ( in which some 50 % of the original airframe was said by Atlas to have been replaced ) , the fitting of non - moving canards ( Cheetah D & E having slightly smaller ( 70 % ) canards than that of the Cheetah C and Kfir ) just aft of the engine intakes , two new stores pylons at the wing roots , an aerial refuelling probe , new ejection seats , a more powerful engine ( the SNECMA Atar 9K50C - 11 [ upgraded in South Africa ] ) in the D and C variants , a new main wing spar along with a new " drooping " leading edge and a dog - tooth incision on each wing , modern elevons controlled by a twin computer flight control system , and strakes on the nose to improve the Cheetah ' s high - Angle of attack ( AoA ) performance . The aerodynamic refinements alone increased the turn rate by 15 % , increased the AoA , reduced the minimum airspeed to 100 kt and increased maximum take - off weight by 700 kg . However , it also resulted in a 5 % decrease in maximum level speed and acceleration . In addition , a highly sophisticated avionics , radar , EW and self - protection suite was installed , necessitating a lengthening of the nose . This entailed the fitting of an EW suite which included missile and radar warning sensors . Other features included the aircraft ' s self - protection system , which consisted of electronic jammers and chaff / flare dispensers that engaged automatically ; the integration of a South African helmet - mounted sight and an oversized head - up display ( HUD ) ; the installation of an advanced Pulse - Doppler radar and sophisticated cockpit instrumentation . Most leading aviation publications believe that Israel Aircraft Industries was involved in at least the initial stages of the upgrade , and that some of the upgrades components were sourced from Israel , though the SAAF refuses to either confirm or deny such speculation . However , considering the close ties in defence industry research between South Africa and Israel at the time , such co - operation on the Cheetah program seems likely . Sixteen of the SAAF ' s 27 Mirage IIIDZ / D2Z aircraft were converted to Cheetah D standard , 16 of its Mirage IIIEZ aircraft were converted to Cheetah E standard , but no South African Mirage airframes were used for the 38 Cheetah Cs . Operational history . First to roll off the production line were the Cheetah Ds and Cheetah Es , though it appears the Cheetah Ds had production priority . The first aircraft to be converted was a Mirage IIID2Z , no . 845 , which arrived at Atlas in April 1983 . The date of completion is unknown , but the first Cheetah D was officially unveiled on 16 July 1986 , by which time a number of Cheetah Ds had already entered service with 89 Combat Flying School at AFB Pietersburg , though the type was only declared operational in 1987 . The second and third aircraft to be delivered to Atlas were both Mirage IIIEZs , and the resulting Cheetah Es went into service with 5 Squadron at AFB Louis Trichardt . 16 of each type were in service by 1991 when the Cheetah D and E conversion lines closed , by which time the first of the 38 Cheetah Cs were being converted , with the first being rolled out in January 1993 . All the Cheetah Cs entered service with 2 Squadron , also at AFB Louis Trichardt . None of the Cheetah variants ever saw combat in the Border War , so their performance was never tested against the dominant fighter in the conflict , the MiG - 23 . The Cheetah Es were used as permanent interceptor aircraft , with a minimum of two aircraft on round - the - clock alert status , until the end of the Border War in 1989 . With the entering into service of the Cheetah C , the Cheetah Es were withdrawn from service and 5 Squadron was disbanded in 1992 . Soon afterwards , 89 Combat Flying School was also disbanded , and all the Cheetah Ds were transferred to 2 Squadron , where they remained until retirement in 2008 . Two Cheetah D ' s are still operated in South Africa by the SAAF on behalf of Denel Aviation at the Overberg Test Flight and Development Centre as systems test aircraft . Variants . Cheetah C . The Cheetah C was the ultimate development of the Cheetah series , and was the only fighter aircraft in service with the SAAF until replaced by the Saab JAS 39 Gripen in 2008 . Many of the features of the Cheetah aircraft are still classified , and the SAAF is unwilling to reveal too many details . What is known is that in addition to the upgrades described above , the Cheetah C incorporates a more sophisticated avionics and navigation suite and a new pulse - doppler multi - mode radar ( ELTA ) , and one of the most advanced EW systems fitted to a fighter aircraft . The aircraft is also fitted with a data link , though the capabilities of this system are unknown , and it received updated versions of the helmet - mounted sight , HUD and improved HOTAS controls . Other improvements include the fitting of a single - piece wrap - around windshield with an anti - radiation coating in place of the old three - piece version , a new in - flight refuelling probe with less external piping , new undercarriage and suspension , the deletion of the wing fences , an upgraded version of the Atar 9K50 and a new nose to incorporate the more sophisticated electronics and radar . Like the Cheetah D , the Cheetah C is capable of delivering precision - guided munition s ( PGMs ) , ranging from laser - guided bomb s ( LGBs ) , to GPS - guided weapons and TV - guided bombs . It also has the capability of using stand - off air - to - ground weapons such as the MUPSOW and TORGOS . In addition , it is able to carry a raft of air - to - air weapons , and the SAAF currently equips its aircraft with the V4 R - Darter , a beyond - visual - range ( BVR ) radar - guided missile , and the U - Darter , a highly capable short - range infrared ( IR ) - guided missile . A measure of the capabilities of the Cheetah C is the result of an air - combat maneuvering ( ACM ) exercise between the Cheetah Cs of 2 Squadron and F - 15E Strike Eagle s of the 494th Fighter Squadron , United States Air Force at RAF Lakenheath , after which the score tallies for each side were almost exactly equal . Cheetah D . The Cheetah D is the sole two - seater variant , and is mainly used operationally as a training aircraft for pilots converting to the Cheetah C , though it does have a secondary attack capability , including the ability to deliver PGMs . Under " Project Recipient " , 10 of the remaining 13 Cheetah Ds were re - engined with the Atar 09K50C - 11 , replacing their original Atar 09C engines . The three not upgraded have been withdrawn from use . Recently , the Cheetah D ' s avionics were also upgraded , to bring them on par with the avionics in the Cheetah C , while the original three piece front windshield has been replaced with a one - piece wraparound version . Cheetah D No . 845 was based at the Test Flight and Development Centre ( TFDC ) as a systems testing aircraft . It was recently used in the development of the Denel Dynamics MUPSOW stand - off weapon . Denel also keeps two Cheetah Ds for testing , No . 844 and No . 847 . The former is Denel ' s standard systems testing aircraft , while the latter was used in the evaluation of the SMR - 95 engine , a development of the Klimov RD - 33 . The performance increase offered by the Russian engine was impressive , but budget cuts and problems with the aircraft ' s centre of gravity ended the program . No . 847 is currently in storage with Denel . These aircraft were retired from service in 2008 , as the first JAS - 39D Gripen began to be delivered to the SAAF . Cheetah E . The single - seater Cheetah E is regarded by most observers as having just been an interim fighter for use in the period before the Cheetah Cs became operational , due to the very short operational life of the Cheetah E , which was only a few years from its entry into operational service in 1987 / 88 to its retirement in 1992 . It was fitted with a comparatively simple avionics suite and radar , and retained the Atar 9C - 3 engine . Its typical mission while in service was as a standby interceptor , whereby a minimum of two aircraft , armed with two V3B ( later V3C ) missiles , would be on permanent alert status in case of an attack from the north . All the aircraft were placed into storage , though the final example , No . 842 , was painted in a non - standard camouflage scheme and used for systems testing . No . 842 is currently with the SAAF Museum , and is stored at AFB Swartkop . In 2003 Chile purchased five of the mothballed aircraft , numbers 819 , 820 , 827 , 832 and 833 . The country had also indicated its desire to purchase seven more aircraft ( numbers 822 , 823 , 825 , 828 , 829 , 831 and 834 ) , subject to the agreement of a suitable purchase price . The Chilean Air Force ( FACh ) used the Cheetah E airframes as a source of spares for its similar ENAER Pantera aircraft until these planes were retired in late 2006 . Cheetah R . The Cheetah R was a feasibility study into an extension of the Cheetah upgrade programme to include a specialist reconnaissance model . An Atar 9K50 - engine Mirage IIIR2Z , No . 855 , was chosen as the basis for the upgrade . In addition to the airframe refurbishment , No . 855 received a new nose design and the same radar as used in the Cheetah E , the twin DEFA 30mm cannons were removed and it was the only Cheetah type to not receive an in - flight refuelling probe . The SAAF decided not to proceed with the Cheetah R programme , and so No . 855 was fitted with the Atlas Advanced Combat Wing ( ACW ) , for which it was used as a testing and development aircraft . No . 855 was eventually scrapped , and its ACW put in storage at the SAAF Museum . Instead of having a dedicated reconnaissance aircraft , the SAAF used the Vinten Vicon 18 Series 601 reconnaissance pod on the Cheetah C .