Project ROSE

Project ROSE ("Retrofit of Strike Element") was a program by the Pakistan Air Force to upgrade the avionics of its ageing Dassault Mirage III and Mirage 5 fighter jets,. These had originally been built either by Dassault Aviation in France, or by the Government Aircraft Factories (GAF) in Australia. The program, based at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, focused on upgrading the military avionics and onboard computer systems, with equipment supplied variously by Pakistani Margella Electronics, French SAGEM and Italian SELEX consortia. Conceived in 1992 by the Pakistan Air Force, the program started in 1995 on main considerations of retiring the A 5 Fantan from active service. Over 90% of the aircraft were retrofitted at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex in Kamra with the remaining being upgraded in France.

In the 1990s, the United States placed an economic and military embargo on Pakistan due to its atomic bomb program. During this time, the Indian Air Force began to modernize its fleet of fighter aircraft, thus putting stress on the Pakistan Air Force. Furthermore, the United States indefinitely delayed the procurement of F 16 fighter jets, which were already paid for by Pakistan. Restrictions on the Pakistan Air Force caused great concern in the military, as the air force was operating American built infrastructure. Thus, the air force had to come up with innovative solutions to keep all its combat infrastructure operational. The ROSE project was set up to buy as many second hand aircraft as possible and to upgrade them with the latest avionics and other modern systems. During 1998, the Pakistan Air Force bought the entire fleet of grounded Mirage IIIs from Lebanon and upgraded them indigenously at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex. In 2003, the PAF bought a total of about 50 grounded Mirage 5 fighter jets from Libya along with 150 engines still in sealed packaging and a huge quantity of spare parts. Most of these aircraft were to be broken up for spare parts required by the Mirage fleet already in PAF service.

In 1990, the PAF bought 43 Mirage IIIOs and seven Mirage IIIDs, which had been retired from the Royal Australian Air Force between 1987 and 1989. Out of the 50 Dassault Mirage III fighters received from Australia, 40 were found to be suitable for service with the PAF, 12 of them were overhauled at PAC and made operational. After being inspected, the remaining 28 were selected for upgrade under Project ROSE. 28 of the ex Australian Dassault Mirage IIIO/D aircraft of the PAF were modified to ROSE I standard. The cockpit was modernized with a new head up display, new multi function displays, and a new radar altimeter. New navigation systems, including an inertial navigation system and a GPS, were also installed. A new radar warning receiver was installed. It was stated that ROSE I fighters could easily be in service beyond 2010. In early 1999 it was stated that problems in "certain parameters and errors in certain modes" had surfaced during flight trials of the Grifo M3 radar in the Mirage III, but these were later solved. Other optional modes include Raid Assessment, Non Cooperative Target Identification, SAR (synthetic aperture radar) and Precision Velocity Update. Low, medium and high pulse repetition frequencies reduce effects of ground clutter. Digital adaptive pulse compression technology, dual channel receiver, scanning coverage +/ 60 degrees in both azimuth and elevation, air cooling, weighs less than 91 kg, MTBF (flight guaranteed) over 220 hours. Extensive ECCM (electronic counter countermeasures) provisions and built in test equipment (BITE). IFF interrogators can also be integrated. stating that it is a pilot program for the induction of aerial refueling capability into the PAF.

In 1996, SAGEM sold 44 surplus French Air Force Mirages (35 single seat Mirage 5Fs and nine dual seat Mirage IIIBEs) to the PAF. Only 34 Mirage 5Fs and six Mirage IIIBEs were intended to fly again, the others serving as spare parts sources. 20 Mirage 5Fs were overhauled and upgraded in France to ROSE II standards. In total, 29 Mirage 5Fs and six Mirage IIIBEs (respectively designated Mirage 5EF and Mirage IIIDF with the PAF) were delivered to Pakistan by air between 1999 and 2001, with five other aircraft delivered by boat to be overhauled by PAC (one single seater crashed during an acceptance flight in France).

A ROSE IV upgrade was also offered, but not taken up. It was based on the ROSE III upgrade standard, but it also included the installation of the Grifo 3 radar, AIM 9L/M capacity, as well as the Dart targeting pod, derived from the Litening. A chaff/flare dispenser and a radar warning receiver were also planned to be added. Acquisitions of Mirage 2000s from Qatar were bypassed by the JS HQ when Indian IAF inducted the jets in its fleet. In 2003, the PAF bought 13 more Mirage IIIEs from Spain for spares cannibalization, and unlike the Australian or Lebanese purchases, that is just what they are being used for. Their condition dictated their return to service was highly unlikely. Problems were encountered for the upgrade of the Mirage 5's role in naval variant for the Navy. However, this was eventually solved with the procurement of spare parts. Because of the program, the PAF gained an international reputation of expertise in maintaining and upgrading the Mirage for both air and naval versions. Despite challenges and problems, the ROSE program allowed the PAF to gain experience on aircraft technology, and gain confidence to undertake similar projects in the future. The Mirage received new capabilities, thus improving its performance dramatically. At the international level, Pakistan's ingenuity and engineering skills have meant the Mirages continue to play a major part in the defense of Pakistan's airspace. The program was meant to be continued for some time after 2003, but the Pakistan Air Force had to terminate it due to a combination of high costs and aging Mirage III/5 airframes.