The Atlas Cheetah is a South African fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aviation company Atlas Aircraft Corporation (later Denel Aeronautics). It was developed at the behest of, and principally operated by, the South African Air Force (SAAF).
The Cheetah was developed amid the Border War of the 1980s as a major upgrade of the French-built Dassault Mirage III fleet operated by the SAAF. The programme integrated technology from the Israeli-built IAI Kfir, which had been derived from the Mirage 5/IAI Nesher. The upgrade programme, which was known as Project Cushion, produced three variants; the two-seat Cheetah D, the single-seat Cheetah E, and the single-seat Cheetah C. All three models were inducted into the SAAF, functioning for a time as the service's most capable fighter and strike aircraft. A single Cheetah R, intended for aerial reconnaissance, was built as a prototype, but this variant never entered service.
During 1992, the Cheetah E model was withdrawn from SAAF service; both the Cheetah Cs and Cheetah Ds were retired during April 2008, having been being replaced by the Swedish-built Saab Gripen. Since its retirement by the SAAF, a limited number have still operated in South Africa as flight test aircraft. Some have been exported, such as to the Ecuadorian Air Force (EAF) as a source of spare parts. The privately owned company Draken International intends to use the Cheetah as an adversarial aircraft for combat training services in the United States.
Development
Background
The Atlas Cheetah programme originated during the 1980s out of South Africa's requirement for more capable fighter and strike aircraft. At the time, the South African Air Force (SAAF) was confronted by the need for more advanced aircraft to attain an edge over the ever-more sophisticated Soviet-built aircraft, such as the MiG-23, that were being supplied to both Angolan and Cuban forces. These aircraft were being deployed against South Africa's own military during the lengthy conflict commonly known as the Border War. Furthermore, the increasing cost of maintenance due to international sanctions and the increasing age of existing aircraft in the SAAF's inventory also needed to be addressed. As a consequence of the arms embargo being imposed at the time under United Nations Security Council Resolution 418, South Africa was prevented from purchasing new aircraft from almost any other country in the world; accordingly, the upgrading of existing aircraft became the only viable option available.
Companies involved
By the 1980s, the South African aviation industry had attained the level of technical capability to make a large and sophisticated upgrade possible. These factors contributed to the SAAF making the decision to authorise an extensive upgrade programme involving one of the existing types in service. Furthermore, the development of an advanced indigenously developed fighter, known as the Atlas Carver, was also initiated around the same time.
During the 1980s, the SAAF's fast jet fleet consisted of multiple variants of the French-built Dassault Mirage III (EZ/CZ/BZ/DZ/D2Z/RZ/R2Z) and Mirage F1 (AZ/CZ) aircraft. Although the Mirage F1 was considered to be the most modern aircraft type in the fleet, deliveries having commenced during 1977, the type comprised the primary element of South Africa's air defence and strike fleet. Withdrawing the Mirage F1 to perform an extensive upgrade would have necessitated opening a major gap in that nation's air defence and strike capability, which was deemed to be unacceptable by senior SAAF officials.
In addition, various features could be integrated into the Mirage III from related, pre-existing upgrades that had been made to similar aircraft, such as the Mirage 5/IAI Nesher/IAI Kfir lineage and Mirage 3NG project, the latter being based on the Mirage III. Consequently, the SAAF's Mirage III fleet was chosen as the recipient for this upgrade programme, which was initially referred to as Project Cushion.