Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard
The Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard (Étendard is French for "battle flag", cognate to English "standard") is a French carrier-borne strike fighter aircraft designed by Dassault-Breguet for service with the French Navy.
| Super Étendard | |
|---|---|
| A Super Étendard at RIAT in 2005. | |
| Role | Strike aircraft |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Dassault-Breguet |
| First flight | 28 October 1974 |
| Introduction | June 1978 |
| Retired | July 2016 (French Navy) |
| Primary users | French Naval Aviation (historical) Argentine Naval Aviation (historical) Iraqi Air Force (historical) |
| Produced | 1974–1983 |
| Number built | 85 |
| Developed from | Dassault Étendard IV |
The aircraft is an advanced development of the Étendard IVM, which it replaced. The Super Étendard first flew in October 1974 and entered French service in June 1978. French Super Étendards have served in several conflicts such as the Kosovo war, the war in Afghanistan and the military intervention in Libya.
The Super Étendard was also operated by Iraq (on a temporary lease) and Argentina, which both deployed the aircraft during wartime. Argentina's Navy use of the Super Étendard and the Exocet missile during the 1982 Falklands War led to the aircraft gaining considerable popular recognition. The Super Étendard was used by Iraq to attack oil tankers and merchant shipping in the Persian Gulf during the Iraq-Iran War. In French service, the Super Étendard was replaced by the Dassault Rafale in 2016.