Dassault Mirage 2000

[Topi]

I do wonder how much work it would be to convert Mirage 2000Cs to be compatible with MICA or AMRAAM or even just Sparrow/Aspide.

 

[Archibald]

A Mirage 2000C with MICA is a 2000-5F. That was the exact point of the early 1990's upgrade ! Trading RDM / RDI & Super 530D for the MICA- compatible RDY. Borrowing Rafale advanced technologies (PESA back then) an applying them to a mid-life Mirage 2000 upgrade.
MICA of course is France very own AMRAAM: fire-and-forget medium range AAM replacing older SARH missiles.

Mirage 2000C---- RDM / RDI --- Super 530D --- SARH --------Sparrow / Aspide
Mirage 2000-5F---RDY PESA ----MICA-----------fire&forget---AMRAAM

 

[kaiserd]

The Mirage 2000c wasn’t “useless” for that last period of its service, as noted by the contributors above.

In the air defence role it should be noted that because of its geographical location, in peacetime it’s most likely patrolling Russian bombers etc. would be identified by the air defence systems of France’s allies well before getting anywhere near France (with details passed, on before remotely approaching French airspace, potentially with direct handover from one set of escorting interceptors to another).
Hence likely quick response fighters launches have significant warning of anything that couldn’t be handly handled by a couple of Magic 2’s and the Mirage 2000c’s guns.

And there is a long history of certain less-than-fully-up-to-date fighters being retained for longer, and objectively probably getting a lot more “useless” than the Mirage 2000c ever did (EE Lightenings, Tornado ADVs, F-101s, F-102s, F-106s, F-104s, etc.)

 

[H_K]

people tend to forget that before the very late 90's/early 00's and the MLU program, the "deal of the century" F-16s (Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and Denmark) were basically just day fighters with IR missiles, unguided bombs and rockets.
Interestingly, the losing contenders (Mirage F1E and Saab 37 Viggen) had SARH missiles from the beginning

Yes indeed. In the early 90s I remember saying to a Mirage F1C pilot that the F-16 was an amazing fighter. His reply:

« (laugh) We beat Belgian F-16s all the time »

… turns out that the F1’s Matra 530F + ECM combo was very effective against F-16As with Aim-9s only and no jammers. Same would have been even more true of any Mirage 2000C vs F-16A, even the early ones with RDM radars…

Pic of a typical early 90s F1C from Reims airbase in northern France that pilot would have been flying in:

 

[zjz]

France Is Considering Transferring Fighter Aircraft To Ukraine

The Ukrainian Air Force says that talks also involve the possible transfer of advanced Rafale multirole fighter jets.

www.thedrive.com

 

[BLACK_MAMBA]

Tornado ADV

That is just wrong... The ADV, at least when retired from the RAF, retired in the best form of its entire career with moderns weapons equal to the Typhoon and a still quite capable avionic suite. A much more effective combat aircraft than the 2000C by their respective retirements. One pilot who flew both far before they faced retirement even said the F3 was the one he would have taken to war...

 

[F-2]

Foxhunter was a great radar when it worked right, the aircraft itself was an Ill match but I’ve had correspondence with a Mig-29 pilot who said the ADV thrashed them in BVR training.

 

[kaiserd]

Tornado ADV

That is just wrong... The ADV, at least when retired from the RAF, retired in the best form of its entire career with moderns weapons equal to the Typhoon and a still quite capable avionic suite. A much more effective combat aircraft than the 2000C by their respective retirements. One pilot who flew both far before they faced retirement even said the F3 was the one he would have taken to war...

I suppose “less useful” may be more accurate in that particular case.

The Tornado F3 wasn’t a bad aircraft aircraft and performed the role it was intended for (long range bomber/ strike aircraft interceptor, little/no fighter opposition) well.

However it was no air superiority fighter and (rightly. given relative capability) was always the “poor relation” versus other coalition fighter aircraft in the coalition wars/ engagements it saw service in, and never saw actual air combat. And apart from a few airframes receiving late modifications to fire ALARMs it’s not like the F3s saw/ contributed wider multi-role use in these conflicts.

The un-updated Mirage 2000c’s clearly were neglected versus updated Tornado F3s but the more correct comparison in terms of capabilities would be with the upgraded Mirage 2000-5s. And the rather unloved not-upgraded Mirage 2000c’s gave valuable service (including combat use), given their limits, up to the end.

And one should always be sceptical of what any “one pilot” says or try to more widely apply or interpret what they say.
Pilots generally love the plane the are flying unless it’s a total dog.

 

[F.L.]

In fact, the M2000C without Super 530 is like an F-16A. But with a better air-to-ground capability with guided bomb.
From https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_Mirage_2000#Versions

RDI S5 aircraft still in service that can, since 2016, carry four bombs

Also I think that the first Mirage 2000C (RDM) did not have the S530 capability.

Mirage 2000C (RDM) : interim version equipped with the RDM radar (the RDI radar planned was not yet available) and the M53-5 engine.
- Mirage 2000C S1, nos. 1 to 15: equipped with RDM radar and armed with 2 Matra R550 Magic air-to-air missiles, then Magic II (from 1985 onwards) in external canopy (Magic II until the appearance of the MICA for the 2000-5 and later on the modified 2000D) and 2 DEFA 30 mm cannons (valid for all single-seaters: 2 type 30-550-F4 guns, with a nominal rate of fire of 1800 to 2000 rounds/min and possible slow rate of 1150 to 1300 rounds/min, 125 cartridges coiled in a box for each weapon) ;
- Mirage 2000C S2, nos. 16 to 19: equipped with RDM radars with improved "look down" capability;
- Mirage 2000C S3, Nos. 20 to 37: also capable of firing Super 530F air-to-air missiles;

 

[BLACK_MAMBA]

And one should always be sceptical of what any “one pilot” says or try to more widely apply or interpret what they say.
Pilots generally love the plane the are flying unless it’s a total dog.

While I agree with the statement in general, if a pilot spent a full exchange tour flying a type and comparing it to another they also spent significant time in I take their opinion with a lot more weight than one who went for a joyride flip and then gave a verdict.

Fact is the F3 suffered right up to the end thanks to its poor entry into-service form. It was never a world beater, but to say it gave poor service and including it in that list of types who served longer than they should have is a very poor judgement of their capabilities, which admittedly, matured far later than they should have.

 

[Archibald]

people tend to forget that before the very late 90's/early 00's and the MLU program, the "deal of the century" F-16s (Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and Denmark) were basically just day fighters with IR missiles, unguided bombs and rockets.
Interestingly, the losing contenders (Mirage F1E and Saab 37 Viggen) had SARH missiles from the beginning

Yes indeed. In the early 90s I remember saying to a Mirage F1C pilot that the F-16 was an amazing fighter. His reply:

« (laugh) We beat Belgian F-16s all the time »

… turns out that the F1’s Matra 530F + ECM combo was very effective against F-16As with Aim-9s only and no jammers. Same would have been even more true of any Mirage 2000C vs F-16A, even the early ones with RDM radars…

Pic of a typical early 90s F1C from Reims airbase in northern France that pilot would have been flying in:

Crazy to think those 348 F-16s (Belgium, NL, Denmark & Norway) had no Sparrow capability and only Sidewinders... and were in that regard inferior to a) Mirage F1C-200 and b) F-104S !

 

[Trident]

The Foxhunter, once the teething troubles were ironed out and especially after it got full AMRAAM compatibility, was a respectable radar system indeed. But I suspect what contributed most (especially early on) to the claimed BVR effectiveness of the Tornado ADV was actually JTIDS, making it one of the few NATO fighter types to enter service in numbers with a modern data-link. With MIDS/Link-16 now so ubiquitous even on legacy airframes, it's easy to forget that this is a post-2000 phenomenon - prior to that, DLs were very few and far between in the West (outside Sweden).

EDIT: Oh, and it bears pointing out again (and again) just how *beautiful* the Mirage F1 is!!!

 

[eagle]

… turns out that the F1’s Matra 530F + ECM combo was very effective against F-16As with Aim-9s only and no jammers.

That's quite the cynical statement from a French pilot considering it was the French who were responsible for the lack of ECM of Belgian F-16s.
I guess in wartime, BAF Vipers would have borrowed some ALQ pods from other EPAFs.
The effectiveness of SARH missiles in a Fulda gap scenario is also questionable. Depends on specific mission sets I guess.

 

[helmutkohl]

India lost a Mirage 2000 and Su-30 yesterday
it says 2 out of the 3 crew members were rescued. I assume this must be the pilots of the Flanker

Two Indian military jets crash after apparent midair collision

Rescue operations ongoing in Madhya Pradesh state to assist the pilots of the Sukhoi-30 and the Mirage 2000.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[F.L.]

In fact, the M2000C without Super 530 is like an F-16A. But with a better air-to-ground capability with guided bomb.
From https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_Mirage_2000#Versions

RDI S5 aircraft still in service that can, since 2016, carry four bombs

Also I think that the first Mirage 2000C (RDM) did not have the S530 capability.

Mirage 2000C (RDM) : interim version equipped with the RDM radar (the RDI radar planned was not yet available) and the M53-5 engine.
- Mirage 2000C S1, nos. 1 to 15: equipped with RDM radar and armed with 2 Matra R550 Magic air-to-air missiles, then Magic II (from 1985 onwards) in external canopy (Magic II until the appearance of the MICA for the 2000-5 and later on the modified 2000D) and 2 DEFA 30 mm cannons (valid for all single-seaters: 2 type 30-550-F4 guns, with a nominal rate of fire of 1800 to 2000 rounds/min and possible slow rate of 1150 to 1300 rounds/min, 125 cartridges coiled in a box for each weapon) ;
- Mirage 2000C S2, nos. 16 to 19: equipped with RDM radars with improved "look down" capability;
- Mirage 2000C S3, Nos. 20 to 37: also capable of firing Super 530F air-to-air missiles;

It seems that the 2000C could be fitted with 4 GBU-12s, but had to be accompanied for guidance. It can fire a laser bomb, but cannot guide it.

 

[TomcatViP]

Yes. It's often a combination that was used: one D model (A2G) and one C.

 

[datafuser]

people tend to forget that before the very late 90's/early 00's and the MLU program, the "deal of the century" F-16s (Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and Denmark) were basically just day fighters with IR missiles, unguided bombs and rockets.
Interestingly, the losing contenders (Mirage F1E and Saab 37 Viggen) had SARH missiles from the beginning

Yes indeed. In the early 90s I remember saying to a Mirage F1C pilot that the F-16 was an amazing fighter. His reply:

« (laugh) We beat Belgian F-16s all the time »

… turns out that the F1’s Matra 530F + ECM combo was very effective against F-16As with Aim-9s only and no jammers. Same would have been even more true of any Mirage 2000C vs F-16A, even the early ones with RDM radars…

Pic of a typical early 90s F1C from Reims airbase in northern France that pilot would have been flying in:

Crazy to think those 348 F-16s (Belgium, NL, Denmark & Norway) had no Sparrow capability and only Sidewinders... and were in that regard inferior to a) Mirage F1C-200 and b) F-104S !

people tend to forget that before the very late 90's/early 00's and the MLU program, the "deal of the century" F-16s (Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and Denmark) were basically just day fighters with IR missiles, unguided bombs and rockets.
Interestingly, the losing contenders (Mirage F1E and Saab 37 Viggen) had SARH missiles from the beginning

Yes indeed. In the early 90s I remember saying to a Mirage F1C pilot that the F-16 was an amazing fighter. His reply:

« (laugh) We beat Belgian F-16s all the time »

… turns out that the F1’s Matra 530F + ECM combo was very effective against F-16As with Aim-9s only and no jammers. Same would have been even more true of any Mirage 2000C vs F-16A, even the early ones with RDM radars…

Pic of a typical early 90s F1C from Reims airbase in northern France that pilot would have been flying in:

Crazy to think those 348 F-16s (Belgium, NL, Denmark & Norway) had no Sparrow capability and only Sidewinders... and were in that regard inferior to a) Mirage F1C-200 and b) F-104S !

Below is what a Royal Navy Sea Harrier FRS1 pilot, Commander Adrian Orchard, told Air Forces Monthly (Jan 2011 issue).

"(The F-104S) ... fought in straight lines at speeds greater than Mach 1.5 where possible. Turning more than 90-deg was forbidden, as they knew they could not expect to win a visual dog fight started from a neutral position due to its huge turning circle at high speed or the very poor turn rate they could generate with such small lifting surfaces at lower speeds.
...
The radar on the Starfighter was so poor they rarely attempted to utilise their AIM-7 Sparrow semi-active missile - easily defeated by use of manoeuvre and simple chaff programmes - relying on a 'hit and run' style using the more reliable AIM-9L in the head sector. "

 

[helmutkohl]

India sends 5 Mirage 2000 fighters to the UK

India sends Mirages for 'Cobra Warrior' exercise in UK | India News - Times of India

India News: Going full-throttle for multi-nation air combat wargames, India on Sunday dispatched Mirage-2000 fighters and other aircraft for the 'Cobra Warrior' e

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

on a separate but related note..
I always thought the Mirage 2000 is one of those few aircraft where the twin seater looks better than the single.

 

[Archibald]

Thinking alike. The Mirage IIIB was ugly, but the F-1B and 2000B looked sexy. It is all a matter of canopies getting better across decades.

 

[F.L.]

I think a bit the same !
It's true that usually the trainers are distorted by the need for the instructor to be higher than the student. With some exceptions !

 

[TomcatViP]

30+ Ukrainian personal trained on Mirage 2000 in France:

[La France forme] des militaires ukrainiens aux avions de combat Mirage 2000, conçus par Dassault Aviation*. Depuis plus d’un mois et demi, une trentaine d’entre eux reçoit un apprentissage accéléré sur les chasseurs bombardiers français sur les bases aériennes de Mont-de-Marsan et de Nancy. Selon le ministère de la Défense, la formation des pilotes eux-mêmes n’aurait pas commencé, seulement celle de «personnels militaires aériens». La décision a été prise avant la visite de Volodymyr Zelensky à Pais,
—-------------------------------//-----------------------

[France is] today [...] training Ukrainian soldiers in Mirage 2000 fighter planes, designed by Dassault Aviation. For more than a month and a half, about thirty of them have been receiving accelerated training on French fighter bombers at the air bases of Mont-de-Marsan and Nancy. According to the Ministry of Defense, the training of the pilots themselves would not have started, only that of “air military personnel”. The decision was made ahead of Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Paris[...]

La France forme l’armée de l’air ukrainienne sur des Mirage

INFO LE FIGARO - Si la décision politique était prise, la France pourrait livrer une dizaine d’avions de chasse à l’armée ukrainienne.

www.lefigaro.fr

Guerre en Ukraine : des pilotes formés par la France sur des Mirage

Depuis un mois et demi, une trentaine de pilotes ukrainiens s’entraînent sur Mirage 2000, sur les bases aériennes de Nancy et de Mont-de-Marsan.

www.lejdd.fr

 

[Deltafan]

Denied by the Ukrainian Air Forces and French Armed forces (In any case, officially...)

Ukrainian Air Force denies Le Figaro’s report that France trains Ukrainian pilots on Mirage fighter jets (updated)

Le Figaro reported that France is currently training a group of around thirty Ukrainian pilots on Mirage 2000 combat aircraft, Le Figaro writes. According to the report, the pilots are receiving an accelerated training program on French fighter-bombers at the Mont-de-Marsan and Nancy air bases...

euromaidanpress.com

“Air support controllers were trained in France and [there were] survival courses for aviators, but there is no talk of training the flight crews now,” Ihnat said.

Des aviateurs ukrainiens sont en France pour suivre des stages de survie en cas d'éjection - Zone Militaire

Lors de sa dernière audition à l'Assemblée nationale, le ministre des Armées, Sébastien Lecornu, a réaffirmé que la livraison de Mirage 2000C à l'Ukraine

www.opex360.com

"We are training Ukrainian crews in France, particularly in ground-to-air defense and survival in the event that their aircraft is shot down," said General Yann Gravethe, acting director of the Delegation for Information and Defense communication [DICoD], during the weekly press briefing of the Ministry of the Armed Forces. “We do not train Ukrainian pilots, neither in piloting nor in the use of weapons systems,” he insisted.

 

[Forest Green]

I heard from an insider that it was some sort of groundcrew training program.

 

[Archibald]

There is ground training, ground training, and pilot training. My bet is that France is training Ukrainian ground crews on the F-16 - and MiG-29 - rival LWF. Same generation, and Mirage 2000s are as "NATO certified" as any F-16. Always useful to have.

Or maybe it is just a matter of "Crap, some countries are dumping spare MiG-29s on Ukraine; others may dump second or third hand F-16s - so why not try our chance with the 2000 after all ? "

By the way, Rafales are too "critical" for their secrets to be revealed to Ukrainian crews - you never know, they could be infiltrated by Russian spies (Vetrov-Farewell, is that thou ?)

And since there is nothing else in the French fast combat jet inventory besides Rafales than Mirage 2000s since 2014 and the retirement of the last Atar Mirages...

 

[TomcatViP]

Well, the Figaro newspaper (owned by Dassault group), was very specific: those are not pilots. So I don't see why there was to be a denial.
Fact is that French MoD clearly stated in front of house representatives (non classified) that France wasn't envisioning giving Mirage to the Ukrainian. So, no confirmation of a secret program could have happened a week or so after

I do personally believe that those are all, either, Ukrainian cooks that need a refresh on Crème brûlée... Or specialists trained on French avionics and systems [edit] (similarly mounted on Mig 29?).

 

[TomcatViP]

Well, those rumors were not mirages!! Let's hope there is some grounds into it.

“After a long process of negotiation which kept arms brokers operating for Kyiv busy for several weeks, Ukraine hopes to obtain around 40 Mirage planes,” the message reads.

Intelligence Online added the first tranche will likely come from the UAE.

Ukraine hopes to receive at least 40 Mirage fighter jets

Kyiv expects its international partners to ultimately greenlight the transfer of at least 40 French-made Mirage 2000 multi-role jet aircraft, French news outlet Intelligence Online reported on March 27.

news.yahoo.com

 

[F.L.]

According to the report, UAE, Indonesia, and Greece are among the countries that could contribute to the shipment of Mirages.

Indonesia will have difficulties to deliver M2K to Ukraine, they don't have any !

 

[Forest Green]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1640427745011220486

 

[Archibald]

Holly cow ! That would explain those contradictory reports of ukrainian ground crews being trained in France on Mirage 2000s.

I'm keeping tabs about the middleast Mirage 2000s rumors (N.B: Quatar is not UAE, damn it !) - and LMAO. I said it before and I say it again: they are the Walter White... Heisenberg / Schroedinger Mirages.

 

[Deltafan]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1640427745011220486

This is how the French government squanders our money !!! It makes me crazy to think about it. What a waste for a war lost in advance...

As I no longer wish to participate in this kind of discussion, for some time now I have systematically reported this kind of post to the moderation (which, to date, has always given me reason by deleting the passages or contentious topics), but as, in your case, it's the first time, I remind you:

Loading…

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• Political, religious and nationalistic topics are strongly discouraged. Specific areas to avoid include your views on specific politicians and parties, Brexit, commentry about immigration, "SJWs" and "woke", antifa, Black Lives Matter, far-right politics and other social/political commentary. You are welcome to have opinions on all these subjects, but they are generally unrelated to the forum core subjects and your posts may be edited or deleted without warning.

That said, regarding the information itself, I await confirmation. Because it's been a few years that we hear a lot of different information for these Mirage 2000.
Moreover, if the original information is that of Intelligence Online (of which only the beginning is visible on the site of intelligence online, since the continuation is reserved for the subscribers), there is, at this stage, nothing which says that France is going to buy these planes before delivering them to Ukraine. So, to see how well the tweet from Ukraine News Live reflects the reality of the article.

EMIRATS ARABES UNIS/FRANCE/UKRAINE : Quels avions Mirage pour l'Ukraine ?

La course est lancée pour que Kiev se dote à terme d'avions de chasse français, en plus d'appareils américains. Les Etats clients des avions Mirage de Dassault sont ainsi mobilisés de toutes parts.

www.intelligenceonline.fr

The race is on for kyiv to acquire French fighter planes in the long term, in addition to American aircraft. States customers of Dassault's Mirage aircraft are thus mobilized from all sides. [...]

Finally, if the article from Yahoo News had access to the full article from Intelligence Online, at no time does it indicate that France is going to buy back these 40 planes before giving them to Ukraine.

So wait and see.

 

[F.L.]

As I no longer wish to participate in this kind of discussion, for some time now I have systematically reported this kind of post to the moderation (which, to date, has always given me reason by deleting the passages or contentious topics), but as, in your case, it's the first time, I remind you:

Loading…

www.secretprojects.co.uk

• Political, religious and nationalistic topics are strongly discouraged. Specific areas to avoid include your views on specific politicians and parties, Brexit, commentry about immigration, "SJWs" and "woke", antifa, Black Lives Matter, far-right politics and other social/political commentary. You are welcome to have opinions on all these subjects, but they are generally unrelated to the forum core subjects and your posts may be edited or deleted without warning.

You're right, I'm sorry.
I will be careful in the future. It was very stupid of me.

 

[Archibald]

According to the report, UAE, Indonesia, and Greece are among the countries that could contribute to the shipment of Mirages.

Indonesia will have difficulties to deliver M2K to Ukraine, they don't have any !

ROTFLMAO - I told you they are Heisenberg Mirages. They are everywhere and in the UAE (or Qatar ?) at the same time: Indonesia, Marocco, Iraq, Bulgaria, Ukraine... I'm keeping tab. Plus ARES and PROCOR agressor companies !

Thinking about it - maybe they are the USN vaporous UFOs ? that would make sense.

For the record: 67 for the UAE plus 12 for Qatar, so we are talking about almost 80 "ubiquitous Mirages". By the way, the Heisenberg uncertainity seems to have extended to the ex-Brazilian deltas, 12 more, so 90: one day at a private agressor company (ARES, PROCOR), the other in Indonesia !

 

[Archibald]

Long story short
- Qatar (12)
- Brazil (12, second hand ex FAF )
- UAE (67)
Total 91 "ubiquitous Mirages" that have been seen (or not !) so far
at
- Indonesia
- Ukraine
- Bulgaria
- Marocco
- Iraq
- ARES
- PROCOR

Wow, 7 competitors. Hey, 91/7 = 13, so maybe we should evenly split the cake into slices of 13 ?

And don't forget, Dassault build almost 620 airframes...

 

[TomcatViP]

UAE Mirages and upgraded Greek ones will be very competitive on the Ukrainian battle front.

It would also be a great way to close 40 years of Mirage history. I can already see retired M2K pilots looking with envy those selected to fly them.

 

[Archibald]

Greek Mirages are not for sale (not yet ?). But they may add more uncertainity to the uncertainity ... sooner or later.

 

[H_K]

Intelligence Online is full of s***. Don’t trust them - they are not a reliable source.

UAE M2000-9s are years away from replacement (Rafale deliveries planned from 2027-2031)

The only Greek aircraft potentially available are 18 old unmodernized M2000 EGMs with RDM radars. Their replacement by Rafales is due to be complete by the end of 2023. These could complement the ~12 French M2000Cs with RDI radars retired last year, for a total of 30 old M2000s, but both types would need radar/missile upgrades.

That leaves the 12 Qatari M2000-5s as the only advanced Mirages potentially available for sale.

 

[Archibald]

Wait, Greek Mirages still have RDMs, vintage 1985 ? You british had that Blue Circle joke related to the Tornado F2; on the other side of the Channel French Mirage pilotes had their own radar jokes.
Back in the Mirage IIIC days, Cyrano was called "Tefal" which is a brand of frying pans, which trademark was "it heats, but it doesn't sticks" and so did the Cyrano radar: lot of heat, but it didn't stuck... to the target.
Fast forward by 20 years, RDM official meaning was "Radar Doppler Multi-target" (same in french) but to frustrated pilots it was "Radar De Merde" and I think no translation is really necessary...

 

[TomcatViP]

We had already a discussion regarding those Greek Mirages

 

[F.L.]

The Greek Mirage 2000EG are among the rare M2Ks to be able to use Exocets missiles, and the Greek AF used them in the maritime attack role only armed with 2 Exocets & 2 Magic.

 

[gral_rj]

- Brazil (12, second hand ex FAF )

At least one of those(a Mirage 2000C) is on the Aerospacial Museum in Rio de Janeiro, not to mention the Brazilian Mirages were said to be at the end of their useful lives even as they were acquired - the Brazilian Air Force looked at extending their lives just a bit more, but my guess is they didn't have the money to do it(at least not without giving up on something else).