Razbam M-2000C for DCS World - Review
RAZBAM Simulations M-2000C
About the Mirage 2000C
Regarding the liveries, the M-2000C includes the following:
French (including 3 different Tiger Meet liveries), Greek, Brazilian, UAE and Peruvian.
Up front
Upon pressing F1 you'll find a beautifully crafted cockpit. Gauges are crisp and readable from far away, and the entire cockpit looks amazing.
Visibility from here is very good compared to aircraft like the MiG 29.
As expected, the instruments are labelled in french, though it's easy to understand what does what.
One of the downsides of this module is the lack of functionality on some switches, but I'm guessing they'll add it for the final release version. Don't quote me on that, though!
The night lightning is also nice.
The Mirage from the outside
Compare the two shots below:
Although not the most important thing in a simulator, the external model still plays a major role.
In my opinion Razbam got it just right, with the exception of some small details.
The damage model is also good.
Armament
Let's dive in a little more into the payload and armaments of the Mirage 2000C.
From the flight manual:
The M-2000C is equipped with built-in twin DEFA 554 30 mm revolver-type cannons with
125 rounds each. The cannons have selectable fire rates of 1,200 or 1,800 rounds per
minute.
The aircraft can carry up to 6.3 tons (13,900 lb) of stores on nine pylons, with two pylons
on each wing and five under the fuselage. External stores can include Matra Super 530D
medium-range semi-active radar-guided air-to-air missile on the inboard wing, and Matra
Magic II short-range infrared-seeking AAM on the outboard wing pylons.
The aircraft uses the RDI pulse-Doppler radar with an operating range of 54 nm (100 km
/ 62 miles). This unit was an evolution of Cyrano radars, with more modern processing
units and look-down/shoot-down capabilities.
The M-2000C is equipped with a radar warning receiver (RWR) with antennas on the
wingtips and on the rear of the top of the tailfin. It is also equipped with the Sabre radar
jamming and deception in a pod below the bottom of the tailfin, with the antenna in a
fairing on the front of the tailfin. Countermeasures are provided by Spirale dispensers,
each fitted on the extensions behind the rear of each wingroot, giving a total capacity of
112 chaff cartridges, the flares dispensers are located under the wing roots with a total of
16 cartridges.
In short, the Mirage can carry the following:
Guns:
2× 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA 554 revolver cannon, 125
rounds per gun
Hardpoints:
9 total (4× under-wing, 5× under-fuselage) with a
capacity of 6,300 kg (13,900 lb) external fuel and
ordnance
Rockets:
2x Matra 68 mm unguided rocket pods, 18 rockets per
pod
Air-to-air missiles:
2× Matra R550 Magic-II and
2× Matra Super 530D
Bombs:
8× Mk.82
8x Mk.82SE
9x GBL-66 Belouga cluster bombs
1x BAP-100 anti-runway dispenser.
4x GBU-12
1x GBU-16
1x GBU-24
Seems pretty good for a machine like this!
Conclusion
After having flown the M-2000C for a while, I can say that it's a very fun aircraft, even in its beta state. The manual is more or less complete, and the plane itself is in the same state. The flight model is also quite good compared to other modules currently on sale.
It's enjoyable both in free flight and multiplayer.
The Mirage can even take on F-15's and SU27's if handled correctly, thus having an important role on most multiplayer server.
If I had to rate this module on a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give it a 9, based on the fact that it has still has some bugs (that are slowly being corrected). Even so, I recommend it.
I'm confident that eventually it'll become one of the best modules for DCS World.
Razbam Simulations, most known for their FSX/Prepar3D projects, released the Mirage 2000C early access for DCS World in late December, 2015.
It's currently only available on the DCS website for 59,99 $, although it will appear at Steam as soon as the module comes out of beta (which will hopefully be soon).
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| Nice external model! |
About the Mirage 2000C
The Mirage 2000C is French fourth-generation multirole fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation.
It was designed in the late 70's based on the Mirage lll for the French Air Force, but eventually it was exported to other eight nations. Over 600 units were produced between 1978 and 2007.
Its engine is an Snecma M53-P2 afterburning turbofan which produces a whooping 95.1 kN (21,400 lbf) of thrust while on afterburner.
It can reach Mach 2.2 while flying high, and can fly for 963 miles with some drop tanks.
In a combat enviroment, the Mirage can carry Matra Magic ll and Super 530D missiles for air to air combat. It also has a limited CAS role, been able to carry some cluster bombs and "normal" bombs, plus some rocket pods (read "Armament" section).
Maneuverability on this aircraft is excellent, mostly due to the fact that it has a flight-by-wire system (don't try to turn it off!)
First steps
Its engine is an Snecma M53-P2 afterburning turbofan which produces a whooping 95.1 kN (21,400 lbf) of thrust while on afterburner.
It can reach Mach 2.2 while flying high, and can fly for 963 miles with some drop tanks.
In a combat enviroment, the Mirage can carry Matra Magic ll and Super 530D missiles for air to air combat. It also has a limited CAS role, been able to carry some cluster bombs and "normal" bombs, plus some rocket pods (read "Armament" section).
Maneuverability on this aircraft is excellent, mostly due to the fact that it has a flight-by-wire system (don't try to turn it off!)
First steps
Just like all DCS modules, the M-2000C has to be downloaded via the download manager located inside the simulator. The module will install itself, with the download size sitting at around 300MB.
As you enter DCS you'll find some instant action missions, training, and a campaign.
As you enter DCS you'll find some instant action missions, training, and a campaign.
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| Training missions |
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| Instant Action |
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| More missions |
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| Default campaign |
Inside the documents folder you'll find the briefings for each campaign mission and the flight manual.
The flight manual has 139 pages, which are illustrated with high quality pictures and graphs.
Although some sections are missing ("To be described in full release manual"), the most important things are there, and it's easy to learn to fly the aircraft just reading it. |
| Example of the information given on the flight manual |
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| Excerpt from a campaign mission briefing |
Regarding the liveries, the M-2000C includes the following:
French (including 3 different Tiger Meet liveries), Greek, Brazilian, UAE and Peruvian.
Up front
Upon pressing F1 you'll find a beautifully crafted cockpit. Gauges are crisp and readable from far away, and the entire cockpit looks amazing.
Visibility from here is very good compared to aircraft like the MiG 29.
 |
| Detailed textures |
 |
| Looking out over the Nevada desert |
One of the downsides of this module is the lack of functionality on some switches, but I'm guessing they'll add it for the final release version. Don't quote me on that, though!
 |
| Missing functinality |
 |
| Notice the synthetic runway on the HUD
As a small note, when landing it's recommendable to sit up a bit. This is due to the fact that the Mirage pitches up a lot while on approach, probably due to its delta wing configuration.
|
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| Peeking up! |
Compare the two shots below:
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| Photo by Gert Kromhout |
In my opinion Razbam got it just right, with the exception of some small details.
The damage model is also good.
 |
| Eject, eject! |
 |
| I'll say it once again, the Mirage is beautiful. |
 |
| The power of the Snecma M53-P2! |
Armament
Let's dive in a little more into the payload and armaments of the Mirage 2000C.
From the flight manual:
The M-2000C is equipped with built-in twin DEFA 554 30 mm revolver-type cannons with
125 rounds each. The cannons have selectable fire rates of 1,200 or 1,800 rounds per
minute.
The aircraft can carry up to 6.3 tons (13,900 lb) of stores on nine pylons, with two pylons
on each wing and five under the fuselage. External stores can include Matra Super 530D
medium-range semi-active radar-guided air-to-air missile on the inboard wing, and Matra
Magic II short-range infrared-seeking AAM on the outboard wing pylons.
The aircraft uses the RDI pulse-Doppler radar with an operating range of 54 nm (100 km
/ 62 miles). This unit was an evolution of Cyrano radars, with more modern processing
units and look-down/shoot-down capabilities.
The M-2000C is equipped with a radar warning receiver (RWR) with antennas on the
wingtips and on the rear of the top of the tailfin. It is also equipped with the Sabre radar
jamming and deception in a pod below the bottom of the tailfin, with the antenna in a
fairing on the front of the tailfin. Countermeasures are provided by Spirale dispensers,
each fitted on the extensions behind the rear of each wingroot, giving a total capacity of
112 chaff cartridges, the flares dispensers are located under the wing roots with a total of
16 cartridges.
In short, the Mirage can carry the following:
Guns:
2× 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA 554 revolver cannon, 125
rounds per gun
Hardpoints:
9 total (4× under-wing, 5× under-fuselage) with a
capacity of 6,300 kg (13,900 lb) external fuel and
ordnance
Rockets:
2x Matra 68 mm unguided rocket pods, 18 rockets per
pod
Air-to-air missiles:
2× Matra R550 Magic-II and
2× Matra Super 530D
Bombs:
8× Mk.82
8x Mk.82SE
9x GBL-66 Belouga cluster bombs
1x BAP-100 anti-runway dispenser.
4x GBU-12
1x GBU-16
1x GBU-24
Seems pretty good for a machine like this!
 |
| Magic! |
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| Air to air |
 |
| Dropping Snakeye's over the NTTR |
Conclusion
After having flown the M-2000C for a while, I can say that it's a very fun aircraft, even in its beta state. The manual is more or less complete, and the plane itself is in the same state. The flight model is also quite good compared to other modules currently on sale.
It's enjoyable both in free flight and multiplayer.
The Mirage can even take on F-15's and SU27's if handled correctly, thus having an important role on most multiplayer server.
If I had to rate this module on a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give it a 9, based on the fact that it has still has some bugs (that are slowly being corrected). Even so, I recommend it.
I'm confident that eventually it'll become one of the best modules for DCS World.
 |
| Merge! |
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