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Dassault Mirage 2000

The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, delta wing, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (Armée de l'air). The Mirage 2000 evolved into a multirole aircraft with several variants developed, with sales to a number of nations. It was later developed into the Mirage 2000N and 2000D strike variants, the improved Mirage 2000-5, and several export variants. Over 600 aircraft were built and it has been in service with nine nations.

Previous projects
The origins of the Mirage 2000 could be traced back to 1965, when France and Britain agreed to develop the "Anglo-French Variable Geometry" (AFVG) swing-wing aircraft. Two years later, France withdrew from the project on grounds of costs, after which Britain would collaborate with West Germany and Italy to ultimately produce the Panavia Tornado. Dassault instead focused on its own variable-geometry aircraft, the Dassault Mirage G experimental prototype. The design was expected to materialise in the Mirage G8, which would serve as the replacement for the popular Mirage III in French Air Force service.

The Mirage 2000 started out as a secondary project tentatively named "Delta 1000" in 1972. Dassault was devoting considerable attention to the Mirage G8A, a fixed-geometry derivative of the Mirage G8 that served as the competitor to the Panavia Tornado. The Mirage G8, which was envisioned as the "Avion de Combat Futur" (ACF or Future Combat Aircraft) of the French Air Force (Armee de l'Air, AdA), did not align with the service's conception of its future aircraft. The AdA wanted a Mach 3 fighter, not an interdictor aircraft incapable of dogfighting that was the Mirage G8. As such, Dassault redesigned the Mirage G8 into the two-engine Super Mirage G8A that would prove to be ambitious and expensive, being two and a half times the price of the Mirage F1 and over-engineered, especially compared to the F-16 that had just won orders from a number of European countries. Consequently, during a meeting of the National Defence Council on 18 December 1975, the Super Mirage was cancelled.

The ACF was a strike aircraft first and an interceptor second, while the Delta 2000 was the reverse, but the single-engine Delta 2000 was much more affordable. At the same National Defence Council meeting, a redesignated Mirage 2000 was offered to the AdA, and three prototypes were ordered. The AdA in March 1976 issued a set of official requirements whose parameters matched those of Dassault's performance estimates of the new fighter. The aircraft's primary role was interception with a secondary ground-attack capability; the AdA had a commitment for 200 aircraft. The first aircraft was to be delivered in 1982. This was a return to the first-generation Mirages, but with several important innovations that tried to solve their shortcomings.

Production
The production of the Mirage 2000 involved three construction sites, two located in Bordeaux that specialised in different components. The wings were built at Martignas, and the fuselages were fabricated at Argenteuil (NW of Paris), with final assembly taking place at Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport. The first prototype, Mirage 2000 No. 01, though, was hand built at Saint-Cloud, before being moved to Dassault's Istres facility for assembly. At the hands of Jean Coureau, No. 01 made its first flight on 10 March 1978, a mere 27 months after the programme go-ahead. During the 65-minute flight, Coureau took the aircraft to Mach 1.02 without afterburner, before climbing to more than 12,000 m and accelerating the aircraft to Mach 1.3. By the end of May, the aircraft had surpassed Mach 2 and an indicated airspeed of 1200 km/h. On the other end of the speed spectrum, the Mirage 2000 proved to be a capable of low-speed flight, as demonstrated at the Farnborough Airshow in September 1978, during which Dassault pilot Guy Mitaux-Maurourd raised the aircraft's nose to 25° angle of attack (AoA) as the aircraft slowed to 190 km/h. Later tests showed that the aircraft could attain 30° AoA while carrying fuel tanks and weapons.

The second prototype, No. 02, made its 50-minute first flight in September 1978 at the controls of Maurourd. The aircraft was to test some of the avionics systems and the carriage of weapons. Due to a flame-out while on a landing approach, the aircraft was lost in May 1984. No. 03 made its first flight in April 1979; equipped with a complete weapons system, it was used for radar and weapons trials. After 400 hours of flight, they were sent to Centre d'Essais en Vol, flight tests centre. Although three prototypes were ordered in December 1975, Dassault constructed an additional fourth single-seat demonstrator for its own purposes, which embodied lessons on the earlier aircraft, namely the reduction in fin height and an increased fin sweep, redesigned air inlets, and an FBW system. The only dual-seat Mirage 2000B of the test programme first flew on 11 October 1980.

The first production Mirage 2000C (C for chasseur, "fighter") flew on 20 November 1982. Deliveries to the AdA began in 1983. The first 37 Mirage 2000Cs delivered were fitted with the Thomson-CSF Radar Doppler Multifunction (RDM), and were powered by the SNECMA M53-5 turbofan engine. The 38th Mirage 2000C had an upgraded SNECMA M53-P2 turbofan engine. The Radar Doppler à Impulsion (RDI) built by Thales for the Mirage 2000C entered service in 1987. It has a much improved range of about 150 km, and is linked to Matra Super 530D missiles, which are much improved compared to the older Super 530F. Look-down/shoot-down capabilities are much improved, as well, but this radar is not usually used for air-to-surface roles.

Further development
The Mirage 2000N is a dedicated nuclear-strike variant, which was intended to carry the Air-Sol Moyenne Portée (ASMP) nuclear stand-off missile. Flight tests of the first of two prototypes, Mirage 2000N 01 (the eighth Mirage 2000) began on 3 February 1983. During the 65-minute flight, the aircraft reached a speed of Mach 1.5. The variant entered operational service in 1988, initially operating from Luxeuil Air Base with the 4e Escadre de Chasse. Closely derived from the Mirage 2000N is a dedicated conventional attack variant designated Mirage 2000D. Initial flight of the Mirage 2000D prototype, a modified Mirage 2000N prototype, was on 19 February 1991. The first flight of a production aircraft occurred 31 March 1993, and service introduction followed in April 1995. Seventy-five and eighty-six Mirage 2000Ns and Mirage 2000Ds were manufactured, respectively.

By the late 1980s, the Mirage 2000 was beginning to age compared with the latest models of F-16 fighters. In particular, attention was drawn to the aircraft's inability to engage multiple targets simultaneously, and the small load of air-to-air missiles it could carry. Consequently, Dassault in April 1989 announced that with the cooperation of Thomson-CSF, it would be working on a privately funded update of the Mirage 2000C, which was to be named the Mirage 2000-5. A two-seat Mirage 2000B prototype was extensively modified as the first Mirage 2000-5 prototype, and it first flew on 24 October 1990. A Mirage 2000C prototype was also reworked to a similar standard, making its initial flight on 27 April 1991. The first front-line aircraft variant to have been designed specifically in response to the export market, Taiwan was the first country to order the type in 1992, followed by Qatar in 1994. The type was first delivered in 1996 and entered service in 1997.

Domestically, Dassault needed an order from the AdA to help promote foreign sales, and in 1993, the AdA decided to upgrade 37 of their existing Mirage 2000s to the 2000-5 specification as a stopgap before the arrival of the Rafale in AdA service. The upgraded aircraft were redesignated Mirage 2000-5F, and became operational in 2000. They retained the old countermeasures system with the Serval/Sabre/Spirale units and did not receive the ICMS 2 system. A two-seat version was developed, as well, whose rear seat has a heads-up display, but not an associated head-level display, and lacks a built-in cannon, although cannon pods can be carried.

At the urging of the United Arab Emirates, Dassault worked on a further modification of the Mirage 2000-5. Initially dubbed Mirage 2000-9, this variant had the upgrade of the radar and the associated avionics, the change of weapons configuration, and the extension of range.

The last Mirage 2000 was delivered on 23 November 2007 to the Hellenic Air Force; afterwards, the production line was shut down.

Overview
The aircraft uses retractable tricycle landing gear by Messier-Dowty, with twin nosewheels and a single wheel on each main gear. A runway tailhook or a fairing for a brake parachute can be fitted under the tail, which can operate in conjunction with the landing gear's carbon brakes to shorten landing distances. A removable refueling probe can be attached in front of the cockpit, offset slightly to the right of centre.

The Mirage 2000 is a supersonic combat aircraft of metal construction that shares the general delta-wing layout with the Mirage III, yet incorporates avionics advances that help overcome the latter's aerodynamic limitations. The aircraft's low-set, thin wing has a leading-edge sweep back of 58° and a trailing-edge forward sweep of 3.5°. The flight surfaces on the wings are composed of four elevons and four leading edge slats. A feature of the delta wing is that it offers a comparatively large wing area for a particular design, thereby reducing the wing loading. The wing on a Mirage 2000 has an area of 41 m2, giving it a wing loading of some 77 lb/sq ft at a takeoff weight of 33,000 lb, making it much more manoeuvrable than the F-15 and the similarly sized F-16, which has a wing loading of 110 lb/sq ft. At normal combat load, however, the wing loading reduces to 45 lb/sq ft. One related advantage of the delta-wing design, and especially the Mirage 2000's blending of the wing root and engine, is that it could accommodate more fuel, as the aircraft's internal fuel tanks can carry over 900 gallons of fuel, up more than 200 gallons over the Mirage III. The aircraft's fuselage is of traditional monocoque construction made of almost entirely of metal. The fuselage has been area-ruled to maintain a constant cross-sectional area along with the delta wing to minimise drag.

An airbrake is fitted above and below each wing in an arrangement very similar to that of the Mirage III. A noticeably taller tailfin allows the pilot to retain control at AoAs past 25°, assisted by the small strakes mounted along each air intake. Some composites have been used for the fins, rudder, elevons, and various access panels, giving a weight saving of some 100 kg. The Mirage 2000 has been noted for its superb handling, especially given its delta-wing design.

Dassault engineers have embedded into the design a certain degree of relaxed stability as the centre of gravity, or neutral point, is placed ahead of the centre of pressure, enhancing maneuverability. It incorporates negative stability and fly-by-wire controls with four analog computers. As first demonstrated at the 1978 Farnborough Airshow, such designs, as well as the use of computer-controlled dynamic controls were capable of overcoming the delta-wing shortcomings related to poor low-speed control, while retaining the advantages, such as low drag, low radar cross section, ideal high-speed aerodynamics, and large internal volume, as well as simplicity, provided by the absence of horizontal tail surfaces.

Its aircraft flight control system is fly-by-wire, with two distinct modes of operation. The first allows for unrestricted operations within its full allowed flight envelope, and is used when carrying only air-to-air weapons. The second is used when carrying fuel tanks, air-to-ground munitions, or a mix of both. This second mode functions as a g-limiter, preventing heavier munitions from damaging the pylons that they are mounted on, and preventing them from potentially being pulled off of the pylons by excessive G-force.

Cockpit
The Mirage 2000 is available as a single-seat or twin-seat multirole fighter. The pilot flies the aircraft by means of a centre stick and left-hand throttles, with both incorporating HOTAS controls. The pilot sits on a SEM MB Mk10 zero-zero ejection seat (a license-built version of the British Martin-Baker Mark 10).

The instrument panel (in the Mirage 2000 C) is dominated by a Sextant VE-130 head-up display which presents data relating to flight control, navigation, target engagement, and weapon firing, and a radar screen located centrally below it.

Engines
The SNECMA M53 afterburning turbofan was developed for the ACF, and was available for the Mirage 2000 project. It is a single-shaft engine of modular construction that is relatively light and simple compared to those of the British or American designs. The M53 consists of three low-pressure compressor stages, five high-pressure stages, and two turbine stages. With the development programme consisting of 20 engines, the M53 sans suffix was first bench tested in February 1970, and became airborne on a Caravelle testbed in July 1973. Dassault conducted flight tests of the M53-2 version using its Mirage F1E testbeds starting in December 1974; this version produced 84 kN in afterburner. The Mirage 2000 itself was powered by two versions of the M53—the M53-5, which equipped initial operational aircraft, was rated at 88 kN of thrust with afterburner. The definitive version of the engine, the M53-P2, which equipped the majority of the type, is rated at 65 kN in dry thrust and 95 kN in afterburner.

Payload and armaments
The Mirage 2000 is equipped with built-in twin DEFA 554 autocannon (now GIAT 30–550 F4) 30 mm revolver-type cannons with 125 rounds each. The cannons have selectable fire rates of 1,200 or 1,800 rounds per minute.

Differences between variants
The Mirage 2000-5 is a major advancement over previous variants and embodies a comprehensive electronic, sensor, and cockpit upgrade to expand its combat ability, while reducing pilot workload. The centrepiece of the Mirage 2000-5 overhaul is the Thomson-CSF RDY (radar Doppler multitarget) with look down/shoot down capability. The multifunction radar is capable of air-to-ground, air-to-air, and air-to-sea operations. In the air-to-ground mode, the RDY has navigation and attack functions that give it deep-strike and close-support capabilities. Capable of automatically locking onto multiple targets at first contact, the radar could detect flying targets travelling as low as 200 ft. The introduction of the radar allows the aircraft to use the MICA missile, up to six of which could be fired simultaneously at targets due to the advances within the radar. Despite the increase in offensive capability, pilot workload is compensated for by the introduction of a multidisplay glass cockpit, based on the development of the Rafale. The aircraft has the ICMS Mk2 countermeasures suit, which contains three radar detectors and an infrared sensor that are linked to active jammers and chaff/flare dispensers.
 * Mirage 2000-5

Improvements over the Mirage 2000C included the Thales TV/CT CLDP laser designator pod and the multimode RDY, which allows detection of up to 24 targets and the ability to simultaneously track eight threats while guiding four MICA missiles to different targets. Updates to defensive systems included the ICMS 2 countermeasures suite and the Samir DDM missile warning system. ICMS 2 incorporates a receiver and associated signal processing system in the nose for detecting hostile missile-command data links, and can be interfaced to a new programmable mission-planning and postmission analysis ground system. Avionics were also updated, using a new night vision-compatible glass cockpit layout borrowed from the Dassault Rafale, a dual-linked wide-angle head-up display, and HOTAS controls. The Mirage 2000-5 can also carry the oversized drop tanks developed for the Mirage 2000N, greatly extending its range.

Enhancements to offensive systems included a datalink for the targeting of MICA EM missiles, the addition of the Damocles forward-looking infrared (FLIR) targeting pod, and a newer, more stealthy Thales RDY-2 all-weather synthetic aperture radar with moving target indicator capability, which also grants the aircraft improved air-to-ground capability. The avionics were further updated with higher resolution color displays, an optional Topsight helmet-mounted display, and the addition of the modular data-processing unit designed for the Rafale. A new Thales Totem 3000 inertial navigation system with ring laser gyroscope and GPS capability were added, providing much greater accuracy, higher reliability, and shorter alignment time than the older ULISS 52 navigation system it replaced. Other upgrades included the addition of an on-board oxygen generation system for the pilot and an ICMS 3 digital countermeasures suite.
 * Mirage 2000-5 Mk 2

France

The first aircraft entered service in July 1984. The first operational squadron was formed during the same year, the 50th anniversary of the French Air Force. About 124 Mirage 2000Cs were obtained by the AdA.

French Mirage 2000s were used during the Gulf War, where they flew high-altitude air defence for USAF U-2 spy aircraft, as well as in UN and NATO air operations during the Bosnian War and the Kosovo War. During Operation Deliberate Force, on 30 August 1995, one Mirage 2000D was shot down over Bosnia by a 9K38 Igla shoulder-launched missile fired by air defence units of the Army of Republika Srpska, prompting efforts to obtain improved defensive systems. Both crew members were captured and later released through mediation with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

French Mirage 2000Ds later served with the International Security Assistance Force during the conflict in Afghanistan in 2001–2002, operating in close conjunction with international forces and performing precision attacks with laser-guided bombs. In the summer of 2007, after the Dassault Rafale fighters had been removed from the theater of operations, three French Mirage 2000s were deployed to Afghanistan in support of NATO troops.

The Mirage 2000 is being replaced in French service by the Dassault Rafale, which became operational with the French Air Force in June 2006.

French Mirage 2000s were committed to enforcing the no-fly zone in Libya as part of Opération Harmattan in 2011.

On 14 April 2018, four French Mirage 2000-5Fs participated in a joint military operation against the Syrian government with the UK and U.S. during the Syrian Civil War.

On 9 March 2024, two French Mirage 2000-5Fs participated in the downing of two Houthi drones over the Red Sea in support of Operation Prosperity Guardian marking the first French aerial victories since World War II. On 6 June 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron announced France would provide Mirage 2000 jets and training to Ukraine to counter increased Russian aggression in Kharkiv region.

India
In 1980, the Indian Air Force (IAF) learned of a successful approach by Pakistan to the US that year to purchase F-16A/B fighters, delivery of which was to commence in 1982. By late 1980, the IAF had quickly convinced the Indian government to purchase an equally potent aircraft, as its MiG-21s and MiG-23s were inferior to the F-16. When evaluating the Mirage F1 earlier, it became aware of a high-performance prototype of the Mirage 2000 in the flight-testing phase. No other aircraft of this potential was being offered for export. An internal assessment of the Mirage 2000 was carried out and the Indian government felt that the French plane was more advanced and a superior response to the F-16s that the US was to supply to Pakistan, and approached France for 150 Mirage 2000s. In October 1982, the country placed an order with Dassault for 36 single-seat Mirage 2000Hs and four twin-seat Mirage 2000THs (with H standing for "Hindustan") with the possibility of a follow-on purchase of nine aircraft (eight single- and one twin-seater aircraft) as war, maintenance and attrition reserve. The purchase of 150 aircraft, could well have paved the way for joint production with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, but the number of aircraft ordered (40+9) was too small for such an arrangement. India nevertheless had the option to produce a number of Mirage 2000s under license that was later scrapped due to the country's close relationship with the Soviet Union. This led to the induction of the MiG-29 instead, overriding reservations expressed by the IAF.

With the delivery of the first seven aircraft on 29 June 1985 to No. 7 Squadron, the Battleaxes, the Indian Air Force (IAF) became the first foreign user of the type, which it renamed the Vajra (वज्र, for Lightning, Thunderbolt). The service's early aircraft were powered by Snecma M53-5 engines (so were designated Mirage 2000H5 and Mirage 2000TH5), which were quickly replaced by more powerful M53-P2 engines. The second unit to convert to the type was No. 1 Squadron (the Tigers), which was formally designated a Mirage 2000 unit in January 1986. Within 12 months of the first delivery, the IAF had received all 40 aircraft ordered. The follow-on order for nine aircraft was signed in 1986. Five aircraft were delivered by 1990, two more in 1992, and the last two aircraft were delivered in 1994. As such, full unit establishment was not achieved until 1990.

The Mirage 2000 fleet encountered other issues during its first decade of service, which were largely operational and maintenance-based. In 1995, the Indian government's comptroller and auditor general reported delays in the construction of overhaul facilities and a shortage of spare parts, which had led to the fleet being unable to meet its required flying hours. India also purchased ATLIS II pods and several Matra Bombe Guidée Laser (BGL) Arcole 1,000 kg laser-guided penetrating bombs for the Mirage. The ATLIS II pods have an inherent limitation in that they are unusable at high altitudes. In its place, the IAF has bought a number of the cheaper US Paveway II laser-guided bomb kits for use with the Israeli Litening laser designator pods (LDPs), but certain parts of the Paveway kit were not available, as they were under US embargo. The aircraft were heavily modified in a short time frame to drop laser-guided bombs as well as conventional unguided bombs. Due to a lack of enemy air action, aircrew quickly became highly proficient in dropping dumb bombs. IAF Mirage 2000s have reportedly only used the Paveway LGB on eight occasions, mainly for the destruction of enemy command bunkers.

In 1999, when the Kargil War broke out, the IAF was asked to act jointly with ground troops on 25 May. The code name assigned to their role was Operation Safed Sagar and the Mirage 2000 flew its first sortie on 30 May. This multi-role aircraft, the most advanced in the IAF, performed remarkably well during the whole conflict in the high Himalayas, and was considered the game changer in the two-month war. During Operation Safed Sagar from May to July 1999, the two Mirage squadrons flew a total of 514 sorties with only three drop outs. No. 1 Squadron flew 274 air defence and strike escort missions, while No. 7 Squadron conducted 240 strike missions during which it dropped 55000 kg of ordnance.

During the 2001–02 India–Pakistan standoff, IAF Mirage 2000s were used to destroy Pakistani bunkers with precision-guided bombs.

The morale-boosting service of the Mirage 2000 in 1999 prompted the IAF to consider the acquisition of a further 126 aircraft. Instead, the Mirage 2000-5 became a contender for the IAF's Indian MRCA competition in competition with the Mikoyan MiG-35, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and JAS 39 Gripen. In 2004, the Indian government approved purchase of 10 Mirage 2000Hs, featuring improved avionics, particularly an upgraded RDM 7 radar; they were delivered in 2007 for a total of 50 aircraft. Dassault replaced the Mirage 2000 with the newer Rafale as its contender due to the impending closure of the Mirage 2000 production line.

As India placed its third Mirage 2000 order, the government announced its intention to upgrade the existing fleet, as well. A period of protracted negotiations followed for the next several years, during which India and Dassault came close to signing a contract several times.

In July 2011, India approved a $2.2 billion upgrade package for its Mirage 2000s. Valued at $43 million per aircraft, it upgrades the fleet to Mirage 2000-5 Mk. 2 standards, with provisions made for the use of a night vision-capable glass cockpit, upgraded navigation and IFF systems, an advanced multimode multilayered radar, and a fully integrated electronic warfare suite, among other updates. In addition, the inventory of Super 530D and R.550 Magic II missiles would be replaced by MICAs, an order for which was placed in 2012. The first of the two IAF Mirages sent to France to be upgraded made its first flight in October 2013, marking the start of a test campaign that would encompass 250 flights, culminating in the handover of the first aircraft in March 2015. The single-seat version was redesignated Mirage 2000I and the twin-seat version Mirage 2000TI.

On 26 February 2019, 12 Mirage 2000s were used to strike an alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Balakot, Pakistan. This engagement was the first time since the 1971 war that IAF fighters had entered Pakistani airspace. All aircraft were armed with one Israeli Spice 2000 (one-tonne) bomb.

The next day, IAF Mirage 2000Is, Su-30MKIs, and MiG-21s were used against Pakistan Air Force JF-17s, Mirage IIIs, and F-16s, whose aim was to target Indian Army ammunition dumps and other infrastructure near Srinagar, Poonch and Jammu area, according to Indian government officials. However, Pakistani officials say that air strikes in India by Pakistan Air Force jets were meant to demonstrate Pakistan's capability and Pakistani jets were ordered to drop their bombs in open space to avoid any human or collateral damage. This led to a dogfight and a confirmed shootdown of an IAF MiG-21. Pakistan also claims that an additional IAF Su-30MKI was also shot down in this dogfight. However, India denies the loss of any of its Su-30MKIs and instead claims that a PAF F-16 was shot down in the dogfight by its Mig-21. Pakistan also denies the loss of any of its F-16 in the battle. The only confirmed losses of the engagement were that of the MiG-21 and an IAF Mil Mi-17 helicopter shot down by friendly fire.

During the 2020 China-India standoff, India deployed Mirage 2000Is along the line of actual control, particularly after the Galwan Valley skirmish near Pangong Tso in the Ladakh region.

In September 2021, France agreed to sell some of its retired Mirage 2000 airframes to India, at a price of €1 million per plane. Out of the 24 fighters to be bought, 13 are in complete condition with intact engines and airframes, and eight of these shall fly after servicing. The remaining 11 fighters are partially complete but with fuel tanks and ejection seats, which will be scavenged to secure parts for the IAF's two existing Mirage squadrons.

Peru
In December 1982, Peru placed an $800 million order for 14 single-seat Mirage 2000Ps and two two-seat Mirage 2000DP trainers, with an option for eight and two more aircraft, respectively. Although the contract was signed in 1985, the Peruvian government, due to the country's financial issues, renegotiated the number of aircraft to be reduced to 10 single-seaters and two two-seaters. Handover of the first aircraft occurred in June 1985, although the first deliveries to Peru were not made until December 1986, after the initial training of pilots in France had been completed.

The Peruvian Air Force ordered a set of munitions similar to that ordered by Egypt, along with ATLIS II targeting pods. The Peruvian Mirages flew combat air patrol missions in 1995 during the Cenepa War.

Peru's Mirage 2000s underwent an inspection and partial electronic modernisation programme following a $140 million deal in 2009 that involved Dassault, Snecma, and Thales. The aircraft are expected to be retired by 2025.

United Arab Emirates
In May 1983, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) placed an order for 36 Mirage 2000 aircraft. The order consisted of 22 single-seat Mirage 2000AED, eight unique single-seat reconnaissance variants designated Mirage 2000RAD, and six Mirage 2000DAD trainers, which collectively are known as SAD-8 (Standard Abu Dhabi). The order specified an Italian-made defensive avionics suite that delayed delivery of the first of these aircraft until 1989.

In November 1998, the UAE signed a $3.2 billion contract that consisted of an order for 30 Mirage 2000-9s, as well as the deal to upgrade 33 of the surviving SAD-8 aircraft up the new standard. The contract was later amended so it would encompass 32 new-built aircraft—20 single-seater Mirage 2000-9s and 12 two-seater 2000-9Ds—and 30 upgrade kits for original aircraft. The aircraft were equipped with a classified countermeasures system designated IMEWS. Although deliveries were scheduled for 2001, the first aircraft arrived in the spring of 2003.

The UAE's Mirage 2000-9s are equipped for the strike mission, with the Shehab laser targeting pod (a variant of the Damocles) and the Nahar navigation pod, complementing the air-to-ground modes of the RDY-2 radar. They are also equipped with a classified countermeasures system designated IMEWS, which is comparable to the ICMS 3. Emirati Mirage 2000s are armed with weapons such as the PGM 500 guided bomb and the "Black Shaheen" cruise missile, which is basically a variant of the MBDA Apache cruise missile. All 30 survivors of this first batch have been extensively refurbished and upgraded, bringing them to the same standard as the Mirage 2000-9.

UAE Mirage 2000s flew in the Gulf War of 1991, but had little action. Six Mirage 2000s were to participate in the enforcement of the no-fly zone over Libya.

As part of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen on 14 March 2016, a United Arab Emirates Mirage 2000-9D crashed in the southern Yemeni city of Aden during a combat operation in the early morning hours, killing its two pilots. The Arab coalition claims the Mirage crashed due to a technical fault. Other sources reported that the Mirage 2000-9D was shot down by Yemeni Al-Qaeda militants using a Strela-2 MANPADS while flying low.

On 2 July 2019, during the 2019–20 Western Libya campaign, an airstrike hit the Tajoura Detention Center outside Tripoli, Libya, which was being used as a holding facility for migrants and refugees trying to reach Europe, was struck from the air. A storage hangar being used as a residential facility was destroyed by the attack, killing at least 53 people and wounding 130. The Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) initially claimed that the airstrike was conducted by the Libyan National Army (LNA), but later attributed the attack to a UAE aircraft. A January 2020 report by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated that the strike was likely to have been carried out with a guided bomb fired from a non-Libyan aircraft, again suggesting that a foreign Mirage 2000 had been used.

Greece

In July 1985, Greece signed a contract for 40 Mirage 2000s comprising 36 single-seat aircraft and 4 two-seat trainers. The order came as part of a larger defence acquisition programme that saw the country, for political reasons, proceed with an order for the F-16. The $1.38 billion Mirage contract also consisted of weapons and equipment, as well as industrial offsets that permitted HAI to produce the M53-P2 engines. The first aircraft were delivered in June 1988 and the last, by the end of 1989. They featured an "ICMS Mk. 1" defensive countermeasures suite (DCS), an updated version of the standard Mirage 2000C DCS, characterised by two small antennas near the top of the tailfin. Initially armed with R.550 Matra Magic-2 missiles. During the "Talos" modernisation project of the 1990s, carried out by Hellenic Aerospace Industry and supervised by Dassault and Thompson-CSF, the aircraft received: a vastly improved RDM-3 radar set; the ICMS 1 DCS; the ability to carry the Super-530D medium-range missile and the AM39 Exocet Block II anti-ship missile. After "Talos", the aircraft were renamed Mirage-2000EGM/BGM.

In August 2000, Greece placed a $1.1 billion order for a batch of 15 new Mirage 2000-5 Mk. 2 fighters, and had 10 existing Mirage 2000EGMs upgraded to Mirage 2000-5 Mk. 2 standard. The upgrade meant the addition of the RDY-2 radar and ICMS-3 DCS, and the ability to deploy SCALP cruise missiles and both versions of the MICA instead, an order for which was placed. All Greek machines (Mk 2s and EGMs) feature the TOTEM-3000 INS of the Mk2 instead of the Uliss-52 and have hose-and-drogue aerial refueling capability.

On 8 October 1996, seven months after the escalation of the dispute with Turkey over the Imia/Kardak islands, a Turkish F-16D jet crashed into the Aegean Sea after interception by Greek Mirages. The Turkish pilot died, while the co-pilot ejected and was rescued by Greek forces. In August 2012, after the downing of a RF-4E on the Syrian coast, Turkish Defence Minister İsmet Yılmaz claimed that the Turkish F-16D was shot down in 1996 by a Greek Mirage 2000 with an R.550 Magic II near Chios island. Greece denies that the F-16 was shot down. Both Mirage 2000 pilots reported that the F-16 caught fire and that they saw one parachute.

On 12 April 2018, a Greek Mirage 2000-5, part of a two-ship formation, crashed into the Aegean Sea north of the Skyros air base after being scrambled to intercept two Turkish F-16s that were in the disputed airspace. When the Mirage pair arrived in the area, the Turkish jets had already left. The Greek pilot died in the crash, which was attributed to Saharan dust in the air; both Mirage pilots were flying low in poor visibility.

Taiwan
In response to mainland China's purchase of the Su-27, the Republic of China (Taiwan) began talks with the US and France about the possible purchase of new fighters. While the US opposed Taiwan's acquisition of the Mirage 2000 and instead pressured it to procure the F-16, the Republic of China Air Force became the first customer for the Mirage 2000-5 in November 1992. The order for 48 single-seat Mirage 2000-5EIs and 12 Mirage 2000-5DI trainers was condemned by China. The order also included 480 Magic short-range air-to-air missiles, 960 MICA intermediate-range air-to-air missiles, auxiliary fuel tanks, ground support equipment, and monitoring equipment; total costs amounted to US$4.9 billion, of which $2.6 billion was for the aircraft. The MICA missile provides the Mirage with a degree of BVR capability needed for its role as front-line interceptor. In addition, a set of ASTAC electronic intelligence (ELINT) pods was ordered. A number of centerline twin gun pods with DEFA 554 cannons were also acquired and fitted on the two-seaters, as they do not have an internal gun armament.

Taiwanese Mirage 2000s were delivered from May 1997 to November 1998, and are based at Hsinchu AB. The RoCAF's Mirages have suffered from low operational readiness and high maintenance costs; the harsh environment and high operational tempo have caused higher than expected wear and tear. After cracks were detected in the blades of the aircraft's engines in 2009, Dassault worked with Taiwanese authorities to successfully rectify the issue and provided compensation for the engine damage. By the following year, normal training hours of 15 per month had resumed and the fleet's operational readiness had been restored, after having reportedly dropped to 6 hours per month because of the engine troubles. In addition, there were considerations of mothballing the entire Mirage fleet because of its high maintenance costs. Although the aircraft's maintenance costs more than that of the AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo and the Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcon, the fleet was reportedly still being maintained adequately because of its popularity. Yet plans to upgrade the fleet have not been carried out, as costs for doing so in France would be very high.

Qatar
In 1994, Qatar became the second export customer for the Mirage 2000-5 as it ordered twelve aircraft to replace its Mirage F1EDAs. Designated Mirage 2000-5DAs, the aircraft ordered consisted of nine single-seaters (5EDA) and three two-seaters (5DDA), and the first delivery was made in September 1997. Qatar also purchased the MICA missile and the Apache stand-off cruise missile. The aircraft would be used sparingly, and by the mid-2000s, under pressure from the US to dispose of the aircraft and with most of the aircraft's operational life still intact, Qatar offered to sell the aircraft to Pakistan and later India. Such a deal would not materialise.

In March 2011, Mirage 2000s were deployed to an airbase on the Greek island of Crete as part of Qatar's commitment to assist in the NATO-enforced no-fly zone over Libya. The aircraft would soon jointly enforce the no-fly zone along with French Mirage 2000-5 aircraft.

Brazil
Dassault participated in a competition to replace the Brazilian Air Force's aging Mirage IIIEBR/DBRs with a Brazilian-specific version of the Mirage 2000-9 that would have been developed in collaboration with Embraer designated Mirage 2000BR. However, due to Brazilian fiscal problems, the competition dragged on for years until it was suspended in February 2005. Instead, Brazil in July 2005 purchased 12 ex-French Air Force Mirage 2000 aircraft (ten "C" and two "B" versions), designated F-2000, for $72 million. Deliveries began in September 2006 and concluded on 27 August 2008 with the delivery of the last 2 aircraft. According to Journal of Electronic Defense, the figure was $200 million, which consisted of a significant number of Magic 2 air-to-air missiles, and the AdA would provide full conversion training in France and full logistical support. The ten single-seat fighters and two twin-seat combat-trainers were drawn from operational squadrons Escadron de Chasse 1/5 and 2/5, based at Orange AB, respectively. The first delivery was made September 2006 to 1º Grupo de Defesa Aérea (1º GDA – 1st Air Defence Group) based at Annapolis. They were primarily used in the air-defence role and were equipped with Matra Super 530D and Matra Magic 2. Brazil officially retired its fleet in December 2013, just before the maintenance contract with Dassault concluded.

Cancelled plans
Indonesia has considered in acquiring used Mirage 2000s for the Indonesian Air Force. 12 Mirage 2000-5s from Qatar is reportedly chosen by Indonesia. In November 2022, the Ministry of Finance of Indonesia approved foreign loans to fund several Indonesian Air Force procurement programs, including the ex-Qatari Mirage 2000s proposal. In June 2023, an Indonesian Ministry of Defence official confirmed a contract was signed with Czech company Excalibur International, acting as the provider for the aircraft, earlier this year to procure Qatar's fleet of Mirage 2000 aircraft. In January 2024, the Indonesian Ministry of Defense reported that the deal is temporarily put on hold. On 9 February 2024, spokesperson for the Minister of Defence confirmed the plan to acquire Mirages have been cancelled.

Ukraine
Following the Russian Invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukraine had expressed interest in the Mirage 2000, and it was reported in March 2023 that France has been training Ukrainian pilots on this aircraft in anticipation that some may be sent to Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron announced during a televised interview on 6 June 2024 that an unspecified number of Mirage 2000-5s are to be delivered to Ukraine.

Mirage 2000C
Upgrades include the addition of the Non-Cooperative Target Recognition (NCTR) mode to the RDI Radar to allow identification of airborne targets not responding on identification friend or foe (IFF), and the ability to carry air-to-ground stores such as rocket pods, iron bombs and cluster bombs. Some variants, especially those equipped with the RDM radar (mainly used in export models) have the capability to use the Exocet anti-ship missile.

Mirage 2000B
The Mirage 2000B is a two-seat operational conversion trainer variant which first flew on 11 October 1980. The French Air Force acquired 30 Mirage 2000Bs, and all three AdA fighter wings each obtained several of them for conversion training.

Mirage 2000N
The Mirage 2000N is the nuclear strike variant which was intended to carry the Air-Sol Moyenne Portée nuclear stand-off missile. The variant was retired on 21 June 2018.

Mirage 2000D
The Mirage 2000D is a dedicated conventional attack variant developed from the Mirage 2000N.

Mirage 2000D Rénovation Mi-Vie (Mid-Life Upgrade). It updates the avionics, integrates a CC422 gun pod, the GBU-48, and the GBU-50, along with allowing use of MICA missiles in the place of Magic missiles.
 * Mirage 2000D RMV

Mirage 2000-5F
First major upgrade over the Mirage 2000C. Replaces most cockpit displays with several large multi-function displays, and upgrading the stores-to-aircraft interface for the use of targeting pods and a wide variety of guided air-to-air weapons, as well as a radar upgrade to provide guidance information for MICA missiles.

The improved "Mk 2" variant of the Mirage 2000-5 features the more advanced RDY-2 Radar (replacing the RDM Radar), the new multi-data processing unit (MDPU) replacing the old MC1 & MC2 Main-Computers and a new TOTEM 3000 INS using lasers (instead of the mechanical ULISS 52 INS). The mainly analog Cockpits were replaced by more modern "glass Cockpits". Another upgrade (at least the Hellenic Air Force's) M2000-5 Mk2 received is a new ICMS "advanced type MK3" System.
 * Mirage 2000-5 Mk 2

Mirage 2000E
"Mirage 2000E" was a blanket designation for a series of export variants of the Mirage 2000. These aircraft were fitted with the M53-P2 engine and an enhanced "RDM+" radar, and all can carry the day-only ATLIS II laser targeting pod.

The Mirage 2000M is the version purchased by Egypt. Two-seat Mirage 2000BM trainers were also ordered.
 * Mirage 2000EM

Designation of two-seat trainers and single-seat fighters for India. Indian Mirage 2000s have been integrated to carry the Russian R-73AE Archer missile as of 2007. The Mirage 2000TH is a twin-seat trainer version.
 * Mirage 2000H, 2000TH

It is an Indian specific version single/twin-seater fighter for the Indian Air Force similar to Mirage 2000-5 Mk2 equipped with Indian French and Israeli avionics and weapon packages. Its contract was signed in 2011 and first upgraded aircraft was delivered in 2015. Dassault aviation will upgrade initial few planes Mirage 2000H, 2000TH to 2000I, 2000TI later by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
 * Mirage 2000I, 2000TI

Peru placed an order for 10 single-seat Mirage 2000Ps and 2 Mirage 2000DP trainers.
 * Mirage 2000P

Of the 60 Mirage 2000s Taiwan ordered in 1992, the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) would receive 48 single-seat Mirage 2000-5EI interceptors and 12 Mirage 2000-5DI trainers. This version of Mirage 2000-5 had the mid-air refuel ability as well as its ground attack ability deleted.
 * Mirage 2000-5EI

In 1994, Qatar ordered nine single-seat Mirage 2000-5EDAs and three Mirage 2000-5DDA trainers, with initial deliveries starting in late 1997.
 * Mirage 2000-5EDA

In 1983, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) purchased 22 single-seat Mirage 2000EADs, 8 unique single-seat Mirage 2000RAD reconnaissance variants, and 6 Mirage 2000DAD trainers, for a total order of 36 aircraft.
 * Mirage 2000EAD/RAD

The Mirage 2000RAD reconnaissance variant does not have any built-in cameras or sensors, and the aircraft can still be operated in air combat or strike roles. The reconnaissance systems are implemented in pods produced by Thales and Dassault. The UAE is the only nation operating such a specialised reconnaissance variant of the Mirage 2000 at this time.

In March 1985, Greece ordered 30 single-seat Mirage 2000EGs and 10 Mirage 2000BG two-seat trainers, equipped with RDM radars and M53P2 engines, mainly for interception/air defence roles, although the ability to use air-to-ground armaments was retained. After the Talos modernisation project, during which variant aircraft received updated sensors and avionics, as well as new anti-ship and air-to-air weapons, and were redesignated Mirage 2000EGM.
 * Mirage 2000EG

A variant of the Mirage 2000-9 for Brazil that did not materialise.
 * Mirage 2000BR

Mirage 2000-9 is the export variant of Mirage 2000-5 Mk.2. The UAE was the launch customer, ordering 32 new-build aircraft, comprising 20 Mirage 2000-9 single-seaters and 12 Mirage 2000-9D two-seaters. A further 30 of Abu Dhabi's older Mirage 2000s will also be upgraded to Mirage 2000-9 standard.
 * Mirage 2000-9

Current operators
As per World Air Forces 2024, the following nations operate the Mirage 2000 as of 01 December 2023:

 * 🇪🇬 Egypt
 * Egyptian Air Force: The Egyptian Air Force operates 19 Mirage 2000s. This comprises 15 Mirage 2000EM fighters and 4 Mirage 2000BM trainers.
 * 🇫🇷 France
 * French Air and Space Force: The French Air Force operates 97 Mirage 2000s. This force comprises 65 Mirage 2000D fighters, 26 Mirage 2000-5F fighters, and 6 Mirage 2000B-S5 trainers.
 * Procor: The private military firm operates up to 9 Mirage 2000s, comprising 8 Mirage 2000C and 1 Mirage 2000B aircraft. These were purchased in 2019 from Brazil, and are used as aggressor aircraft.
 * 🇬🇷 Greece
 * Hellenic Air Force: The Hellenic Air Force operates 29 Mirage 2000s, which is made up by 5 Mirage 2000EG and 24 Mirage 2000-5/Mk II fighters. Some of these are also used for training. 18 may be sold to India.
 * 🇮🇳 India
 * Indian Air Force: The Indian Air Force operates 55 Mirage 2000s. This force comprises 44 Mirage 2000H/I fighters and 11 Mirage 2000TH/TI trainers. India is currently upgrading all Mirage 2000H and 2000TH aircraft to 2000I and 2000TI standard respectively.
 * 🇵🇪 Peru
 * Peruvian Air Force: The Peruvian Air Force operates 12 Mirage 2000s, comprising 10 Mirage 2000P fighters and 2 Mirage 2000DP trainers.
 * 🇹🇼 Taiwan
 * Republic of China Air Force: The Republic of China Air Force operates 54 Mirage 2000s. This force comprises 45 Mirage 2000-5EI fighters and 9 Mirage 2000-5DI trainers.
 * 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
 * United Arab Emirates Air Force: The UAE Air Force operates 59 Mirage 2000s, consisting of 44 Mirage 2000-9/EAD/RAD fighters and 15 Mirage 2000-9DAD trainers.

Former operators

 * 🇧🇷 Brazil
 * Brazilian Air Force: The Brazilian Air Force had 11 or 12 Mirage 2000s, consisting of 9 or 10 Mirage 2000C fighters and 2 Mirage 2000B trainers. These were second hand aircraft purchased from France in 2005. These aircraft were retired in December 2013, and were replaced with Saab JAS 39 Gripen aircraft. Subsequently, in 2019, Brazil sold 9 Mirage 2000s (8 Mirage 2000C and 1 Mirage 2000B) to the French company Procor, which uses them as aggressor aircraft for training.
 * 🇶🇦 Qatar
 * Qatari Emiri Air Force: The Qatari Emiri Air Force previously operated 12 Mirage 2000s, comprising 9 Mirage 2000-5EDA fighters and 3 Mirage 2000-5DDA trainers.

Future operators

 * 🇺🇦 Ukraine
 * Ukrainian Air Force: Mirage 2000-5 to be donated by France.

Cancelled operators

 * 🇮🇩 Indonesia
 * Indonesian Air Force: The Indonesian Air Force purchased the 12 Mirage 2000s (9 Mirage 2000-5EDA fighters and 3 Mirage 2000-5DDA trainers) that were retired by Qatar. The purchase was conducted in January 2023 with Indonesia set to receive the 12 aircraft in 2025. The purchase was criticised as being a stop-gap measure, especially when Indonesia has 42 Dassault Rafales on order. In January 2024, Indonesia postponed the acquisition of Mirage 2000 due to limited fiscal capacity. On 9 February 2024, a spokesperson for the Minister of Defence confirmed the plan to acquire Mirages has been cancelled.

title: Dassault Mirage 2000


text:
Walsingham

Walsingham is a civil parish in North Norfolk, England, famous for its religious shrines in honour of Mary, mother of Jesus. It also contains the ruins of two medieval monastic houses. Walsingham is 27 mi northwest of Norwich.

The civil parish includes Little Walsingham and Great Walsingham, together with Egmere (a depopulated medieval village at ), and has an area of 18.98 km2. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 819.

Walsingham is a major centre of pilgrimage. In 1061, according to the Walsingham legend, an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman, Richeldis de Faverches, had a vision of the Virgin Mary in which she was instructed to build a replica of the house of the Holy Family in Nazareth in honour of the Annunciation. When it was built, the Holy House in Walsingham was panelled with wood and contained a wooden statue of an enthroned Virgin Mary with the child Jesus seated on her lap. Among its relics was a phial reputedly of the Virgin's milk. Walsingham became one of northern Europe's great places of pilgrimage and remained so through the remainder of the Middle Ages, with a revival in the 20th century.

Name
The village's name means 'Homestead/village of Wæls' people/the Wælsings', a family known in Old Norse as the Vǫlsungar.

Priory
A priory of Canons Regular was established on the site in 1153, a few miles from the sea in the northern part of Norfolk and it grew in importance over the following centuries. Founded in the time of Edward the Confessor, the Chapel of Our Lady of Walsingham was confirmed to the Augustinian Canons a century later and enclosed within the priory. From the first, the shrine was a famous place of pilgrimage and the faithful came from all parts of England and the Continent until the destruction of the priory under King Henry VIII in 1538. To this day the main road of the pilgrims through Newmarket, Brandon and Fakenham is still called the Palmers' (Pilgrims') Way.

Many gifts of lands, rents and churches were given to the canons of Walsingham and many miracles were sought and claimed at the shrine. Several English kings visited the shrine, including Henry III (1231 or 1241), Edward I (1289 and 1296), Edward II in 1315, Edward III in 1361, Henry VI in 1455, Henry VII in 1487 and finally Henry VIII, who was later responsible for its destruction when the shrine and abbey perished in the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Erasmus, in fulfilment of a vow, made a pilgrimage from Cambridge in 1511 and left as his offering a set of Greek verses expressive of his piety. Thirteen years later he wrote his colloquy on pilgrimages, wherein the wealth and magnificence of Walsingham are set forth and some of the reputed miracles rationalised. Henry VIII's first two wives – Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn – made pilgrimages to the shrine.

In 1537 while the last Prior, Richard Vowell, was paying obsequious respect to Thomas Cromwell, the Sub-Prior, Nicholas Mileham, was charged with conspiring to rebel against the suppression of the lesser monasteries and, on flimsy evidence, was convicted of high treason and hanged outside the Priory walls. Eleven people in all, including two lay choristers who had been instrumental in organising the revolt were hanged, drawn and quartered. What they feared would happen came the following year. In the July Prior Vowell assented to the destruction of Walsingham Priory and assisted the king's commissioners in the removal of the figure of Our Lady and many of the gold and silver ornaments and in the general spoliation of the shrine. For his ready compliance the Prior received a pension of 100 pounds a year, a large sum in those days, while 15 of the canons received pensions varying from four to six pounds. With the shrine dismantled and the priory destroyed, the site was sold by order of Henry VIII to Thomas Sidney for 90 pounds and a private mansion was subsequently erected on the spot. Gold and silver from the shrine was taken to London along with the statue of Mary and Jesus which was later burnt.

The fall of the monastery gave rise to the anonymous Elizabethan ballad, The Walsingham Lament, on what the Norfolk people felt at the loss of their Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. The ballad includes the lines:

 * Weep, weep, O Walsingham,
 * Whose days are nights,
 * Blessings turned to blasphemies,
 * Holy deeds to despites.

 * Sin is where our Ladye sat,
 * Heaven turned is to hell;
 * Satan sits where Our Lord did sway,
 * Walsingham, O farewell!

20th century revival
By a rescript of 6 February 1897, Pope Leo XIII blessed a new statue for the restored ancient sanctuary of Our Lady of Walsingham. This was sent from Rome and placed in the Holy House Chapel at the newly built Roman Catholic parish church of King's Lynn (the village of Walsingham was within the parish) on 19 August 1897 and on the following day the first post-Reformation pilgrimage took place to the Slipper Chapel at Walsingham, which was purchased by Charlotte Boyd(e) in 1895 and restored for Catholic use. Hundreds of Catholics attended the pilgrimage and committed themselves to an annual pilgrimage (from 1897 to 1934 on Whitsun) to commemorate this event. The Guild of Our Lady of Ransom were instrumental in the revival of the Walsingham pilgrimage, as the Guild's leader Father Fletcher had experience of organising large-scale pilgrimages of this kind all over England and Wales. Archives are kept at King's Lynn and Walsingham.

In 1900, a caretaker was placed in the Priest's House at the Slipper Chapel (said to have been built in 1338); to facilitate its use by Catholic pilgrims, under the custody of the monks at Downside Abbey. Both Father Wrigglesworth (the Catholic parish priest of King's Lynn and Walsingham) and Father Fletcher (Founder and Master of the Guild of Ransom) laid the foundations and left others to declare the Catholic National Shrine at the Slipper Chapel on 19 August 1934 with over 10,000 pilgrims present. Attempts to purchase the abbey site were unsuccessful (even though one of the Lee-Warners became a Catholic in 1899); however in 1961 the site of the original Holy House within the priory ruins was excavated by members of the Royal Archaeological Institute.

As a result of the initiative of the Anglican vicar of Walsingham (from 1921), Father Alfred Hope Patten, an Anglican Marian shrine has been established in Walsingham. First established in the parish church of St Mary and All Saints in 1922, the image of Our Lady was translated to a purpose-built building in 1931 and pilgrimages are now held through the summer months.

The Anglican National Pilgrimage takes place on the Late Spring Bank Holiday (the last Monday in May) and is regularly met by Protestant picket lines. The Student Cross pilgrimage on Good Friday visits both the Anglican and Catholic shrines and the National Youth Pilgrimage is in the first week of August, also visiting the Anglican shrine.

The Catholic shrine continues to be based at the Slipper Chapel, near the hamlet of Houghton St Giles. Many significant occasions have been celebrated here, including the Pilgrimage of Catholic Youth (1938), the Cross Carrying Pilgrimages (since 1948), and the Crowning of Our Lady (Marian year 1954 and 1988). On 22 May 1982, the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham was taken to Pope John Paul II at the Wembley Mass and given a place of honour during his British visit. In 2000, a new Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham was approved by the hierarchy, to be celebrated in England and Wales on 24 September.

Ecumenical opportunities have been seen in Walsingham, and there is an interaction between the two shrines. In the Anglican shrine there has long-been established a small Orthodox chapel. The Orthodox have furthered their presence at the Church of the Holy Transfiguration, formerly the Methodist chapel at Great Walsingham, and also at the former Walsingham railway station which has been converted into the church of St Seraphim.

Little Sisters of Jesus have a community of sisters in Little Walsingham since the late 1960s. There is currently also a community of Carmelites in the village.

Shrine

 * Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham (Church of England)
 * The Chantry Chapel of Saint Michael and the Holy Souls (Guild of All Souls)
 * Chapel of the Life-Giving Spring of the Mother of God (Russian Orthodox)

Churches

 * St Mary and All Saints (Church of England parish church)
 * Church of the Annunciation (Roman Catholic parish church)
 * Walsingham Methodist Chapel
 * St Seraphim (Russian Orthodox church)

Monastic ruins

 * Walsingham Priory (St Mary's Priory, or ...Abbey) Augustinian (Canons Regular) - open to the public (fee)
 * St Mary's Friary (Franciscan; the 'Greyfriars')

Churches

 * St Peter (Church of England parish church)
 * The Holy Transfiguration (Russian Orthodox parish church)
 * The Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation (Roman Catholic parish church)

Church ruin

 * All Saints and St Mary (former parish church)

Shrine

 * Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham (the "Slipper Chapel") (Roman Catholic National Shrine)
 * Chapel of Reconciliation (Roman Catholic)

Church

 * St Giles (Church of England parish church)

Church ruin

 * St Edmund (former parish church)

Nearby
4 mi to the northeast is Binham Priory.

Geography
The village is the result of a conjoining of two ancient settlements, Great Walsingham and Little Walsingham.

A 19th century gazetteer describes Little Walsingham as a small town, known simply as Walsingham and which had also been known as New Walsingham, and Great Walsingham as a smaller, separate village which had also been known as Old Walsingham. A market once held on Tuesdays had already become defunct by 1845, whilst the Friday market was already "small" in 1845 and had ceased by 1883.

The River Stiffkey flows through the parish, from south to north, passing to the east of bulk of the village. The centre of Little Walsingham is at an elevation of around 17 m and lies within the Stiffkey valley, with the land rising to the east and west — to the west it rises to around 75 m at Egmere. National Cycle Route 1 passes through the village.

The former North Creake airfield lies within the parish, just north of Egmere, together with the area known as Bunker's Hill, which is a commercial/industrial area following the disuse as an airfield.

Governance
There is a parish council, which meets at the Village Hall. The parish is divided into Great and Little wards, which reflect the two former civil parishes that have merged.

A ward exists, for the purpose of electing a councillor to North Norfolk District Council (one of 40), called Walsingham. The current councillor is Tom FitzPatrick, with the most recent election in 2019.

The ward had a population of 2,167 in 2011. Since 2019 boundary changes, the ward comprises the parishes of Barsham, Great Snoring, Little Snoring, Sculthorpe and Walsingham.

From 1894 to 1974 Walsingham Rural District existed, though the council was based in Fakenham.

The Shirehall on Common Place served as a courtroom until 1974. In present times the building is open as a museum, and belongs to the Walsingham Estate. The village has another museum building: the former House of Correction, or The Bridewell.

Egmere and Quarles were merged into the civil parish of Great Walsingham in 1935, but Quarles then transferred to Holkham in 1947.

In ecclesiastic respects, Walsingham falls within the Church of England diocese of Norwich and the Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia.

Wells and Walsingham Light Railway

Walsingham used to be connected to the national railway network, being on the Wymondham to Wells Branch line, but this was closed during the Beeching Axe in stages from 1964 to 1969.

In 1979 work began on constructing a gauge heritage railway on the old track bed to Wells. The line re-opened in 1982 and now operates with a fleet of steam and diesel scale locomotives.

A new station was constructed in Walsingham. The Walsingham railway station building (with platform still intact and visible) is now Saint Seraphim's Orthodox church.

Public transport
A regular bus service is provided as Walsingham is on the Coastliner bus route (service number 36) with destinations including Fakenham, Wells, Hunstanton and King's Lynn.

Other places named Walsingham

 * Walsingham, Ontario, Canada
 * Walsingham, Canterbury, New Zealand
 * Walsingham and Walsingham Bay in Hamilton, Bermuda
 * Walsingham House School, South Bombay, India.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Walsingham


text:
Anton Burg

Anton Behme Burg (October 18, 1904 – November 18, 2003) was an American chemist. He was chairman of the University of Southern California chemistry department and an expert on boron.

Burg joined USC in 1939 as an assistant professor. He built up USC's chemistry department, making it one of the best chemistry departments in the United States by the 1950s. He recruited Sidney Benson, Jerry Donohue, and Arthur Adamson as faculty. Burg retired in 1974.

During his time with Morris S. Kharasch at the University of Chicago, he worked with Herbert C. Brown, who won a Nobel Prize for his work following up on Burg's research.

Burg was also an accomplished high jumper, and he was the 1927 NCAA outdoor high jump champion.

title: Anton Burg


text:
OODA loop

The OODA loop (observe, orient, decide, act) is a decision-making model developed by military strategist and United States Air Force Colonel John Boyd. He applied the concept to the combat operations process, often at the operational level during military campaigns. It is often applied to understand commercial operations and learning processes. The approach explains how agility can overcome raw power in dealing with human opponents. It is especially applicable to cyber security and cyberwarfare.

The OODA loop has become an important concept in litigation, business, law enforcement, management education, and military strategy. According to Boyd, decision-making occurs in a recurring cycle of "observe, orient, decide, act". An entity (whether an individual or an organization) that can process this cycle quickly, observing and reacting to unfolding events more rapidly than an opponent, can thereby get inside the opponent's decision cycle and gain the advantage.

Dominic Cummings, Chief Advisor to the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, credited the success of the Vote Leave campaign in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum to its faster processing of OODA loops, along with the focus of Vote Leave on disrupting the OODA loops of the opposing Britain Stronger in Europe campaign team.

Some scholars are critical of the concept. Aviation historian Michael Hankins, for example, writes that "the OODA loop is vague enough that its defenders and attackers can each see what they want to see in it. For some, the OODA concept’s flexibility is its strength, but for others it becomes so generalized as to lose its usefulness." He concludes that "The OODA loop is merely one way among a myriad of ways of describing intuitive processes of learning and decision making that most people experience daily. It is not incorrect, but neither is it unique or especially profound."

title: OODA loop


text:
Blockbusters (British game show)

Blockbusters is a British television quiz show based upon an American quiz show of the same name. A solo player and a team of two answer trivia questions, clued up with an initial letter of the answer, to complete a path across or down a game board of hexagons.

The programme premiered on 29 August 1983 on ITV and ran for ten series, ending on 19 May 1993. It has since been revived for four additional series, the most recent of which was a comedy version hosted by Dara Ó Briain, which aired on Comedy Central from 21 March to 5 December 2019.

Background
Blockbusters was created by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions and originated as an American series in 1980. The UK version was created after Central Independent Television producer Graham C. Williams spotted the show in 1981 and produced a pilot in 1982. The difference was that instead of adults, who appeared on the American edition, the UK edition was produced for sixth formers.

Bob Holness was the original presenter staying on for the first ten series of the first incarnation and a 1994 revival on Sky One. Holness commented in 1988: "When Central TV were looking for someone to host Blockbusters I was thought of. It was remembered that I'd done TV programmes of much the same sort, such as Junior Criss Cross Quiz which I compered in the 1960s and which was also a question and answer show. One led to the other." A 1997 edition featuring adults was produced for one series on BBC Two with Michael Aspel presenting. Sky One brought Blockbusters back under its original rules in 2000 with Liza Tarbuck at the helm. The Challenge series was presented by Simon Mayo, and the Comedy Central series was presented by Dara Ó Briain.

Contestants were allowed to do a hand jive during the end credits of the Friday episode of each broadcast week. The hand jive first appeared in 1986 after one of the contestants was bored while sitting through filming several shows a day waiting for his turn. It lasted for the rest of the original series' run. The hand-clapping sequence was referenced by Half Man Half Biscuit in their 1991 song "Hedley Verityesque".

The original game board was powered using 40 slide projectors, each with its own set of slides for the different Letters and Gold Run questions, and took up the entire height of the studio. Slides were preloaded onto carousels with enough slides for about 3 – 5 shows. Carousels took about 30 minutes to change over. There were 15 different board combinations (5 sets X 3 games per match) which meant the same letter combinations would reappear. The letter 'Q' was only on one board, the letter 'Y' on two boards. All 15 boards followed in the same sequence; if the same player/team won a match with victories in the first two games, the third one was skipped and the projectors were advanced directly to the Gold Run.

In 1987 and 1988, readers of TVTimes voted the series the most popular quiz show on television.

Theme music
The original theme music was written by Ed Welch, who also updated the music for the second Sky series in 2001. The first Sky series kept the same opening titles used from 1987 on the original ITV run (as it continued to be produced by Central). The original theme in C major was an upbeat pop track incorporating piano, strings, drum machine, and various other 1980s synthesized sounds reminiscent of the day – the four-note opening motif of Beethoven's 5th Symphony is mixed into the theme at the precise moment the composer's head appears on a flipping hexagon in the 1983 opening sequence (this sequence was replaced in 1987, see below).

The BBC version in 1997 used a piece of music written by Henry Marsh and Paul Boross. Rage Music created the version used by Challenge, which is an updated version of the original theme, primarily using an electric guitar. Marc Sylvan and Richard Jacques updated the original theme for the Comedy Central version.

Title sequences
The original 1983–87 title sequence featured flipping hexagons with various images on them running down an encyclopedia page. The title sequence used from 1987 to 1993 is a city, paying homage to science-fiction films such as Metropolis (1927) and Blade Runner (1982). In the 1994 Sky series, the opening titles were cut short, not featuring the hexagons flying over the studio like the 1987–93 titles.

The title sequence used in the 1997 series with a completely different theme tune (although as mentioned above, it might have been similar to the original theme but with several notes swapped around) featured a golden head with hexagons showing clips. The title sequence used in 2000–01 featured people throwing and catching the letters that spell "Blockbusters" using the Ed Welch theme again.

The 2012 title sequence featured references to all previous title sequences, mainly hexagons – but also with more subtle features like the golden head (as seen in the 1997 BBC version), the planet Earth and a city-like structure as seen in the popularised 1987–95 versions. The 2019 title sequence featured hexagon outlines on a hexagon landscape.

Main game
Like the 1980 U.S. version, a solo player competed against a pair of contestants. The game board consisted of 20 interlocking yellow hexagons, arranged in five columns of four. Each hexagon contained a letter of the alphabet (except X and Z, although letter Z appeared occasionally during the Gold Run). A contestant would choose one of the letters and would be asked a general-knowledge trivia question whose correct answer began with the chosen letter. (A typical question might be, "What 'P' is a musical instrument with 88 keys?" The answer would be a piano.) The phrasing that contestants would use to ask for a letter has entered the language and is frequently heard to this day. It is also the source of a pun – "Can I have a 'P' please, Bob?"; 'having a pee' being slang for urinating.

The game board is designed in such a way that a tied game was not a possible finishing result. Even if all 20 hexagons were filled (which did occur at least twice, once in the first series, and once in the first Sky version) there would always be a winner.

The game began with a toss-up question to play for control of the board, starting with a letter that was chosen at random. The teams or players could buzz in during the middle of reading a question. If a player or team got the correct answer, they gained control of that hexagon and were given the chance to choose another one. If the contestant answered incorrectly, the opposing team or player was given a chance to answer it after the host re-read the question. If nobody answered it correctly, the host asked another question whose answer began with that same letter. Each correct answer won £5. In the case of the two-player team, each player won whatever money the team accumulated.

The solo player attempted to complete a vertical connection of white hexagons from the top of the board to the bottom; that required at least four correct answers. The pair attempted to connect a path from left to right with blue hexagons (purple during the Aspel era), requiring at least five spaces. The first side to connect their path won the game. The first player or team to win two games won the match. When either party was one correct answer away from completing their path, the hexagons forming their path would flash to indicate this. If both were one correct answer away, all lit hexagons on the board would flash, indicating that the situation was effectively "Blockbusters either way" (later referred to as a "mutual space" on the board), and the next player to give a correct answer would win the game unless the contestant chose a panel which would not give them the win, which was sometimes used as a safety tactic to avoid handing the initiative to the opponent in case they gave the wrong answer.

All players received a "Blockbusters" Concise Oxford Dictionary and sweatshirt in the original ITV series. By 1985, the Blockbusters computer game was added. Within a year, the sweatshirt had been replaced by a "Blockbusters" branded cardigan in a choice of colours and a "Blockbusters" embossed filofax accompanied the dictionary (replaced by an electronic organizer by 1988). In the first Sky One series in 1994, it was a Blockbusters Encyclopedia and T-shirt. In the BBC Two 1997 series, it was a fountain pen. In the second Sky One series, it was a Blockbusters Dictionary and a Britannica CD-ROM. In the Challenge series, it was an Elonex E-book reader. In the Comedy Central series, it was a Blockbusters-branded hoodie and "reusable cup".

Gold Run
The winner of the match went on to play the Gold Run bonus round; if the pair won, only one player on the team could play, with the turns alternating at each Gold Run. The board consisted of a pattern of green hexagons similar to that of the main game, but the hexagons had 2 to 4 letters inside them; those letters were the initials of the correct answer. (For instance, if a contestant chose "BS" and the host said "Where people kiss in Ireland", the correct answer would be "Blarney Stone.") When the contestant guessed correctly, the hexagon turned gold. However, if the contestant passed, it turned black, blocking the player's path; it was then up to the contestant to work around it. The object was to horizontally connect the left and right sides of the board within 60 seconds (or before blocking off all possible horizontal connections).

If the players were successful they won a special prize. If the Gold Run was not won, each correct answer paid £10. Defending champions could keep going for up to five matches undefeated, in order to win an even bigger prize. From the seventh ITV series, it was reduced to three, so that more contestants could take part over the course of a series. In the first Sky One series this was changed back up to five matches and reduced to three again on BBC Two. In the second Sky One series, it increased to five again. For the Challenge series, the maximum amount remained at five matches.

A famous short piece of music (three sharp notes on a synth-like horn in a slapstick style) was played if a contestant ran out of time on a Gold Run, often producing amused reactions in the studio; the same three notes played on an electric guitar act as the time's-up buzzer on the Challenge version.

Champion Blockbusters
4 series of Champion Blockbusters were made from 1987 to 1990, in which gold-run winners were invited to return to battle against other gold-run winners.

Sky One
In 1994, Sky One created a new series with original host, Bob Holness. It was produced by Central, which had made the programme since 1983, and sponsored by Thomas Cook. This series featured a bonus question for any player who chose a particular letter and correctly answered that question, thereby earning the right to answer a £5 follow-up question. Sky One brought the series back again in 2000, this time produced by Grundy (which owned the format) and presented by Liza Tarbuck, but it did not capture the same degree of popularity as the Holness incarnation. The format stayed the same in both versions, and both versions involved sixth formers.

BBC Two
BBC Two used adult contestants, instead of sixth formers. This version was broadcast in 1997 and presented by Michael Aspel; the show stayed with the same format. Famous contestants included Stephen Merchant.

This is the only version to use purple hexagons; all other versions still used blue to represent the pair of players. The solo player still played white hexagons. The Gold Run used a blue background in this version and the Liza Tarbuck version.

Champions in the Aspel era were limited to three wins before retiring undefeated.

Gameshow Marathon
On 14 April 2007 at 20:40, Vernon Kay hosted a networked edition of Gameshow Marathon on ITV1 in which celebrity contestants revived the classic 1980s Holness version of the show. It also featured an edited version of the show's opening titles.

Challenge
It was announced on 10 November 2011 that game show channel Challenge would revive the show in 2012, under the name "All New Blockbusters", with adult contestants rather than students. Forty episodes were recorded from 9 to 19 February 2012 with Simon Mayo hosting the show.

The series started airing on 14 May 2012, with the first episode dedicated to the memory of original host Bob Holness, who died on 6 January 2012. The series also featured contestant Claire Scott who made her third appearance on Blockbusters.

The show aired at 20:00 every weekday with an omnibus showing split over Saturday and Sunday mornings, plus a repeat showing of the previous night's episode at 17:00. The series was put on hold for a few weeks and resumed transmission on 9 July 2012, starting with a celebrity special featuring Konnie Huq (who had previously been on the original Blockbusters) amongst others. During the break, the first 20 episodes were repeated, with the "All New" removed from the title. Subsequent repeats also removed the "All New" prefix.

Comedy Central
On 22 October 2018, it was reported that Blockbusters would return once again. Produced by Thames TV with the same format. It was announced on 3 December 2018 that Dara Ó Briain would host the revived version for Comedy Central. Twenty new episodes, broadcast over two series, were recorded in the winter of 2018 and included two celebrity specials. The first episode aired on 21 March 2019.

The format has been changed so that each episode is a standalone contest between a complete panel of three contestants. The prize money has been increased from earlier incarnations to £20 per correct answer in the main game (£100 for the celebrity edition) and £50 per correct answer in an unsuccessful Gold Run (£150 for the celebrity edition). Spot prizes exist in this series, occurring once per episode when a certain hex is selected. If each side wins one game each, the deciding game of past formats has been replaced with a sudden-death playoff entitled the Hexagon Standoff. The two teams try to answer one question, if they get it correct, they go to the Gold Run, however, if they answer incorrectly the opposition goes through. In the Gold Run, the contestant has a choice of two categories for their question board. This version uses a white background during the Gold Run and passes turn the space dark blue.

Merchandise
Blockbusters spawned a number of items of merchandise. 12 quiz books were released from the show which also led to a spin-off: "Blockbusters Gold Run Volumes 1–5" being produced.

In 1986, Waddingtons created a board game version of the show, which was named Game of the Year in 1986 by The British Association of Toy Retailers. This led to several successful spin offs; a "Gold Run" Card Game, a Junior Blockbusters board game (a children's edition) and a Super Blockbusters board game (essentially, a second edition standard game with its own set of "Gold Run" cards). A computer game version of the show was also created for the Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.

In 2006, a DVD game based on the show was released by Circle Studio under license from FremantleMedia, with Bob Holness reprising his position at the helm. The DVD is based on the same format as the TV show, with a virtual set design and game graphics matching the original version of the programme.

In 2012, FremantleMedia's gaming division launched an online slot game based on the British game show. The game is featured at many of the UK's leading gambling sites, including Sky Vegas and Bet365.

ITV series

 * Series 2 & 3 were actually merged into one with the first 71 episodes as Series 2 and the last 49 episodes as Series 3.

Regional transmissions information
Blockbusters was one of the first British game shows to run in a 'straddling' format, which allowed for games to last a different length of time, meaning that episodes would often begin and end mid-game, and matches often crossed over into two episodes. The show was generally screened at 5:15 pm Monday to Friday, filling the half-hour timeslot between Children's ITV and the ITN News at 5:45, with a similar timeslot allocated on Saturdays for a while. The show was always aired on the ITV network, although the first series was repeated on Channel 4 during the summer of 1984, in the Countdown slot. Blockbusters was never networked across ITV's sixteen regions, this meant that it was occasionally possible to retune the television to a neighbouring region and watch a different episode. Blockbusters did share its time slot with other game shows such as Ask No Questions, Connections, and Winner Takes All. Episodes were recorded in two blocks one during the summer and another during November.

1983
All regions aired Series 1, some stations moved Blockbusters to an earlier slot because the 5:15 pm slot was taken up by soap operas.

 * Border, Central, Granada, HTV, TVS, UTV and Yorkshire: Started on 29 August and finished on 4 November 1983. Mondays to Fridays at 5:15pm.
 * Anglia, Channel, Grampian, Scottish, Thames and TSW: Started on 5 September and finished on 11 November 1983. Mondays to Fridays at 3:30pm.
 * Tyne Tees: Started on 5 September and finished on 11 November 1983. Mondays to Fridays at 3:30pm. Switched to 5:15pm beginning 17 October.

1984–88

 * Border, Central, Granada, HTV, Tyne Tees, UTV and Yorkshire: Mondays to Fridays at 5:15pm and Saturdays at 5:05pm.
 * Anglia, Grampian, and Scottish: Wednesdays to Fridays at 5:15pm and Saturdays at 5:05pm. Mondays and Tuesdays were filled with Emmerdale Farm. STV had the series at 3.30 for the first 5 weeks in 1984 as Crossroads held the 5.15 slot, but that changed by 10 October 1984. In 1987, Series 5 was held back until 12 September. In early 1988, Anglia moved the series to 6 days a week, and completed the series in March, while Grampian and STV completed the series on 19 April 1988.
 * Thames/LWT: Wednesdays to Fridays at 5:15pm and Saturdays at 5:05pm. It was later changed in September 1985 from Mondays to Wednesdays and Fridays to Saturdays at 5:15 pm.
 * TVS: Wednesdays to Fridays at 5:15pm and Saturdays at 5:05pm. Mondays and Tuesdays were filled with Sons and Daughters. From Series 5, TVS switched to Mondays to Fridays at 5:15 pm and Saturdays at 5:05 pm.
 * TSW: Most of Series 2 was not transmitted because the 5.15pm slot was taken up by Crossroads, The Young Doctors and Emmerdale Farm, which later moved into early peak time in 1985 (as it was on Thames). 49 episodes of Series 2 aired in the mornings during the summer holiday (Mondays to Saturdays) from 1 July to 24 August 1985. Series 3 aired on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 5:15 pm. Series 4 and 5 aired on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 5:15 pm.
 * Channel: Same as TSW's schedule until January 1986, it was then switched to TVS's schedules. This meant that approximately 16–20 episodes were skipped as TVS was further ahead.

1988–89

 * All regions expect TSW broadcast the show from 2 September 1988 to 10 February 1989. Mondays to Fridays at 5:15 pm and Saturdays at 5:05 pm. However, Anglia and Scottish aired some episodes on Sundays instead of Saturdays.
 * TSW: Started on 3 October 1988 and finished on 10 February 1989. Mondays to Fridays at 5:15 pm and Saturdays at 5:05 pm.
 * No episodes aired on ITV between 19 September to 3 October due to the 1988 Summer Olympics.

1990–92
The show was delayed by all ITV regions until January 1990 as no slots were available to air the show. This was because Home and Away took over the 5:10 pm slot and Emmerdale was now being aired at 6:30 pm, before it was moved to 7:00 pm in January 1990. Anglia, Central and TSW were airing repeats from September to December 1989.

 * Anglia, Central and Thames: Blockbusters aired three times a week from January 1990 onwards on Mondays to Thursdays at 5:10pm and aired Home and Away at 6:00pm. Days of the week changed and additional episodes were added as well to make it four per week on occasions.
 * LWT: No longer aired any episodes from this point onwards.
 * Scottish: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 pm from 3 January to April 1990. From May 1990, it was moved to a daytime slot around 1:30 pm, with the number of episodes fluctuating from none to up to four from this point onwards.
 * Grampian: from 3 January 1990, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 pm.
 * Border, Granada, HTV, TVS, TSW, Tyne Tees, UTV and Yorkshire: Tuesdays to Thursdays at 6:30pm.

Granada moved the time slots around during this period, In Autumn 1990, the series was moved to 5:10 pm, on occasion moved 15.25 to allow episodes of Families to have the 17.10 slot. The series was moved again to 6:00 pm from Wednesdays to Fridays in 1992. UTV reduced its time slots to one episode a week from January to October 1992, then from 26 October 1992, it was aired at 3:20 pm from Mondays to Fridays. TVS reduced its time slots to two episodes a week for most of 1990, but during 1991–92, it went back to three episodes plus an additional episode around Saturday lunchtimes. TSW also dropped its time slots to two episodes per week every so often; however, in a bid to catch back up the series, it was moved to 5:10 pm from Mondays to Fridays in September 1992. For around 18 months in 1991–92, Tyne Tees started airing more local output in the 6:30 pm time slot, which resulted in fewer episodes per week. When Tyne Tees and Yorkshire decided to merge their scheduling in January 1993, Tyne Tees increased its episode output to catch up (In November 1992, it was airing four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays), but had to drop over 50 episodes.

1993
Many new ITV companies came into being, with Westcountry and Carlton having hour-long news, while most of the other areas wished to have more local programmes in the early evenings which resulted in some areas, moving the series back before CITV.

 * Anglia and Central: Mondays to Wednesdays at 5:10pm, then switching to Wednesdays to Fridays at 5:10pm. Completed on 19 May 1993, although repeats were transmitted until Christmas.
 * Carlton: Mondays to Fridays at 3:20pm. Completed on 4 June 1993.
 * HTV: Mondays to Thursdays at 1:45pm. Completed on 2 August 1993.
 * Scottish: Continued to air the series between two and four times most week until 1 September 1993. Reappeared daily at 5:25am over Christmas period from 18 December 1993 finally completing the series on 7 January 1994.
 * Westcountry: Mondays to Fridays at 1:45pm. Completed on 3 September 1993.
 * Border, Tyne Tees and Yorkshire: Continued on Tuesdays to Thursdays at 6:30pm. Completed on 28 September 1993.
 * Grampian: Mondays to Fridays at 1:45pm. Completed on 21 December 1993.
 * Meridian: Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 6:30 pm. Completed on 14 December 1993.
 * Granada: Aired 2–3 episodes most weeks at 5:10pm. From April to August, it was moved to 3:20 pm. Completed in January 1994.
 * Ulster: Mondays to Fridays at 3:20 pm until August 1993, then switching to Saturday lunchtime until completed 15 January 1994.

1994–95
After the tenth series, Blockbusters was no longer networked on ITV. But it continued for one more series on the satellite channel Sky One. Six ITV regional channels showed this series.

 * Sky One: Mondays to Fridays at 7:00pm from 18 April to 30 September 1994 before moving to 6:30pm from 28 November 1994 to 17 February 1995.
 * Anglia and Central: Mondays to Wednesdays at 2:50pm from 18 April 1994 to 12 July 1995.
 * Meridian Wednesdays from early June until early September 1994
 * Tyne Tees and Yorkshire: Around 70 episodes; Tuesdays to Thursdays at 6:30 pm from 11 July to 29 December 1995.
 * Border: Around 50 episodes aired up to twice a week at 5:10 pm.

Reruns
Challenge TV aired Blockbusters starting from September 1996 during the final months of The Family Channel and was the first game show broadcast on the relaunch from the Family Channel to Challenge TV on 3 February 1997 showing reruns from Series 9, it was repeated in February to June 1997, January to May 1998, September 1998 to January 1999 and May to September 1999.

In 2004, Saturday Night Takeaway showed clips from a 1992 episode with a contestant in the audience who did not get very far on the show and only won £10. Following requests on the (now "defunct") Challenge forums to air the show, Challenge managed to acquire Blockbusters from June 2004 to June 2006, but they only showed the first 25 episodes from Series 10, which generated low ratings. Carlton Select also showed old shows while that channel was still operational.

Challenge reacquired Blockbusters but this time, they acquired 72 episodes from Series 10, and broadcast them during 2011. On 8 May 2014, they acquired the first series, which aired from 26 May. On 4 January 2016, Challenge began showing Series 11 (the first Sky One series), acquiring 179 of the 180 episodes in the series. In April 2024, Challenge began to rebroadcast Series 2 for the first time since its original broadcast in 40 years.

Notable contestants

 * Mel Giedroyc
 * Tim Harford (1991)
 * Jesse Honey (1990s)
 * James Humphreys (1984, 1987)
 * Konnie Huq (1992, 2012)
 * Daniel Kitson
 * Naomi Long (1989)
 * Kerry McCarthy
 * Stephen Merchant (1997)
 * Ian Payne (1990s)
 * Richard Lloyd Parry (1986)
 * Jon Tickle (1991)

Other countries
The format has been remade in a number of countries during the 1980s and 1990s:
 * 🇦🇺 australia – The Australian version of Blockbusters, hosted by Michael Pope, was broadcast on the Seven Network from 1991 to 1993. It had schools competing against other schools. Additionally, it also had an intro that looks similar to the Holness era from the UK version, although the theme song was different.
 * 🇩🇪 germany – A German version called Supergrips (originally called Grips before it) aired from 1988 to 1995 on the Bavarian TV network. Frank Laufenberg was the show's original host from 1988 until 1990, then was later replaced by Ingo Dubinski from 1991 until 1995.
 * 🇫🇷 france – The French version was called Parcours d'enfer (Course of Hell) aired on TF1 and hosted by Pierre Bellemare.
 * 🇮🇩 indonesia – The Indonesian version called Aksara Bermakna (Meaningful Letters) aired on two networks, first on TVRI from 1989 to 1996 with Kepra as host, then on antv for a brief period from 1997 to 1999, this time with Anton Gemilar as host. It was created by Ani Sumadi.
 * 🇮🇱 israel – The Israeli version, called Nuts, ran on Israeli Educational Television from 1985 to 1994 with teenagers playing. Hosts of the Hebrew version were Shosh Atari, Avri Gilad, Ito Aviram, Anat Dolev, Mennachem Perry and Nahum Ido. An Arabic language version, called Paths (masarat, مسارات), aired on the same network in 1996.
 * 🇮🇹 italy – The Italian version is called Doppio Slalom (Dual Slalom) aired on Canale 5 from 1985 to 1990, originally hosted by Corrado Tedeschi from 1985 to 1990. Followed by Paolo Bonolis in the 1990 series.
 * 🇯🇴 jordan – The Jordanian version is called Lo3bet Al-Hourof on Amman TV with Zaid Zghoul.
 * 🇳🇱 netherlands – A Dutch version of the show called Blokletters (Block Letters) ran for a brief period from 1986 on AVRO with Fred Oster at the helm. Its set with a mix of half light and dark colours and gameplay is very similar to that of the short-lived 1980–82 U.S. original.
 * 🇵🇾 paraguay – In Paraguay, called Blockbuster, like the Australian version, where two schools competed against each other. It aired on Telefuturo for a brief period in 1999, its hosts were Clari Arias and Leti Medina.
 * 🇸🇦 saudi arabia – The Saudi Arabian version is called ABC Program/Competitions Letters, hosted by Ibrahim al-Qasim, Majid Cub, Ghanem Al Saleh, and Ghalib Full. The network for this version in particular aired on First Channel Saudi Arabia from 1987 until 1994. Then it was revived again three years later from 1997 until 1998. Twenty years later, a version hosted by Salman Al-Otaibi aired in 2017.
 * 🇸🇪 sweden – SVT in Sweden had their own version very similar to the UK one. 2 mot 1 (2 to 1) was a weekly afternoon programme forming part of SVT's youth output. The programme was produced in Malmö airing from 1998 to 1999 and was hosted by Stellan Sundahl until he died from a heart attack in 1999 at the age of 52.
 * 🇨🇭 switzerland – The Swiss version, also called Blockbusters, was hosted by Sven Epiney and aired on SF from 1997 to 2000.
 * 🇹🇷 turkey – The Turkish version called Haydi Bastir (Let's Print) aired on Show TV from 1992 to 1993, the host was Mim Kemal Öke. Additionally, its set (and intro) looks similar to the original Holness era.
 * 🇦🇪 united arab emirates – Blockbusters (the UK edition) was such a sensation with the entire English speaking expatriate community in Dubai, U.A.E, that the city nearly came to a shutdown during its evening broadcast on Channel 33. Although there was no separate local TV version, the local paper, Gulf News, ran a yearly Blockbusters quiz competition, often hosted by Holness himself, between 1988 and 1994. The Gulf News Blockbusters show was telecast on Dubai TV too and was broadcast as a month-long event, with the heats during Ramadan and the finals after Eid al-Fitr.
 * After a 14-year-long hiatus, the contest was revived in 2008 as part of the newspaper's 30th-anniversary celebrations. It was also held in 2009 where the team "Anonymoys +3" whose members included Rahul Menon and Aayush Rajasekaran of The Indian High School, Dubai stood first place. This marked the second year that a team from the Indian High School defeated one from long-time rivals The Modern High School to claim first place.

 * 🇺🇸 united states – The original American version of Blockbusters aired twice on NBC. Originally from 1980 until 1982, hosted by Bill Cullen with the "2 in 1" format. This was followed by a brief return of the show in 1987 hosted by Bill Rafferty which dropped the "2 in 1" format and had single contestants instead.

Other foreign versions of Blockbusters have aired in 🇵🇹 Portugal and 🇸🇬 Singapore.

title: Blockbusters (British game show)


text:
Emmanuel College

Emmanuel College may refer to one of several academic institutions:

Australia

 * Emmanuel College, University of Queensland, in St Lucia, Brisbane
 * Emmanuel College, Gold Coast, a multi-denominational Christian school in Carrara
 * Emmanuel College, Melbourne, a Roman Catholic secondary school with two campuses
 * Emmanuel College, Warrnambool, a Roman Catholic secondary school with three campuses

Canada

 * Emmanuel College, Toronto, part of Victoria University in the University of Toronto
 * Emmanuel Bible College, a religious college in Kitchener, Ontario

England

 * Emmanuel College, Cambridge, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge
 * Emmanuel College, Gateshead, formerly Emmanuel City Technology College

United States

 * Emmanuel University, a liberal arts college in Franklin Springs, Georgia
 * Emmanuel College (Massachusetts), a liberal arts college in Boston, Massachusetts

title: Emmanuel College