Atlas Cheetah D SAAF Fighter

The Atlas Cheetah is a South African fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by the aviation company Atlas Aircraft Corporation (later Denel Aeronautics).
It was developed under contract to, and primarily operated by, the South African Air Force (SAAF).
The Cheetah was developed during the Border War in the 1980s as a major upgrade to the French-built Dassault Mirage III fleet operated by the SAAF.
The program incorporated technology from the Israeli-built IAI Kfir, which had been derived from the Mirage 5/IAI Nesher.
The upgrade program, known as Project Cushion, produced three variants; the two-seat Cheetah D, the single-seat Cheetah E and the single-seat Cheetah C.
All three models were inducted into the SAAF and for a time served as the service's most capable fighter and strike aircraft. A single Cheetah R intended for aerial reconnaissance was built as a prototype, but this variant never entered service.
The Cheetah D was the only two-seat variant and was used primarily as a trainer for pilots transitioning to the Cheetah C. It also had a secondary attack capability, including the ability to fire PGMs.
Under Project Recipient, 10 Cheetah Ds were re-engined with the Atar 09K50C-11, replacing their original Atar 09C engines. After the engine modification, the remaining aircraft received an avionics upgrade to bring them up to the same standard as the Cheetah C. The original three-piece front screen was also replaced with a single-piece wraparound version.

Plastic model kit

• This is the first of its kind in plastic form
• Newly added extended nose
• IFR
• New slotted wing
• Four marking options (South Africa and Ecuador)

Scale 1:48

unbuilt / unpainted

Paint and glue not included