In the late 1970s and early 1980s, approximately 80 Mirage F.1C aircraft were built as F.1C-200 variants. This was the first production version of the aircraft family. Standard all weather multi role fighter version. Two seat training variation based on the F.1C It was developed jointly between France and South Africa. The sub variants typically represented the equipment desires of the purchasing nation:Ī ground attack optimized variation which used the F.1C as a base. The core of the Mirage F.1 family consists of five variants, though there are several sub variants to each. The F.1 had roughly 40% greater internal fuel capacity, significantly shorter take of and landing lengths, greater range and a more rugged construction which allowed operations from remote and austere conditions.įrom an export standpoint, the F.1 did not see the tremendous levels of success that the Mirage III and 5 did however, it did respectably well for itself and served in the air forces of 14 countries.
In all aspects, the Mirage F.1 was superior to the Mirage III and its Mirage 5 offshoot. The first Mirage F.1 entered French air force service in spring of 1974.Ī Mirage with More Mirage F.1BE seen preserved at Madrid-Cuatro Vientos in 2018. The F.1 was able to meet all the specified parameters in a smaller and more cost effective package and was ultimately chosen as France’s new fighter in 1967. the F3, like the F2, was a much larger, more complex and more expensive aircraft than the F.1 these factors would work against it. To meet this new requirement, Dassault put forth the Mirage F3 and the Mirage F.1 designs. What France did see a pressing need for at the time was an all weather interceptor capable of Mach 2 speeds that would also possess some ability in the strike mission. The withdrawal created a change in France’s own military requirements and it was determined that, without NATO commitments to consider, France itself no longer had need of a large, expensive strike aircraft such as the F2 was. The Mirage F2 was cancelled when France withdrew from the integrated command structure of NATO in 1966. The separate swept wing allowed a variety of high lift devices to be incorporated into it that were not adaptable to delta wing designs of the period these devices permitted the aircraft to remain aloft at the lower landing speeds stipulated for the new strike aircraft. To achieve this aspect of the specification, Dassault dispensed with the delta wing and instead opted for a swept wing mounted high on the fuselage and a separate tail unit of conventional design. The French air force specified that the new aircraft would need a lower landing speed so that it could be operated from shorter runways in potentially spartan and rudimentary conditions away from larger more permanent bases. Mirage F.1BE seen preserved at Madrid-Cuatro Vientos in 2018. While the delta wing design gave the Mirage III much in the way of streamlining and speed, it had the drawback of requiring the aircraft to have a high landing speed this translated into the Mirage III needing a long, well prepared runway.
The Mirage F2 was Dassault’s response to a 1963 requirement issued by the French air force for a strike fighter to replace the Mirage III in that role. It was from the F2 that the F.1 inherited its distinctively non-delta wing shape. However, the origins of the F.1 can be traced back to the Mirage F2 a failed all weather strike fighter prototype which had flown in June of 1966. The Mirage F.1, the prototype of which first flew in late 1966, was initiated as a private venture by Dassault with a primary focus on creating a relatively low cost flexible fighter which could be operated in less than optimum airfield conditions. However, not all members of this illustrious and legendary line of jets marched to the same drummer. An extensive family of delta winged aircraft that can trace its history to the early 1950s and is exemplified today by the Mirage 2000. Non-conformist of the Mirage Clan Former Spanish air force Mirage F.1EDA seen preserved in Madrid-Cuatro Vientos, Spain in 2018.Ī sleek and elegant triangular shape cutting its way through the sky at supersonic speeds is the usual image that comes to mind at the mention of Dassault’s long lived Mirage family of aircraft.
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