The Dassault Mirage F1 is a French fighter and attack aircraft.
It was developed as a successor to the popular Mirage III family.
The Dassault Mirage F1 was a single-engine fighter aircraft, designed to function as both an interceptor aircraft and a ground attack platform.
While officially developed for the French Air Force as an air defence aircraft, Dassault had placed considerable emphasis on developing the Mirage F1 for ground attack duties as a secondary role during its early design.
Developed by the company to function as a successor to the successful Mirage III and Mirage 5 families, it drew heavily upon its predecessors as well, sharing the same fuselage as the Mirage III, while adopting a considerably different wing configuration.
Variants
Mirage F1A
Single-seat, ground-attack/fighter aircraft, with limited daylight only, air-to-air capability.
Fitted with lightweight EMD AIDA 2 ranging radar instead of Cyrano IV of other variants, with laser rangefinder under nose, retractable refuelling probe and more fuel.
Mirage F1AD
Mirage F1A for Libya.
Mirage F1AZ
F1A for South Africa.
Mirage F1B
The French Air Force also ordered 20 Mirage F1Bs, a two-seat operational conversion trainer.
The extra seat and controls added only 30 cm (12 in) to the length of the fuselage, but at the cost of less internal fuel capacity and the loss of the internal cannon.
The empty weight increased by 200 kg (440 lb), partly due to the addition of two Martin-Baker Mk 10 zero-zero ejection seats, in place of the Mk 4 used in the F1C, which had a forward speed limitation.
In all other aspects the F1B is a combat-capable aircraft and it can compensate for lost capacity with cannon pods and drop tanks.
Mirage F1BD
Export version of the Mirage F1D for Libya.
Mirage F1BE
Mirage F1B for Spain, local designation CE.14A.
Mirage F1BJ
Mirage F1B for Jordan.
Mirage F1BK
Export version of the Mirage F1B for Kuwait.
Mirage F1BK-2
Multirole two-seater for Kuwait, equivalent to F1Dl.
Mirage F1BQ
Two-seat trainer for Iraq, some of which fitted with dummy flight refuelling probe.
Mirage F1C
Production interceptor version for the French Air Force
Mirage F1C-200
Designation for F1Cs fitted with refueling probe.
Mirage F1CE
Export version of the Mirage F1C for Spain, with local designation C.14A.
Mirage F1CG
Export version of the Mirage F1C for Greece.
Mirage F1CH
Export version of the Mirage F1C for Morocco.
Mirage F1CJ
Export version of the Mirage F1C for Jordan.
Mirage F1CK
Export version of the Mirage F1C for Kuwait. Later upgraded to CK-2 standard.
Mirage F1CK-2
Nine multi-role aircraft, equivalent to the F1E, were sold to Kuwait as part of a follow up order.
Mirage F1CR
Upgraded F1C for the French Air Force to replace the Mirage IIIR in the tactical reconnaissance role.
Mirage F1CT
Upgraded F1C-200 for the French Air Force to replace the Mirage IIIE in the close air support role.
Mirage F1CZ
Export version of the Mirage F1C for South Africa.
Mirage F1ED
Export version of the Mirage F1C for Libya.
Mirage F1D
Two seat training version, based on the Mirage F1E multi-role fighter, ground-attack aircraft.
Mirage F1DDA
Export version of the Mirage F1D for Qatar.
Mirage F1E
Single seat all weather multirole fighter and ground-attack aircraft.
Mirage F1JA
Export version of the Mirage F1E for Ecuador.
Mirage F1EE
Export version of the Mirage F1E for Spain.
Mirage F1EH
Export version of the Mirage F1E for Morocco.
Mirage F1EH-200
Moroccan aircraft fitted with a flight refueling probe.
Mirage F1EJ
Export version of the Mirage F1E for Jordan.
Mirage F1EQ
Export version of the Mirage F1E for Iraq.
Mirage F1EQ-2
Single-seat air defence fighter version for Iraq.
Mirage F1EQ-4
Single-seat multi-role fighter, ground-attack, reconnaissance version for Iraq.
Mirage F1EQ-5
Single-seat anti-shipping version for Iraq.
Mirage F1EQ-6
Single-seat anti-shipping version for Iraq.
Mirage F1EDA
Export version of the Mirage F1E for Qatar.
Mirage F1CG
Greece operated 40 Dassault Mirage F1CG single seat aircraft.
F1CG was first ordered in 1974 and entered service with the Hellenic Air Force in 1975.
Mirage F1CG was armed with the Sidewinder AIM-9P missile, rather than the most commonly used Matra Magic II, and it could carry four AIM-9Ps, rather than just two.
Mirage F1CR
When it became clear that the Mirage F1 was becoming a successful production aircraft, Dassault began investigating the possibility of a dedicated reconnaissance version for its most important client, the French Air Force.
The Mirage F1CR carries reconnaissance equipment, internally and externally.
A SAT SCM2400 Super Cyclone infrared line scan unit is installed in the space previously occupied by the port cannon.
A space under the nose can be used for a Thomson-TRT 40 panoramic camera or a Thomson-TRT 33 vertical camera.
The Cyrano IVM-R radar has extra ground and contour-mapping modules.
A variety of sensors can be carried in external pods carried under the fuselage centreline.
These include the Raphaël TH Side-Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR), the ASTAC ELINT pod and the RP35P optical reconnaissance pod.
Mirage F1CT
The Mirage F1CT is a ground attack version of the Mirage F1C-200.
Following their replacement in the air defence role by the Mirage 2000, the French Air Force had a number of surplus Mirage F1C-200s, and in 1988 it launched a conversion program to turn these aircraft into interim ground attack aircraft to replace elderly Mirage IIIEs and Mirage 5s.
Mirage F1AZ and F1CZ
The South African Air Force (SAAF) flew both the Mirage F1AZ ground-attack version as well as the radar-equipped Mirage F1CZ fighter.
The first two examples of the first order were delivered on 5 April 1975.
Mirage F1 M53
Developed for the participation in the “European” NATO fighter competition of early seventies, seeking to replace the F-104G.
It was equipped with a more powerful engine, the SNECMA M53, and other improvements.
Failed to succeed, the contest was eventually won by the General Dynamics F-16.
The Mirage F1 came in second place.
Mirage F1M
The F1M upgrade was applied to 48 Spanish F1CE/EE and four F1EDA trainers under a US$96m contract awarded to Thomson-CSF in October 1996.
The project included a revised cockpit with colour LCDs and a Smart HUD from Sextant Avionique, a Sextant inertial navigation system with GPS interface; NATO-compatible HaveQuick 2 secure communications; Mode 4 digital IFF; a defensive aids suite; and flight recorders.
The radar was upgraded to Cyrano IVM standard, adding sea search and air to ground ranging modes.
Mirage F1 MF2000
The Royal Moroccan Air Force started in 2005 the 350 million Euro MF2000 upgrade program to modernize 27 F1CH, F1EH and F1EH-200 aircraft.
Changes included replacement of the old Cyrano IV radar by a RC400 (RDY-3) radar based on that used by the Mirage 2000-5, a revised cockpit, and improved armament, with Damocles targeting pods, MICA air-to-air missiles and AASM guided bombs added.
2,338 km/h (1,453 mph, 1,262 kn) at 11,000 m (36,089 ft)
Maximum speed
Mach 2.2
Combat range
425 km (264 mi, 229 nmi) hi-lo-hi at Mach 0.75/0.88 with 14 × 250 kg (551 lb) bombs
Ferry range
3,300 km (2,100 mi, 1,800 nmi) with maximum external fuel
Endurance
2 hr 15 min (combat air patrol, with 2 × Super 530 missiles and centreline drop tank)
Service ceiling
20,000 m (66,000 ft)
Rate of climb
243 m/s (47,800 ft/min)
Thrust/weight
0.66
Armament
Guns
2× 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA 553 cannons with 150 rounds per gun
Hardpoints
1 centreline pylon, four underwing and two wingtip pylons with a capacity of 6,300 kg (13,900 lb) (practical maximum load 4,000 kg (8,800 lb)),with provisions to carry combinations of-
Rockets
8× Matra rocket pods with 18× SNEB 68 mm rockets each
Bombs
Various
Other
Reconnaissance pods or Drop tanks
Missiles
2× AIM-9 Sidewinders
Or
Matra R550 Magics on wingtip pylons, 2× Super 530Fs underwing,
