The Mirage F1 put its own spin on the Mirage tradition of cost-effective, light-weight fighters: swept wings. Despite being the only non-delta winged Mirage fighter ever put into production it became an instant hit, with orders coming from France, Libya, South Africa, and many other countries. Quick, agile, and with surprisingly high performance for its size, the F1 proved itself to be a capable combat-ready package that could take on fighter, attack, and even anti-shipping roles its clients acquired it for. Still flying today 45 years after the original prototype took to the skies, the Mirage F1 is an all-too-noticeable reminder that the light fighter can still pack a heavy punch.
The Mirage F1 was born out of an incredibly complicated series of requests for a new light fighter to replace the Mirage III or a heavy fighter to supplement it. Dassault produced a number of extremely innovative prototypes such as the VTOL Balzac Mirage IIIV, and drew up a number of designs based on the Mirage III airframe with upgraded powerplants and modern avionics, one of which would become the Mirage 2000. Dassault decided to investigate the construction of a heavy fighter that offered the capabilities of both delta and swept wings, and the Mirage G8 was built, the first Mirage swept-wing fighter, similar in purpose to the F-111 Aardvark. When this failed to "take off" (not literally), a relatively simple ground attack design with high mounted, fixed swept-wings was derived from the G8 program and designated the Mirage F2. This was submitted to the Armee De L'Air (French Air Force), who showed interest but requested a less costly aircraft with a focus on the air superiority role. The result was the Mirage F1, a very sleek and simple design with a fuselage similar to the Mirage III offering STOL capabilities and high speed. The F1 prototype flew in 1967, and was a multi-role combat aircraft, but the early variants (F1A, F1B, F1C) did not possess this capability which was only incorporated into later versions, or added via upgrades.
Despite lacking the size to equip enough avionics/electronics equipment to be technologically superior to its opponents, the Mirage F1 offered decent manoeuvrability, a high top speed of just under Mach 2 at sea level, and could be re-configured for a variety of different roles. The initial production version ordered by the Armee de L'air was the Mirage F1C, a dedicated interceptor with a very limited ground attack capability. A day-attack variant, the F1A, and a two-seat trainer, the F1B, were produced around the same time. The F1B and F1C were built in large numbers and equipped over 5 air forces each.
The definitive F1C interceptor variant sacrificed ground attack/multi-role capabilities for air to air prowess. At the core of this fighter rested a single SNECMA Atar QK-50 turbojet putting out 49.03 kN of thrust, which may be increased with afterburning. This gave the F1 a relatively high top speed of 2338 KmH, putting it on an equal footing with the MiG-21s it sometimes faced in battle. The F1C could also achieve a high maximum ceiling of 20,000 meters, but despite the advantages speed and altitude brought, the F1C's less-than-pleasing range of 900km meant that drop tanks were often carried, hampering the type's aerodynamics. High set wings allowed for STOL (Short-Take-Off/Landing) performance, and this coupled with a strengthened undercarriage meant that the type was well suited to operating off the rough air bases of the countries it was exported to.
Sleek lines, a small fuselage and a weight of merely 7400 Kg unloaded permitted the F1C to "turn and snap" in air-to-air combat better than many fighters and most interceptors (and certainly more proficiently than the preceding Mirage III), without compromising the speed or armament needed to intercept hostiles. The two side mounted air intakes were reminiscent of the earlier Mirage III-series fighters; each held a single port for one DEFA 553 cannon with 135 shells. The powerful 30MM rounds utilized by the cannons were also stored in the intakes. MATRA magic SRAAM's (Short-Range-Air-to-Air-Missiles) and sometimes even AIM-9 sidewinders were carried on wingtip hardpoints. MATRA R.530 or Super 530F missiles which home in on hostile radar from longer distances could also be toted, and were beneficial for the aerial interception role. Dumb/retarded (unguided) and cluster bombs could be carried, as well as rockets, but as these munitions aren't very precise, the F1C was only really effective in the interceptor role it was designed for.
The four-piece glass cockpit of the F1C housed an F10M zero-zero ejection seat, manufactured by the American Martin-Baker company. The Thomson-CSF Cyrano IV interception radar housed in the nose radome allowed the pilot to track and engage targets at all altitudes, even lower ones.
The F1C spawned the F1CR reconnaissance variant, and both were later upgraded to F1C-200 and F1CR-200 standard, which chiefly increased their range. Export customers of the F1 modified their aircraft for all sorts of duties, such as Iraq's anti-shipping F1s, which were used extensively against Iran. The ultimate F1C variant was the F1CT, which had a much greater ground attack capability than the standard F1C and allowed the type to remain in service with the French Armee De L'Air. After the F1C, two more variants were produced, the F1E multi-role fighter and the F1D, a two seat trainer version of the F1E. The F1E was a large export success, especially in the Middle East.
Mirage F1s have seen combat in the Mediterranean, Gulf, and South African theatres, among others. Although the F1 has a fairly poor air combat record, especially Iraq's F1s, this is due to the fact it faced far superior fighters such as MiG-23s and F-15Cs to name a few, although they did score several kills against Iranian F-14 Tomcats, which was a commendable feat. Iraq's F-1EQ-5 and F1EQ-6 specialized anti-ship variants (modified from the F1E variant) were widely employed as Exocet Anti-Ship Missile (ASM) platforms along with Dassault Etendards, attacking Iranian cargo ships.
In recent years, the Mirage F1 has managed to make headlines in a variety of unrelated, yet important, events. France's Aerosud Company, in an experiment to vastly improve the performance of the F1, installed a Klimov RD-33 turbojet inside an F1 fighter, designating it the Mirage F1 AAD2006 Super Mirage. Also, in early 2011, a pair of Mirage F1s from the Libyan air force was acquired by the nation of Malta when the pilots defected in an attempt to escape Libyan dictator Ghadafi's regime.
Written by: Pace51