The Mirage F1 was designed in the same period as the F2 and it had to be the successor of the Mirage IIIC after a government contract that was awarded by the French authorities in 1964. The F1 had to be a conventional swept back winged Multirole fighter.
The first prototype which was a private venture flew on December 23rd 1966, and three pre-series aircraft were ordered in September 1967, and the first flew on March 20th 1969. The production model for the French Arm?e de l’Air was named Mirage F1C.
The F1C was powered by the Atar 9K-50 turbojet with a thrust of 7200 kg with afterburn.
A later model of the Mirage F1, the F1.M53 was a contender for succeeding the F-104 Starfighter in the Air Forces of Belgium, Denmark, The Netherlands and Norway together with the Saab 37 Viggen and the General Dynamics F-16 (the last won this contract).
This version of the F1 was powered by a more powerful engine: The SNECMA M53 turbofan rated at 8500 kg’s thrust with afterburn.
Because the F1.M53 did not win the contract, plans for a second prototype were canceled, and it did not came in production.
| Developing Nation: | France |
| Manufacturer/designer: | Dassault |
| Task: | Fighter / bomber |
| First Flight: | – prototype: December 23rd 1966- pre-series first flight: March 20th 1969 |
| Initial order: | – 169x F1C interceptors (order 1969 Armee de l’Air)- 64x F1CR recce (order 1969 Armee de l’Air) – 20x F1B double seaters (order 1969 Armee de l’Air) |
| First Delivery: | 1970 |
| First Operational: | 1974 |
| Crew: | – F1C: 1- F1CR: 1 – F1B: 2 (trainer) |
| Ejection Seat: | Martin Baker Mk4 |
| Dassault Mirage F1C | |
| Wing Span: | 8,40 m (ex. missiles) |
| Wing Area: | 25,00 m² |
| Length: | 15,30 m |
| Height: | 4,50 m |
| Engine (s): | 1x Atar 9K-50 turbojet (7200 kg thrust with afterburner) |
| Weight: | 7400 kg |
| Max. Take off weight: | 16200 kg |
| Max. Speed: | – 1470 Kph at sea level- 2335 Kph at 12000 m |
| Max. Endurance: | Combat air patrol endurance (with two Super 530 AAM’s + one ventral tank: 2,25 hours |
| g limits: | +9 / -3 g |
| Radar: | Cyrano IV radar |
| Wingtip hard points: | both wings for AAM missiles |
| Weapons: | – two 30 mm canon’s- two Matra 550 Magic AAM’s – two Matra R 530 or 530 Super AAM’s |
| Dassault Mirage F1.M53 | |
| Wing Span: | 8,40m (ex. missiles) |
| Wing Area: | 25,00 m² |
| Length: | 15,30 m |
| Height: | 4,50 m |
| Engine (s): | 1x SNECMA M53 turbofan (8500 kg thrust with afterburner) |
| Weight: | 8024 kg |
| Max. Take off weight: | 15200 kg |
| Max. Speed: | – 1532 Kph at sea level- 2335 Kph at 12000 m |
| Max. range: | – HI-LO-HI mission profile with four 454 kg. bombs: 1200 km |
| g limits: | +9 / -3 g |
| Radar: | – |
| Wingtip hard points: | both wings for AAM missiles |
| Weapons: | – two 30 mm canon’s- Up to 4000 kg. of ordnance between seven external stations |
| Countries that bought the Dassault Mirage F1: | |
| Ecuador | 16x F1AJ |
| France | 169x F1C64x F1CR20x F1B |
| Greece | 40x F1CG |
| Iraq | 113x F1EQ |
| Jordan | 17x F1CJ17x F1EJ |
| Kuwait | 27x F1CK |
| Libya | 16x F1AD16x F1ED |
| Morocco | 30x F1CH20x F1EH |
| Qatar | 12x F1EDH |
| South Africa | 32x F1AZ16x F1CZ |
| Spain | 45x F1CE22x F1EE |
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