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Fighter aircraft

France Legacy

Dassault Aviation

Mirage F1

France's first swept-wing, shoulder-mounted-wing fighter to replace the delta-winged Mirage III, trading delta agility for a shorter takeoff run and better low-speed handling. Widely exported through the Cold War, it has since been retired from French service and largely replaced by newer types among remaining export operators.

In service since 1973 · 5 operator countries

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02

2,350

km/h

4,000

kg payload

Pricing: Unit cost not publicly disclosed

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

French export-licensed

CIEEMG inter-ministerial approval; broadly export-oriented.

Channel: DGA / direct commercial

Fielded & proven

Established · 5 operators

In service since 1973. Status: legacy.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from.

Interoperability

No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.

Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Compatible munitions & weapons

Publicly reported weapons the Mirage F1 can carry. Linked items have a full spec page.

Matra Super 530F R550 Magic AS-30L laser-guided missile

Full specifications

Performance

Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.

Max speed Maximum level speed. For aircraft this is at optimal altitude; for ground vehicles, top road speed. Higher means faster response and better kinematic performance.: 2,350 km/h

Stronger than 70% of fighters
Max speed (Mach) Maximum speed as a multiple of the speed of sound. Mach 2+ is typical for air-superiority fighters.: 2.2 Mach

Stronger than 71% of fighters
Combat radius Distance an aircraft can fly, complete its mission and return without refueling. Roughly a third of ferry range.: 425 km

Bottom 6% of fighters

Firepower

Armament, payload and guidance.

Main armament Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.: 2x 30 mm DEFA 553 cannons
Hardpoints External stations for weapons and pods. More means bigger and more flexible loadouts.: 7

Stronger than 17% of fighters
Weapons payload Maximum ordnance weight the platform can carry. Higher means more strike capacity per sortie.: 4,000 kg

Stronger than 17% of fighters

Physical

Dimensions, weight and crew.

Empty weight Weight without fuel, ammunition or crew.: 7,400 kg
Crew Personnel required to operate. Fewer reduces exposure; autoloaders trade a loader for mechanical complexity.: 1

Propulsion

Engine, power and fuel.

Engine Powerplant model and type.: 1x SNECMA Atar 9K-50 turbojet
Engines Number of engines. Twin-engine gives redundancy at higher cost.: 1
Propulsion type Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet…: Turbojet

Program

Cost, production scale and operators.

Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.: 5

Stronger than 75% of fighters

Specifications compiled from public Dassault Aviation and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.

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