Serge Dassault, who died on 28 May at the age of 93, is credited with having spearheaded Dassault's drive into the combat aircraft market, and for closing export sales of types from within the hugely successful Mirage series.
Having managed its flight-test department from 1955 – during the development of types including the Mirage III, Mirage IV and maritime-strike Étendard – as head of export, Serge Dassault "led the negotiations that resulted in the sale of Mirage III aircraft to Switzerland and Australia" (pictured below), the company notes.
Commonwealth of Australia
Flight Fleets Analyzer shows that there are currently 863 Dassault-produced fighters in operational use, with this inventory spread between 14 nations around the globe.
Mirage 2000-series jets are the most numerous, with 421 examples used by the air forces of Egypt, France, Greece, India, Peru, Qatar, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates. With its aircraft including C/D/N strike variants and -5-model fighters, the French air force's active total accounts for almost 40% of all Mirage 2000s.
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Three older Mirage models – the III, 5 and F1 – are also still flown by multiple nations, with their combined total of 292 aircraft representing one-third of the global Dassault fighter fleet. Egypt and Pakistan dominate, with 260 Mirage IIIs and 5s between them, with the Egyptian air force's oldest Mirage 5 being 44 years old, Fleets Analyzer shows.
Dassault Aviation
Retired by the French air force in 2014, the Mirage F1 is now operated by Congo, Gabon, Iran, Libya and Morocco, with Fleets Analyzer showing 32 examples as active.
Dassault's current military flagship, the Rafale, is in operational use with two nations – France and launch export buyer Egypt – and Fleets Analyzer records 150 as being in service. The French air force is the lead user, with a current 99 B/C-model multirole fighters, while the nation's navy operates 40 carrier-based Rafale Ms.
Dassault Aviation
India (36) and Qatar (24) also have firm orders for the Rafale, with export sales to date totalling 84 units, including Cairo's commitment.
Dassault's current order backlog for the twin-engined type stands at 104 units: sufficient to ensure a lengthy continuation of work on its Mérignac final assembly line at a current rate of 11 jets per year. Multiple further sales opportunities also exist, with nations such as Canada and Switzerland.
While no examples are currently operational, following the type's retirement from French navy, reports from Latin America suggest that Argentina will in the future field a number of surplus Super Étendard strike aircraft.
Away from its continuing service with military operators, Mirage F1s also look set to have a role in the provision of aggressor training services in the USA, with Textron Airborne Solutions having last year acquired the French air force's 63 retired examples to support its operations.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
