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The Dassault Mirage F2 was a French prototype two-seat
ground attack
In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movemen ...
/fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
, which was designed to serve as a test bed for the SNECMA TF306 turbofan engine. The F2 also influenced the subsequent Dassault Mirage G
The Dassault Mirage G was a French two-seat twinjet variable-geometry prototype fighter, built by Dassault Aviation in the late 1960s. The type was further developed into the twin-engine Mirage G4 and G8 variants as a multi-role jet fighter capa ...
, a variable geometry design.
Design and development
Dassault were tasked in the early 1960s to design a low-altitude intruder that did not have the high approach speeds associated with the delta wing of theMirage III
The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizonta ...
. Unlike the Mirage III, the F2 had a high-mounted swept wing
A swept wing is a wing that angles either backward or occasionally forward from its root rather than in a straight sideways direction.
Swept wings have been flown since the pioneer days of aviation. Wing sweep at high speeds was first investiga ...
and horizontal tail surfaces. The prototype powered by a Pratt & Whitney TF30
The Pratt & Whitney TF30 (company designation JTF10A) is a military low-bypass turbofan engine originally designed by Pratt & Whitney for the subsonic F6D Missileer fleet defense fighter, but this project was cancelled. It was later adapted with ...
turbofan first flew on 12 June 1966. It was re-engined with the SNECMA TF306 for the second flight on 29 December 1966.
Two parallel developments were a single-seat Mirage F3 interceptor and a scaled-down and simpler Mirage F1
The Dassault Mirage F1 is a French fighter and attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was developed as a successor to the popular Mirage III family.
During the 1960s, Dassault commenced development of what would ...
. Eventually the French Air Force
The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Ar ...
chose to develop the French-engined F1, and the F2 did not enter production.
The fuselage and engine from the F2 formed the basis of a variable-geometry variant, the Mirage G.
Aircraft on display
The Mirage F2 is now preserved with DGA Techniques Aeronautiques in Toulouse Balma.Specifications (Mirage F2 with TF30)
See also
Notes
Bibliography
* * * {{Dassault aircraft 1960s French fighter aircraftMirage F1
The Dassault Mirage F1 is a French fighter and attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was developed as a successor to the popular Mirage III family.
During the 1960s, Dassault commenced development of what would ...
Single-engined jet aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1966
High-wing aircraft