Dassault Mirage 2000

The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a multirole, single-engine, delta wing, fourth-generation jet fighter produced by Dassault Aviation. It grew from the Delta 1000 project launched in 1972 and was reshaped into the Mirage 2000 after the French Air Force asked for a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III. The first prototype flew on 10 March 1978, only 27 months after the programme was cleared to proceed, and the first production Mirage 2000C flew in November 1982. The basic fighter was developed into several variants, among them the Mirage 2000N for France's airborne nuclear deterrent, the ground-attack Mirage 2000D and the improved Mirage 2000-5 that underlies many export models. More than 600 aircraft were built before the last one was delivered to Greece in 2007, and the type has served in ten nations and in combat from the Gulf War to Syria.