Dassault Mirage F2

The Dassault Mirage F2 was a French prototype two-seat ground attack/fighter aircraft, which was designed to serve as a test bed for the SNECMA TF306 turbofan engine. The F2 also influenced the subsequent Dassault Mirage G, 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 the Mirage III. Unlike the Mirage III, the F2 had a high-mounted swept wing and horizontal tail surfaces. The prototype powered by a Pratt & Whitney TF30 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. Eventually the French Air Force 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.