The Dassault Mirage 2000 was developed as an alternative to what was proving to be a very expensive
swing-wing and as a replacement for the Mirage III and F1. It may have replaced these planes but the
Mirage 2000 used the same delta wing design as its predecessors. By basing the new aircraft heavily on
the Mirage III Dassault was able to have a flyable version in only 27 months. There were four single-seat
prototype aircraft built including the initial Mirage 2000-01 that was first flown by test pilot Jean Coreau on
March 10, 1978. That same summer at the Farnborough Air Show the Mirage 2000 put on a very
impressive display and demonstrated the new computer control system that overcame the usual pitfalls of
a delta wing.
The F1 may have lost out to the F-16 Fighting Falcon to become the main fighter for Belgium, Netherlands,
Denmark and Norway but now the Mirage 2000 was becoming a viable option. The first flight of the Mirage
2000B took place in 1980 with the first production model Mirage 2000C flown on November 20, 1982. The
Mirage 2000C interceptor was the first version to enter operational service in 1984. 1984 was also the
50th anniversary of the French Air Force that eventually took possession of 124 Mirage 2000Cs. The
prototype is located at Paris Le Bourget Airport.