The Dassault Mirage III is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft produced by Dassault Aviation for the French Air Force and widely exported.

• Role: Interceptor aircraft
• National origin: France
• Manufacturer: Dassault Aviation
• First flight: 17 November 1956
• Introduction: 1961
• Status: In service only by Pakistan Air Force
• Produced: 1977–1983
• Number built: 1,422
• Variants: Dassault Mirage IIIV (BalzacV), Dassault Mirage 5, Atlas Cheetah

Military operators

• Argentinian Air Force
• Egyptian Air Force

Former military operators

• Abu Dhabi Air Force
• Royal Australian Air Force
• Belgium Air Force
• Brazilian Air Force
• Chilean Air Force
• Colombian Air Force
• French Air Force
• Gabonese Air Force
• Israeli Air Force
• Lebanese Air Force
• Libyan Air Force
• Peruvian Air Force
• South-African Air Force
• Spanish Air Force
• Swiss Air Force
• Venezuelan Air Force
• Zairian Air Force

Specifications (Mirage IIIE)

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 15.03 m (49 ft 3½ in)
• Wingspan: 8.22 m (26 ft 11⅝ in)
• Height: 4.50 m (14 ft 9 in)
• Wing area: 34.85 m² (375 ft²)
• Empty weight: 7,050 kg (15,600 lb)
• Loaded weight: 9,600 kg (21,164 lb)
• Max. takeoff weight: 13,700 kg (30,203 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × SNECMA Atar 09C turbojet
  • Dry thrust: 41.97 kN (9,436 lbf)
  • Thrust with afterburner: 60.80 kN (13,668 lbf)

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 2 (2,350 km/h, 1,268 knots, 1,460 mph) at 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
• Combat radius: 1,200 km (647 nmi, 746 mi)
• Ferry range: 3,335 km ()
• Service ceiling: 17,000 m (55,775 ft)
• Rate of climb: 46,600 ft/min ()

Armament

• Guns: 2× 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA 552 cannons with 125 rounds per gun
• Rockets: 2× Matra JL-100 drop tank/rocket pack, each with 19× SNEB 68 mm rockets and 66 US gallons (250 liters) of fuel
• Missiles: 2× AIM-9 Sidewinders OR Matra R550 Magics plus 1× Matra R530,
• Bombs: 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) of payload on five external hardpoints, including a variety of bombs, reconnaissance pods or Drop tanks; French Air Force IIIEs through 1991, equipped for AN-52 nuclear bomb.