The Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the mid-1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries.
The versatility of the design enabled production of trainer, reconnaissance and ground-attack versions as well as the Dassault Mirage 5 variant. It was a successful fighter aircraft, being sold to many air forces around the world and remaining in production for over a decade. Currently, the Pakistan Air Force is the largest operator of Mirage III fighters, with 75 aircraft still in service. It is the first European combat aircraft design capable of exceeding a speed of Mach 2 in horizontal flight.
