Draken begins flying refurbished Mirages in Aggressor role

Draken International has begun flying its Dassault Mirage F1M/B aircraft recently acquired from the Spanish Air Force, the company announced on 26 March.

Draken International acquired 22 single-seat Mirage F1M and twin-seat F1B fighter aircraft, which it is now using for ‘Red Air’ training for the US military and allied air forces. (Draken International)

The contractor-based training company is now utilising the aircraft for ‘Red Air’ aggressor flying against US military and allied aircrews, following an extensive refurbishment and modification effort by South Africa’s Paramount Aerospace Systems, with much of the work being reassembly.

The first sorties out of Nellis Air Force Base (AFB) in Nevada saw the radar-equipped and supersonic F-1M/Bs go up against unspecified ‘4th and 5th-Generation aircraft’ in the Nevada test and Training Range to develop and hone tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs).

Draken acquired 22 single-seat Mirage F1M and twin-seat F1B fighter aircraft, which were certified at Draken’s Lakeland maintenance facility in Florida following the work carried out by Paramount.

Draken International already fields a fleet of Douglas A-4 Skyhawks, MiG-21s, Aero L-39s, and Aermacchi MB-339s, and the acquisition of the Mirage F1M/Bs coupled with the most recent purchase of 12 Denel Cheetah fighters in December 2017 have increased the company’s fleet size to more than 150 fighter aircraft. The trainer provider is looking to expand this fleet further, and is currently evaluating a number of options.

In June 2018 the US Air Force awarded Draken International a five-year USD280 million contract to provide continued contractor-based ‘Red Air’ training. The indefinite-quantity contract for adversary air aggressor services continued to support the company’s provision of contractor-owned contractor-operated (COCO) “tactically-relevant aircraft” for air-to-air tracking, targeting, and adversary air (ADAIR) operations.