The Mirage III is a multi-role aircraft designed by the French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation in the late 1950s. It was the first European-designed fighter aircraft capable of exceeding Mach 2 in horizontal flight.

In 1961, funds were made available for the purchase of 100 units, all of which were to be built under license in Switzerland. When, at the end of 1997, the first Swiss Air Force unit became operational on the F/A-18 Hornet, the Mirage’s days were numbered: the 29 remaining Mirage IIIS were retired on December 31, 1999, followed exactly 4 years later by the 16 Mirage IIIRS and 4 Mirage IIIDS.

Cover photo credit : Henk Schuitemaker