On 13 June, during a ceremony held at the french air base of Mont de Marsan BA118, the Dassault Mirage F1 has been officially retired from service, while the squadron 2/33 « Savoie » operating the aircraft have been disbanded. General DenisMercier, French air force chief of staff-and formerMirageF1 pilot– tributes a "robust and reliable" aircraft havingdone "a brilliant careeroperatingon every skies." The last operational flights of the reconnaissance Mirage F1 will be realised during the 14 July celebration over the Champs Elysées. It will be replaced by the Dassault Rafale omnirole aircraft. The French Mirage F1 could however start a second life and be modernised and sold to African countries, such as Morocco, Libya or Botswana.
The single turbo jet Mirage F1 is a French air-superiority fighter and attack aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. It entered service in the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) in 1974. The last French unit to operate Mirage F1, was the Escadron de Reconnaissance 2/33 Savoie, flying the latest version of the F1CR. The unit's primary mission was tactical reconnaissance, with a secondary mission of ground-attack. Mirage F1 was engaged in Chad, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan or more recently in Mali.