Mach 2 Marvels: The Epic Saga of Dassault’s Mirage Fighter Jets In 1958, the Mirage III became the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in level flight. The Mirage IIIC entered French service by 1961. The Mirage F1 first flew 25 July 2025 Aviation · Engineering · Fighter Jets · History · Military Technology