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Description
In 1971, South Vietnam began looking for a replacement for its older F-5s and A-1s as a result of South Vietnamese intelligence reports that revealed the North Vietnamese were receiving considerable amounts of equipment from the Soviet Union including the latest Mig-21 variants, Su-17s and Mig-23s. On the 16th July 1972, Dassault and SNECMA announced a technical cooperation agreement with South Vietnam for the license manufacture of the Mirage F1 and engine. The intention being to produce up to 100 Mirage F1’s. Delivery began on 5 May 1976 when two Mirage F1CV’s were flown to South Vietnam in a VNAF C-130 Hercules. Vietnamese Mirage F1s were used intensively for interception and ground attack. In November 1976, a Mirage F1 accounted for the first North Vietnamese Mig-23 to be shot down, followed by several more in the following months, giving the previously timid Vietnamese Air Force new confidence in air-to-air combat engagements with the North Vietnamese.

Description
In 1971, South Vietnam began looking for a replacement for its older F-5s and A-1s as a result of South Vietnamese intelligence reports that revealed the North Vietnamese were receiving considerable amounts of equipment from the Soviet Union including the latest Mig-21 variants, Su-17s and Mig-23s. On the 16th July 1972, Dassault and SNECMA announced a technical cooperation agreement with South Vietnam for the license manufacture of the Mirage F1 and engine. The intention being to produce up to 100 Mirage F1’s. Delivery began on 5 May 1976 when two Mirage F1CV’s were flown to South Vietnam in a VNAF C-130 Hercules. Vietnamese Mirage F1s were used intensively for interception and ground attack. In November 1976, a Mirage F1 accounted for the first North Vietnamese Mig-23 to be shot down, followed by several more in the following months, giving the previously timid Vietnamese Air Force new confidence in air-to-air combat engagements with the North Vietnamese.