Red Air Forces on the move

More and more private air forces active in the field of adversary training continue to increase and modernise their fleets.

This modernisation is nicely illustrated by photos, kindly provided to us by Sebastiaan Does. He made these photos when two Dassault Mirage F1s showed up at Alliance AP (TX) USA on 5 November 2020. They show us how both ATAC and Draken International have entered the era of supersonic flight.

Dassault Mirage F1M N575EM was captured in its brandnew digital camouflage scheme whilst on its way to Nellis AFB. This fighter is the latest addition to the Draken International fleet. The aircraft used to be operated by the Ejército del Aire (EdA, Spanish Air Force) with serial C.14-72.

The other photo shows a different version of the Mirage F1. This aircraft, registration N633AX, is a former Armée de l’Air (AdlA, French Air Force) Mirage F1CR with serial 653. The fighter aircraft is now part of the ATAC fleet, one of Draken’s rivals.

At the same time Draken International is expecting more fleet expansion. Currently twelve former Suid Afrikaanse Lugmag (SAAF, South African Air Force) Atlas Cheetah Cs are somewhere in the process of being returned to airworthy status. This work is carried out by Denel (the successor of Atlas) at O.R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg.

The Cheetah was withdrawn from air force operations in 2008 and most of them were stored. In 2017, twelve aircraft of the single seat Cheetah C version were sold to Draken International. Once returned to airworthy status and adequately testflown, they will be shipped to the USA. The civilian serial range N681EM to N692EM inclusive is thought to be reserved for the Cheetahs.

Photos: Sebastiaan Does and Darren Olivier