Textron Airborne Solution’s Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) marked the first flight of one of its ex-French Air Force Dassault Mirage F1s at its base at Alliance Airport, Texas, on August 22. As we have already reported Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) had bought 63 ex-French Mirage F1 fighters for 21 million euros. The contract at Holloman calls for Mirages to support F-16 pilot training with the 54th Fighter Group. The aircraft can however be sourced from Western nations or from ‘threat countries’.ATAC’s model is one that has seen the company achieve significant success with the US Navy, supporting a minimum of 4,500 flying hours annually using its Hunters and Kfirs, with each of its pilots being either a US Navy, Marine Corps or USAF fighter pilot; most are instructors and typically they are either TOPGUN, aggressor squadron or USAF Weapons School patch-wearers.In a statement, ATAC said that ‘it intends to return as many of the high performance tactical fighter aircraft to service as practicable.’ It added: ‘ATAC/Textron investments in standing up all necessary functions in advance of government contracts demonstrates our commitment to the mission and ensures ATAC will be ready to meet the [Department of Defense] needs from day one.’Signup now to get the latest Key Aero content straight to your inbox.By clicking below you agree to receive articles from Key Aero by email. The ATAC F1s have also supported the U.S. Marine Corps’ reserve F/A-18 Hornets of Marine Strike Fighter Attack Squadron 112 The contract with the Navy at Fort Worth followed disappointment for ATAC when it lost out to newcomer The ATAC contracts for Luke and Holloman call for a mission rate of 4-turn-4, meaning four jets will fly in the morning and then be “turned” for the second wave of missions.

“We have certified airplanes ready to go, ready to fly,” said Zins. The aircraft retain their original head-up display (HUD), and Cyrano IV radar. ATAC’s first refurbished Mirage F1 flew at Alliance Airport on August 22, 2019. Paramount will train Mirage F1 pilots belonging to American company ATAC (Airborne Tactical Advantage Company) after ATAC acquired 63 ex-French F1s and Paramount acquired four ex-French F1B trainers. ATAC flies its first Mirage F1 27th August 2019. At Luke, the contract relates to both F-16 and The USAF ADAIR requirement calls for several different aircraft types including those equipped to emulate 4th generation fighters, with requirements including operations at speeds of between Mach 0.8-1.5 and altitudes up to 50,000ft.

It came a month to the day after high-speed taxi tests of the aircraft — two-seat Mirage F1B registration N601AX (ex-French serial 502). News. ATAC’s Mirages received several upgrades for US operations, including a new GPS, air-to-air TACAN, new radios, and a new attitude indicator. The contracted aircraft must be compatible with captive air-to-air training missiles and electronic countermeasures pods and around half will require a radar with a range of up to 80nm (148km).Only US-based companies are permitted to bid as prime contractors and aircraft will be flown by American civilians. As it was reported last month by several media outlets American company Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) had bought 63 ex-French Mirage F1 fighters for 21 million euros.. This calls for 1,530 annual sorties at Luke and 1,558 sorties at Holloman. The combined awards provide for over 3,000 sorties per year for up to 4.5 years, with ATAC using its new A former French Air Force Mirage F1CT now operated by ATAC.The awards are part of what is formally known as the Combat Air Forces Contracted Air Support (CAF CAS) program. “The contract is run on a sortie basis, not on a flight hour basis,” Zins said. ATAC acquired the F1s specifically for the US Air Force’s adversary air training programme.

A company statement said that the flight lasted 30 minutes and was conducted as ‘an initial acceptance flight.’The former-French Mirages arrived at ATAC’s Adversary Center of Excellence (ATAC-ACE) from June 27, 2017 as the contractor-owned/contractor-operated (COCO) adversary solutions company acquired 63 Mirage F1s from France, along with support equipment and 150 engines, in September 2017.It was part of ATAC’s latest move to be in a position to respond to a huge USAF requirement for contracted aggressor training support under its adversary aircraft (ADAIR) requirement for training its combat forces. The sixth location from the initial tranche of planned awards, the identity of which is not presently known, is on hold pending an environmental impact study. This U.S. Navy contract relates to Mirage F1s supporting F-35s on test and acceptance missions from the Lockheed Martin factory here. The first flight was a two-seat F1B which made an The contract at Luke AFB is expected to include both F-16 and F-35A training support.ATAC’s Mirages have received upgrades to date to permit operations in the U.S. The first flight was a two-seat F1B which made an initial acceptance flight. Between 30 and 45 Mirage F1 fighters will be refurbished to fly again as adversaries against U.S. military aircraft.