Iraqi Mirages: Dassault Mirage Family In Service With Iraqi Air Force, 1981-1988 (Middle East@War)

A great book covering development and use of Iraqi Mirage F-1s.

Iraqi Mirages, The Dassault Mirage Family In Service With The Iraqi Air Force, 1981-1988 is a book I always wanted to read. Although I’m of Greek nationality and well briefed with the Dassault fighter because of his successful service with the Hellenic Air Force, I always knew that there were more capable F1s which fought a hard war over the Middle East. The new volume of the Middle East@War series is a classic one. Within its pages the reader will understand why the Mirage F1 was an actual multi role fighter, flying numerous air to air, air to ground, suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) and anti shipping missions carrying a variety of modern weapons of its time. Most interested parts, are the ones which cover Giraffe missions, or in other words the missions carefully planed to shot down IRIAF F-14s, the operational use of the Exocet anti-ship missile during the so called Tanker War and the exploitation of the ECM pods from the Iraqi fighters, namely Caiman, Syrel and Remora. The political aspect covering the procurement of the French fighter as well the following operations helps to understand the big picture behind the military action. Furthermore reference to the famous project Suzana and the transformation of a Falcon 50 jet to a formidable long range ship killer equipped with two Exocet, the Mirage F1 radar and electronics as well as a similar cockpit layout on the left side keeps the readers attention unobstructed. The book have also an extensive color section with Mirage profiles created by Tom Cooper, maps and paintings covering the actions of the F1s during their Iraqi service. Concluding, Tom Cooper and Milos Sipos wrote a best seller in aviation history books and through their notes sections in the end pages they revealed us that they are working for their next big hit, which is...better buy the book and find out. You won’t regret it!

intresting boog

Good book on the subject.. in fact, the only book on that subject!

Excellent book. The authors do a real deep dive into the Mirage F1 and explain not only the Mirage F1 in Iraqi hands but the role these sales had on the French arms industry in terms of funding development of French PGMs, air to air missiles, and ECM. The book makes it clear why Iraq was ready to put down so much money on Mirages, as the writers go into the plane's war record and make the case that the Mirages really played a critical role in helping Iraq ultimately muddle over the finish line.The authors go into great detail on the Mirage strike missions which ultimately helped break down the Iranian economy. There are maps, photos, artworks, and even a few diagrams to explain what a strike package looked like. Lots of information on ECM pods and SEAD equipment. The role of other planes like the su22 and H6 are discussed. There is lots of information on the tanker war and Iraq shooting off hundreds of exocet missiles along with cheaper Chinese missiles, which in light of the current climate is sadly very relevant today. The authors make the case that Iraq flew very complex missions as part of it's long campaign to try and strangle the Iranian economy.The book also discussed the help Iraq received from its neighbors in making these strikes a success.Also of note is the Mirage F1s history as an "F14 killer" which is discussed in detail.This book does an amazing job in tracking the Iraqi Mirage fleet from shady arms deal to strategic asset.

Libro interessante che tratta la storia approfondita del Mirage F1 in servizio con l'Iraq corredato da bei profili a colori di Tom Cooper ma purtroppo da sole foto in bianco e nero, pur essendo molte di esse a colori in altre pubblicazioni.

Probably a great book when I read it, but Amazon has the wrong description title and has a defective Report incorrect product information function.Title in Amazon is Iraqi Mirages: Mirage F.1 in Service with Iraqi Air Force, 1981-2003 (Middle East@War); however, the photo of the book cover and actual book have the time period from 1981-1988, which does not cover Desert Storm, No Fly Zones, and Iraqi Freedom. Please correct Amazon title information.