Editing Dassault Mirage III (section)

====Australia====
{{main|Dassault Mirage III Australian procurement}}
[[File:Two Mirage III of the Royal Australian Air Force 1.JPEG|thumb|Australian Mirage IIIO (top) and Mirage IIID (bottom) in 1980. These aircraft are now operated by the Pakistan Air Force.]]
[[File:RAAF Mirage.jpg|thumb|An Australian Mirage IIID in 1988]]

Australia first showed an official interest in replacing its [[CAC Sabre]] with the Mirage III in 1960, and initially considered a variant powered by a licence-built variant of the [[Rolls-Royce Avon]] turbojet (used by the CAC Sabre).<ref name = "prof 180"/> While an experimental Avon-powered Mirage III was built as a prototype and flown in trials, it did not result in use of the Avon by a production variant.<ref>{{harvnb|Chenel|Liébert|Moreau|2014|page=67}}</ref>

The Australian government decided that the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] (RAAF) would receive a variant based on the Mirage IIIE and powered by the SNECMA Atar engine, built under license by [[Government Aircraft Factories]] (GAF) at [[Port Melbourne, Victoria#Fishermans Bend|Fishermans Bend]], [[Melbourne]].<ref name = "prof 180"/>  Known as the ''Mirage IIIO'' or '''GAF Mirage''', the Australian variant differed from the Mirage IIIE mainly in its avionics. The other major Australian aircraft manufacturer at the time, the [[Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation]] (CAC), also based in Melbourne, was also involved in the project, producing the Atar engine under licence.<ref name = "prof 180">Brindley 1971, p. 180.</ref>

Initially, Dassault provided a pair of pattern aircraft, the first of these flying in March 1963, which were transported to Australia and used to aid technicians at GAF in establishing their own assembly line for the type.<ref name = "prof 180"/> GAF produced three variants: the ''Mirage IIIO(F)'', which was an interceptor, the Mirage ''IIIO(A)'', a surface attack aircraft and the twin seat ''Mirage IIIO(D)'', a [[lead-in fighter trainer]]. GAF completed 48 Mirage IIIO(F), 50 Mirage IIIO(A) and 16 Mirage IIIO(D) aircraft.<ref name = "prof 180"/>

Between 1967 and 1979, all the surviving Mirage IIIO(F) aircraft were converted to the Mirage IIIO(A) standard, which reconfigured them from the interceptor role to perform ground attack and aerial reconnaissance missions instead.<ref name = "prof 180"/> In 1988, the Mirage III was finally withdrawn from RAAF service; 50 of the surviving fighters were exported to Pakistan in 1990.<ref name="adf-serials.com.au"/> Several examples are preserved in museums around Australia; at least one of these is reportedly under restoration to a taxiable condition.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}