This stunning fighter pilot selfie could be one of the last taken on a Brazilian Mirage 2000

Brazil operates a fleet of 12 Mirage 2000 single and two-seat fighter planes that are used for air-defense purposes.

The Mirages, known as “Jaguars” in the Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira – FAB), were obtained from a French Air Force surplus between 2006 and 2008. They are assigned to the 1º Grupo de Defesa Aérea (1º GDA – 1st Air Defence Group), based at Annapolis, in Central-West Brazil, and they will be withdrawn from service by the end of 2013.

For this reason, the cool image taken by an FAB photographer from the backseat of a Mirage 2000B may be one of the last ones shot aboard the French plane.

The Mirage 2000 was to be replaced by the future Brazilian fighter F-X2. However, until a next generation fighter plane is selected (the procurement of a new fighter jet started at the beginning of the 2000s as F-X….), Brazil will replace the Mirages with some upgraded F-5 Tigers.

Image credit: FAB

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About David Cenciotti

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.