> Mirage 3 czs were maybe not the best but the Mirage F1s were
>extremely good fighters and the modern Rafale is state of the
> art. Take a look at the F111 we use here. Whilst it is a
> good a/c its costing a fortune to maintain and enough of
> them have fallen from the sky!!

The F-111 went into service some 37 years ago in 1968. What do you think the reliabilty and maintenance costs would be on your car if it was that old, if was still running? And would be expected to be driven into combat at any time, and it's drivers life could well depend on it's functioning correctly and returning him home?

Bad, bad, comparison...