The Dassault-Breguet Mirage 2000 was selected in December 1975 as the future fighter aircraft for the French Air Force, intended for active service until the year 2000 and beyond. The delta-wing designs represent a nearly unique group of high-tech fighter jets. The delta-wing configuration has significant advantages as well as disadvantages. Dassault-Breguet invested heavily in development and improved the performance of these aircraft. In the case of the Mirage 2000, this was significantly supported by the use of electronic control systems, as well as the development of fly-by-wire technology, which allows for complete monitoring of potentially unstable flight characteristics throughout the flight envelope. The single-seat Mirage 2000C first flew on March 10, 1978, and was introduced into service by the French Air Force in July 1984, at which point the upgrade of outdated Mirage IIIE aircraft had begun.