Aircraft from Macron: what are the Mirage 2000 fighters that France is transferring to Ukraine and how will they change the situation on the frontline
While Ukraine is eagerly awaiting F-16 fighters, there is another announcement about strengthening the Air Force of the AFU — France has announced the transfer of Mirage 2000 airplanes
Photo: Reuters
Strangely enough that the French press began disseminating information about the likely delivery of "mirages" to Ukraine back in the spring of 2023. However, Ukrainian officials then lightning-quickly began refuting this information, with then Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat calling the aircraft an obsolete model. This behavior can be explained by the fact that in 2023 Ukraine was actively seeking a decision on F-16 fighters, which are superior to the Mirage 2000 in terms of performance. Therefore, it is likely that official Kyiv feared that they would not be offered simpler French planes instead of the Efoks.
In January, the Ukrainians' rhetoric changed.
"F-16s remain a priority, but it is possible that Mirage 2000 planes in D modification will strengthen the capabilities of Su-24M bombers", — the commander of the Air Force of the Ukrainian armed forces Mykola Oleshchuk said at the beginning of the year.
According to Macron, Ukrainians will receive the planes by the end of 2024. By that time, the training program for pilots and technicians will allegedly end. Experts estimate that 6 months in this case is not a long time at all. This may mean that the training of Ukrainians began even before the official announcement of the transfer of "mirages". So Le Figaro last year convinced that allegedly 30 pilots of the Air Force of the AFU are trained in France on Mirage 2000 fighters and even named the bases where the training takes place. However, the Ukrainians denied this information at the time.
What the Mirage 2000 is, the aircraft's armament and price
Photo: Getty Images
The Mirage 2000 is a French multi-role fighter aircraft developed by Dassault Aviation in the 1970s, the main combat aircraft of the French Air Force in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. 20th to early 21st century. The first flight was recorded in 1978 (a year later than the MiG-29), adopted into service in France in 1984. In addition, it is in service with the armies of Greece, Egypt, UAE, India, Peru and Taiwan. Earlier, Brazil and Qatar were also operators of Mirages. "Mirages" were used during combat operations in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, etc."Regarding the quantity, it is important to recall the words of the French Defense Minister, who said in late March that all weapons that will be written off by the country will be transferred to Ukraine. They will gradually and, obviously, in a fairly short period of time will be passed already on Rafale fighters", Katkov said on the air of TV channel "Espresso".
The version of the Mirage 2000-5 that will definitely be handed over to Ukraine was developed in the early 1990s to update the aircraft's onboard systems. The main upgrade was a new radar system with a typical target detection range of 130km, as well as the ability to simultaneously track eight targets and fire on four of them.
The aircraft's armament also included MBDA's then-new MICA air-to-air missile, with a claimed range of up to 80km, according to material from Defense Express. The Mirage 2000-5 is produced in two variants: with infrared and radar homing heads.
"The Exocet anti-ship missile is integrated for ship strikes, the SCALP cruise missile for long-range ground strikes, and the AS37 Armat anti-radar AS37s with a range of up to 120 kilometers. It is possible to use precision bombs with semi-active laser guidance, conventional bombs, unguided rockets. In addition — two 30-mm automatic cannons with ammunition of 125 rounds per barrel. In total, we are talking about 6,300 kg of weapons on 9 knots of suspension", — describe observers armament "Mirage".
The exact cost of one aircraft is unknown, the price varies depending on the modification. A basic version of the Mirage 2000 costs about $43 million, while the 2000D costs more than $60 million. So Indonesia, which purchased 12 used Mirage 2000-5DAs from Qatar, one fighter cost $66 million. These aircraft required another two years of refurbishment work, but the price includes spare engines, other spare parts, ground equipment, pilot training, etc.
Mirage 2000
- Length — 14.36 m,
- Height — 5.3 m,
- Wingspan — 9.13 m,
- Weight empty — 7.26 tons,
- Flight weight — 9.5 tons,
- Maximum speed — 2340 km/h,
- Maximum speed — 2340 km/h,
- Maximum ground speed — 1110 km/h
- Practical ceiling — 16.8 km,
- Practical range — 1770 km,
- Combat radius — 1550 km.
Whether Ukraine needs the Mirage 2000: why they doubted it until now
Photo: Getty Images
As recently as last year, the then speaker of the Air Force spoke sharply negatively about the transfer of Mirage 2000 fighters."Neither 'mirages' nor 'tornadoes' will help us — I would ask all experts to refrain from these ridiculous comments. We can't take anything from the aviation fleet. It's unsustainable. It would just wear out the work of our people. We have to focus on one, maximum two types of multi-purpose aircraft. And the Mirage 2000 is an outdated model, and there are much better planes in France and in Europe", — stated Ignat.
Ex-Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov noted that the radar range of French fighter jets is significantly inferior to that of Russian aircraft.
"Today, in terms of fighter jets, Ukraine has the MiG-29, which can see 60 kilometers thanks to its radar. It can hit airborne targets at a distance of 30 km, that's how the armament is built. The enemy, using, for example, the Su-35, can see at a distance of more than 200 km, and can shoot at 140 km, to hit air targets. Mirage is a plane that can also see at 60 km and shoot at 30 km", the minister complained.
Some military experts agree with him, noting that Western countries have more interesting fighter models. Valery Romanenko, a leading researcher at the State Aviation Museum, emphasized that the presence of a squadron of 12-15 aircraft would be good news, although in his opinion, Swedish Gripen fighters would be more useful for the AFU Air Force.
"In fact, it is necessary to treat this proposal with restraint and caution, because I see that we will get a number of logistical problems with low efficiency, and we will ensure the dispersion of efforts", Romanenko said.
Serhiy Zgurets, director of the Defense Express information and consulting company, also spoke about the dispersion of efforts. According to the military expert, the main challenge is the need to train pilots for many different types of aircraft.
"So the issue with the Mirage-2000 may fall into a technological trap. I remain in favor of the approach to increase the number of F-16s, which have much better performance. Right now we are stymied by the rate of pilot training in the US, Romania, Denmark. The question arises where we will train pilots for these Mirage", Zgurets said on the air of Espresso TV channel.
How the Mirage 2000 will help Ukraine on the frontline
But it is definitely not worth turning your nose up at the generous gift from the French. Defense Express expert Ivan Kirichevsky explains — the fact that the Mirage 2000 is not suitable for aerial combat with Russian Su-35s is not a tragedy at all. After all, the fighters have a different functionality and will be used for other tasks.
"Any prospective supply for the AFU should be measured from the lower bar of capabilities that the available equipment gives our military. In the case of aviation, the lowest bar is the MiG-29UB, which has no onboard radar at all to detect targets in the air, only an optoelectronic station, literally for visual target detection, and air-to-air weapons, except for short-range missiles R-60 and R-73", Kirichevsky writes.
Sergei Zgurets also recalls the advantages of the Mirage. The French fighters have features that the F-16 does not have.
"It will have a hard time fending off Russian tactical aviation, because radar and missiles are still significantly inferior to the Su-35 with its locators and armament. However, the Mirage can effectively hunt Russian cruise missiles and silos, it can strike with long-range bombs, for example, the same Hammer that we will receive from France. Most importantly, this aircraft can be a carrier of SCALP and Storm Shadow cruise missiles and hit enemy targets at a distance of up to 300 kilometers. By the way, F-16 aircraft cannot do this because they are not adapted for these missiles", the expert notes.
The Defense Express also recognizes that it will be difficult to drive away enemy tactical aviation with "mirages" — Russian Sushki will detect the Mirage 2000 first. However, there are a number of tasks where French fighters can be effectively used.
First of all, we are talking about strikes with long-range weapons — Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles, and Exocet. Second are strikes with long-range bombs, such as the AASM Hammer, which can weigh up to 1,000 kilograms. Mirages are also capable of performing air defense functions, intercepting cruise missiles and drones in rear areas.
By the way, Su-24M fighters are now used to launch Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles. But the AFU has few of these aircraft. According to Military Balance, as of 2023, Ukraine had only five such aircraft and nine in the reconnaissance version of the Su-24MR. In addition, while the Su-24 "scalps" could be adapted in a few weeks, according to experts, it will take up to six months to adapt to Taurus cruise missiles. This means that while the Sushki are being modified for German missiles, the Mirage 2000 could act as a substitute for Storm Shadow/SCALP launches.
And, in the end, it should be realized that Ukraine needs a lot of fighters to dominate the air. And it is in vain to hope that all of them will have the highest parameters.
"The question of the need for 200 Western aircraft to protect our skies has not disappeared anywhere. And the F-16 alone will not close this issue", said Defense Express expert Ivan Kirichevsky.
