Yesterday, 6 February, French Defence Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, announced that the first MIRAGE 2000 promised by France to Ukraine in June 2024 have arrived in Ukraine.
The minister's statement was followed by official announcements from the Ukrainian Air Force and General Staff, who welcomed the MIRAGEs and thanked France: "Welcome to the family! Mirage 2000 Ukrainian Air Force Merci, la France!".
As already leaked last June, the French idea of delivering a squadron of Dassaullt MIRAGE 2000-5F fighters to Ukraine was initially slowed down in favour of Danish and Dutch Lockheed Martin F-16AM/BMs entering service with the Ukrainian Air Force. Sweden too, which repeatedly hinted that it wanted to hand over some of its older JAS-39 GRIPENs to Ukraine, had to freeze it in order to prioritise the transition to the FIGHTING FALCON, also in light of the shortage of Ukrainian pilots possessing the right age and training requirements. The Swedish proposal could regain momentum in the coming months.
The French aircraft to deliver should include 12-15 Dassault MIRAGE 2000-5Fs decommissioned in the last two years by the Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace. According to the official timeline, the first tranche includes 3 MIRAGEs, and the other 9-12 will be delivered between late May and early July.
It is likely that the aircraft have received a series of upgrades, including the integration of weapon systems such as MBDA SCALP EG (never integrated on the French 2000C/5F but only on the French 2000D two-seaters, the Greek 5F, and the Emirati 2000-9) and Safran AASM HAMMER guided bombs (not officially integrated on the MIRAGE), so as to expand capabilities beyond air defence duties. Naturally, the MIRAGEs also have MBDA MICA-ER/IR air-to-air missiles for medium-range air defence.
The aircraft are equipped with new EW/self-protection capabilities, although it is unclear whether this involves the integration of a new suite, an upgrade of the current one, or the use of dedicated pods. The first hypothesis is the most likely, with the integration of the ICMS Mk3 digital integrated self-protection suite with prioritisation capabilities and relative presentation on the pilot's display of the 8 main, most urgent threats. This suite equips Greek and Emirati fighters (albeit, in the latter case, in a modified variant).
Another possibility is the Mk2 version of the same suite, which shares with the Mk3 the 3 RWR sensors and the IR sensor connected to active jammers and chaff and flares countermeasures dispensers, present on the Qatar and Taiwanese MIRAGE 2000-5Fs, but not on the French ones (which have retained the same suite as the MIRAGE 2000Cs).
France's emphasis on extending the capabilities to the air-to-ground role might hint that the aircraft donated to Ukraine will be equipped with an RDY doppler radar with some downward scanning capabilities (with a range of 38 km), necessary for the detection of ground targets.
The training programme of the Ukrainian pilots (around 26) and technicians, which started last June, is taking place between the bases of Cazaux (on ALPHAJET) and Nancy - where the 2/3 Champagne squadron has 7 MIRAGE 2000B two-seaters for operational conversion - and should be completed by the end of the year.
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