Based on the recent confirmation by French President Emmanuel Macron, the country will transfer Mirage 2000 fighter-bombers to the Ukrainian Air Force in a new step reflecting support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. This announcement was made during the celebrations of a new anniversary of the Normandy Landings, which marked the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe, with the presence of the Ukrainian Head of State.
In the same vein, the French President mentioned the training of pilots, which will take place on French soil in the coming months, and proposed, on the other hand, to train approximately 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers. Despite the statements, the quantity of Mirage 2000, in its Mirage 2000-5 version, to be sent, as well as when and with what package of Gallic-origin weaponry, has not yet been confirmed.
Regarding this, Macron stated to the media: “Starting tomorrow, we will launch a pilot training program, followed by the transfer of these aircraft.” He added: “The key factor is the training time for the pilots, so we will propose to President Zelenskiy that the pilots be trained this summer – it usually takes between five and six months – so that by the end of the year they will be able to fly these aircraft.”
The provision of the Mirages has some precedents in the contact meetings for the training of Ukrainian pilots recorded in September 2023 between both countries, where Zelenskiy had mentioned that an agreement had been reached, words later confirmed by the Chief of the Ukrainian Air Force, along with the idea that the Mirages could reinforce the force.
Currently, the French Air and Space Army operates around thirty (30) Mirage 2000-5Fs, which entered service in the early 2000s. The French Mirage 2000-5Fs were converted from old variants of the Mirage 2000 and apparently differ from export versions in some aspects, such as maintaining French defensive countermeasures systems.
The 5F version incorporates the same RDY radars present in the export version of the Mirage 2000, being a pulse-doppler type sensor with mechanical scanning and look-down/shoot-down functionality. Additionally, this radar has improvements over others used by the aircraft, being able to detect and track a greater number of targets simultaneously and incorporating better capabilities to attack ground targets.
Some also mention that the Mirage 2000D aircraft transfer package could include MICA short/medium-range air-to-air missiles. In this regard, the 5F version has the capacity for the use of air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, but could also be adapted to use air-to-ground ammunition that France has already sent to Ukraine, such as SCALP-EG cruise missiles.
With the future transfer of fighters and Mirage 2000-5 fighters, France joins the list of countries that have transferred aircraft to support Ukrainian forces. Most recently, Sweden confirmed it will donate a Saab 340 AEW&C airborne early warning and control aircraft, among other items. But one of the most significant transfers came from Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway with the F-16 Fighting Falcons, with other countries committing to training Ukrainian pilots and crews to operate the multi-role fighters arriving in the coming months.
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