Mirage 2000 jets set to bolster Ukrainian defense against Russia

According to the French daily Sud Ouest, Ukraine will receive the first Mirage 2000-5F (the exact number is not known) before the end of this year. In June, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that such aircraft were being prepared for the Ukrainian army. They will complement other Western fighter jets used by Ukrainians, namely the F-16s, whose deliveries began in August.

The Mirage 2000 is a single-engine multirole fighter with a delta wing. It measures over 50 feet in length and about 30 feet in wingspan. Dassault Aviation produced it from 1978 to 2007. The Mirage 2000-5F was one of the major modernizations conducted in 1991. It features a modernized cockpit and better weapon systems and is adapted for a wide range of air-to-air weaponry.

These latest modifications, which the French will carry out at the Cazaux base for the Ukrainian army, are expected to adapt the Mirage 2000-5F to air-to-ground weapons as well. This will make them more effective in the war with Russia, more efficiently destroying invader positions and providing thoughtful support to the F-16 fighters.

The Ukrainian portal Defence Express notes that such changes should not be very complicated to implement since some other variants of the Mirage 2000 have previously been adapted to weapons, allowing them to strike ground targets.

Currently, there is no confirmed information on what kind of weaponry the Mirage 2000-5F prepared for Ukraine might be adapted for. Unofficially, Ukrainian media suggest it could be, for example, AASM bombs, which Ukrainians have been using effectively, and even SCALP-EG cruise missiles. The latter are characterized by a length of over 16 feet and a weight of roughly 2,900 pounds, of which about 1,000 pounds make up the BROACH (Bomb Royal Ordnance Augmented Charge) warhead.