French Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets are to protect the Ukrainian skies already in the first quarter of 2025, which was officially announced by French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu.
He also noted that the aircraft should be updated and equipped with new components for hitting ground targets and actions in ERW conditions.
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It should be noted that the new terms directly indicate that the transfer of aircraft shifts to the right. Because in June, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the Mirage 2000-5 should be handed over to Ukraine by the end of 2024.
Moreover, already in July, the French ambassador to Ukraine, Gael Vessier, generally said that it is “months” before the Air Force of Ukraine is strengthened with these machines. Although, of course, six months are also “months”. But then there was hope that the Mirage 2000-5 would not begin to repeat the fate of the F-16s, which met with a shift in the delivery dates.
At the same time, the current deadline for receiving these French aircraft still shifts to the right and the mark is now at the level of “until the end of March 2025”. But even in the case of the transfer of aircraft 10, not 7 months after the public announcement, it is still faster than the F-16. In particular, they started talking about them at the official level at the beginning of 2023, the first “firm” promise from the Netherlands and Denmark was announced in August 2023, and was implemented only a year later.
But attention should also be paid to the topic of the modernization of the Mirage 2000-5, which is taking place in Cazo, where the main flight test department of the French Air Force is located. And if it became known in September about the upgrade of aircraft to increase the capabilities of striking ground targets, and Defense Express analyzed in detail what kind of modernization is needed and how difficult it is, then the information about the update for actions in the conditions of electronic communications is new.
Apparently, the machine is going to be made more resistant to the influence of Russian means of radio-electronic warfare. This can apply to both the operation of navigation systems and the aircraft’s on-board radar, as well as communication systems. And although the actual list of works is unknown, it is really extremely important.
We will remind you that the number of Mirage 2000-5 delivered to Ukraine has not yet been announced. But in March 2024, Sebastien Lecornu announced that France would give all decommissioned weapons to Ukraine. And the French Air Force has 27 single-seater Mirage 2000-5 and 7 two-seater Mirage 2000B, which are built in two squadrons: 1/2 Cigognes and 3/11 Corse.
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