Emmanuel Macron announced this Thursday, June 6 that France would deliver Mirage 2000-5s to Ukraine. Thanks to these aircraft and the F-16s promised by the allies, kyiv could regain control of its airspace and neutralize drone attacks.
Saturday March 9, 2024 between 4 and 7 a.m. A drone attack from Yemen is detected by the French Navy. This offensive was neutralized with the 76 mm cannon of the Alsace frigate which was targeted, but not only that. Mirage 2000-5s from the 3/11 Corse fighter squadron, based in Djibouti in eastern Africa, took off to destroy the drones of the Houthi rebels, supported by Iran.
Sending French fighter planes to Ukraine has been an option for a long time. From now on, we know better what the brigade composed of Mirage 2000-5 will be used for: these fighter planes, used for air combat or to destroy missiles, are just as impactful for destroying all types of remotely operated aerial vehicles, more commonly called kamikaze drones.
“The 2000-5 is an aircraft that has demonstrated great capabilities in terms of air defense. It can deal with drones, but it can also switch to air-to-ground operations. Like the F-16, it is an aircraft ‘ swing role’, that is to say a multi-purpose aircraft”, explains to BFMTV.com the General Staff of the Air and Space Force.
On its site, Dassault Aviation recalls that the “air defense” version of the Mirages entered service in 1984. For this, they are equipped with 2 DEFA 554 30 mm cannons and more MICA air-to-air missiles.
Clear Ukrainian skies
With the Mirage 2000-5s and F-16s promised by Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark, kyiv will be able to regain possession of its airspace. With this aviation, Ukraine will force Moscow to review its harassment strategy carried out not only with its drones, but also with its missiles and its aircraft.
“With these Mirages, Ukrainian aviators will be able to target the Shahed kamikaze drones supplied by Iran. They will finally free the skies to save lives,” Xavier Tytelman, former pilot and aeronautics expert, tells BFMTV.com Business.
For this expert, Ukraine’s goal is now to do in the sky what it did in the Black Sea.
“Thanks to anti-aircraft defense and radars, Russia has already lost around a hundred fighter planes. Ukraine will continue to prepare the skies for the arrival of Mirages and F-16s,” estimates Xavier Tytelman.
Mirages in a few weeks?
It remains to be seen when these planes could arrive. For the F-16s, it will certainly be necessary to wait until the end of the year or the beginning of 2025, the time to train the crews and mechanics.
For the Mirage, things could go faster if France sells aircraft currently active in the Air and Space Force. Another path is also possible: Greece is seeking to resell its Mirages to modernize its aviation with Rafales.
“These are speculations, but in these cases, Ukraine could actually receive the first Mirages in a few weeks. But it seems more credible that they will arrive at the end of the year, like the first F-16s,” adds Xavier Tytelman .
Ten pilots are currently training at an air base in the southwest of France. They learn aerial combat on AlphaJets. Will they be the first pilots of the new air brigade announced yesterday by Emmanuel Macron? The Ukrainian president does not hide his impatience.
“I would like to see in the Ukrainian sky these planes that we saw yesterday in the sky of Normandy,” Volodymyr Zelensky declared this Friday during his speech to the National Assembly.
