French Foreign Minister announced the transfer of Mirage 2000 aircraft to Ukraine

French Foreign Minister announced the transfer of Mirage 2000 aircraft to Ukraine

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot arrived in Ukraine and announced the delivery of Mirage 2000 fighter jets. According to him, the Ukrainian Air Force will receive the first batch of combat aircraft next year.

The minister also added that France will undertake the training of pilots for these aircraft. Jean-Noël Barrot stated this at a press conference after a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha.

The head of the diplomatic department emphasized that the first Mirage 2000 aircraft will be provided to Ukraine at the beginning of 2025. The number of fighter jets that the Ukrainian army will receive was not specified by the minister.

At the same time, he added that France became the first country to engage in training an entire Ukrainian brigade. The Foreign Minister noted that Paris is also making efforts to assist in the repair of equipment and machinery in Ukraine.

"The first Mirage 2000 aircraft will be provided to Ukraine at the beginning of next year. Moreover, France will train pilots for these aircraft," stated the French Foreign Minister.

The Mirage 2000-5 variant promised to Ukraine was updated in the late 1990s. It is equipped with an improved radar for tracking targets and capable of intercepting supersonic targets at high altitudes.

Subsequently, the Mirage 2000-5 was enhanced with equipment for ground strikes, enabling it to drop bombs and use air-to-ground missiles like Storm Shadow and SCALP.

Overall, the Mirage 2000-5 fighter is equipped with the following missiles:

– "air-to-air" MICA with a range of up to 80 km with infrared or radar homing head;

– anti-ship Exocet with a range of up to 50-70 km depending on flight altitude;

– "air-to-ground" SCALP with a range of up to 500 km without export restrictions;

– anti-radar AS37 Armat with a range of up to 120 km.

The fighter’s radar station can detect targets at a distance of up to 130 km. It can simultaneously track up to 8 targets and engage 4 of them. The radar for Mirage 2000-5 is manufactured by Thales.