France gives 20 Mirage fighters to Ukraine
report Mehr News Agency, citing Deutsche Welle, French media announced that Paris plans to deliver nearly 20 Mirage 2000 F-5 fighters to the Ukrainian army; The process of sending these fighters to Ukraine will begin from January to March 2025.
These fighters are currently in industrial production to improve their performance.
According to the French website Avions Legendaires, “According to our various sources, France will deliver 12 to 20 Mirage 2000 F5 fighters to Ukraine in the coming days.” The Minister of Armed Forces has announced that the delivery time for the first quarter is from January 1 to March 30, 2025.
By Deutsche Welle The Mirage 2000 F5 fighter is a French multirole fighter aircraft that is an improved version of the Mirage 2000. This fighter was built by Dassault Aviation and is designed to perform a variety of combat missions, including interception, ground and air attack. Air combat Mirage 2000 F5 is equipped with advanced radar systems to identify and destroy air targets at long distances.
The important feature of the Mirage 2000 F5 is its maneuverability and speed, which makes it one of the most efficient fighters in its class. This aircraft also has improved weapons systems, including air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles for operations in various combat situations.
Sébastien Le Courneau, Minister of the French Armed Forces, announced the supply of several Mirage fighter jets to Ukraine last week and said that Kiev would probably be able to use them in the first half of next year.
Locurno also said that the training of Ukrainian pilots, which is being carried out at the French Air Force base in Nancy, is a limiting factor in the transfer of fighters to Ukraine.
French media reported in March that Paris is secretly training Ukrainian military personnel as part of a program to grant Dassault Aviation Mirage fighters.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, confirmed this agreement in June and announced that an (unspecified) number of relatively new fighters of the Mirage 5-2000 generation will be supplied to Ukraine.
Media reports indicate that about 12 fighter planes will be sent to Ukraine. The French Air Force has about 100 Mirage 2000 aircraft and the Navy has 40 aircraft.
Locorno said about this: The goal is to equip these fighters with air-to-ground combat capabilities and strengthen their electronic warfare systems.
The French Mirage 2000 fighters are compatible with the Storm Shadow or Scallop cruise missiles provided by the UK to Ukraine. Kiev has previously asked its Western backers to issue permission to use these long-range missiles against targets deep inside Russian territory. Moscow has warned that any attack of this nature will be considered direct NATO intervention in the war.
