France will supply Ukraine with Mirage 2000 fighter jets in the first half of 2025

8 October, 2024 Mirage 2000-5F fighter. Photo: French Air Forces France will deliver upgraded Mirage 2000-5F fighter jets to Ukraine in the first quarter of 2025.

Sebastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces of France, announced this. The fighter jets will be modernized for air-to-ground weapons and receive advanced electronic warfare systems prior to shipment. The French Minister added that training of Ukrainian pilots and ground specialists in maintaining these fighter jets is underway.

The Mirage 2000-5F was designed and used only as a fighter jet and was not intended to be used for air-to-ground munitions.

The Mirage 2000-5F fighter jet. Photo credits: Ministry of Armed Forces of France

However, based on Ukraine's urgent need to have multifunctional fighter jets that can fight air targets and hit ground targets of the Russian invaders, France decided to modify part of the fighter jets it undertook to supply to Ukraine as part of military aid. At the beginning of June this year, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France plans to supply Ukraine with Mirage 2000-5F fighter jets as part of its military assistance.

He noted that France will organize six-month pilot training courses to operate the Mirage 2000-5F. It is yet unknown what armament the modified aircraft will be able to use to strike ground targets. The first contender for this role is the French AASM bomb, which Ukrainian pilots already have experience using.

AASM-250 Hammer suspended under the wing of a MiG-29 fighter of the Ukrainian Air Force.

2024. Ukraine. Photo credits: The War Zone

It can also be assumed that Ukraine's Mirage 2000-5F will be adapted to use American precision-guided bombs with JDAM kits, which the Ukrainian Air Force also actively uses.

A JDAM-ER bomb under the wing of a MiG-29 fighter jet of the Ukrainian Air Force.

Photo credits: Ukrainian Air Force

Thus, the French fighter jets will be a qualitative addition to the Ukrainian fleet of Soviet-era combat aircraft and Western F-16 fighters. Read more on the French aircraft in Militarnyi's article.