The French government has proposed providing Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine, with Sebastien Lecornu, the nation’s minister of the armed forces, confirming that this could happen within the first half of next year. These aircraft would be used by Ukrainian pilots against Russian forces in the ongoing conflict. Training for Ukrainian pilots and mechanics is currently being carried out at an Air Force base in Nancy.
The proposed donation was announced in June, when French president Emmanuel Macron confirmed that an unspecified number of relatively new Mirage 2000-5 versions would be provided to the war-torn country. The key factor for the transfer is the time it takes to train pilots – which usually lasts between five and six months, as stated by Macron. He suggested that pilot training could begin as early as this summer so that they can operate the planes by the end of the year.
It’s believed that around a dozen jets may be sent to Ukraine. France currently operates almost 100 Mirage 2000s, with another 40 in service with the French Navy. The goal is to equip the Ukrainian forces with air-to-ground combat capabilities and strengthen their electronic warfare systems.
The Mirage 2000 aircraft is compatible with the British-French Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles that have already been supplied by Western nations, including the United States. Kiev has requested permission to use these long-range weapons against targets deep inside Russia, although doing so would be considered a direct attack on NATO by Moscow.
Other Western countries have also donated US-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, with some of these aircraft being lost in the conflict. The Russian military has reported strikes on an airfield where these Western aircraft were stationed.
In addition to providing fighter jets, French president Macron had previously urged members of the US-led military bloc not to rule out deploying troops to Ukraine. However, several other countries opposed the idea when it was first proposed in February.
Moscow views the ongoing conflict in Ukraine as a US-led proxy war against Russia, with Ukrainians being used as ‘cannon fodder.