What could be the use of the Mirage 2000 fighter planes that Paris will hand over to kyiv?

This device, old but robust, still meets current standards, but not for all missions. It appears more suited to air combat and missile interception than to ground strikes.

It should soon fly in the Ukrainian skies. The Mirage 2000, this French fighter plane designed by the Dassault firm, will soon be part of the military equipment that France provides to Ukraine to help it in its defense against Russia. Emmanuel Macron indeed announced, Thursday June 6, the “cession” of Mirage 2000-5 from here “the end of the year”. And added that Ukrainian pilots would be trained in France.

If the number of aircraft which will head to Ukraine was not revealed by the President of the Republic, this announcement was nevertheless warmly welcomed by his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, who thanked France on Friday in Paris, during a speech before the National Assembly. But how could the Ukrainian army use these devices? What can they change in a conflict that has just entered its 28th month?

The Mirage 2000-5 (fifth generation) is not new. “But he still has something to answer for”, explains to franceinfo Yohann Michel, researcher at the Institute of Strategy and Defense Studies (IESD) at Jean-Moulin Lyon 3 University. Commissioned in 1999, it is based on the 2000-C model, the the only fighter plane in the French fleet to be able to exceed Mach 2 (more than 2,400 km/h), explains the Air Force website. It is therefore faster than the Rafale, launched in 2006 by Dassault, which reaches a maximum of Mach 1.8.

“The Mirage 2000-5 was designed to be an interceptor and to exercise air superiority, explains Yohann Michel. Its goal is to fight other aircraft, rather in an air-air configuration. According to the researcher, this plane could, for example, be used to shoot down missiles launched by Russia. “We saw it very recently in the Red Sea”where France is part of a coalition against attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. “Mirage 2000-5s have participated in missile interception missions, and can easily reproduce them elsewhere., he argues. These planes are also often mobilized during suspicious air movements.

Coupled with Awacs detection aircraft, of which Sweden has just promised two examples to Ukraine, the Mirage 2000-5 can therefore strengthen the air shield against a greater number of threats. “These combined deliveries increase the relevance of the Mirage”comments Yohann Michel.

The Mirage 2000-5 promised to kyiv should not quickly, or by themselves, change the course of the conflict. “Firstly because they will not be available for Ukrainian air operations for a year or a year and a half.”explained Friday, at the microphone of franceinfo, Léo Péria-Peigné, researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri). “Time to train pilots, to train mechanics, to integrate these new machines into the Ukrainian Air Force.”

“There are very few weapons that create a turning point. Otherwise, given the number of times that term is used, these wars, it would be a turning point.”

Léo Péria-Peigné, researcher specializing in weapons issues

at franceinfo

Less sophisticated than the Rafale, the American F-35 or even the latest Sukhoi Su-S7 of the Russian army, the Mirage 2000-5 is not best suited for attacking ground targets. “It is technically possible to mount Scalp missiles there [à longue portée], but that’s not where they are best, explains Yohann Michel. In the French army, we would use other planes for this type of mission.”

The number of aircraft delivered could also be limited. “What is decisive is the number of devices delivered and whether they are delivered at the same timerecalls the ISD researcher. The arrival of sixty planes at once does not have the same effect as shipments in packages of five.” The fact remains that with their limited resources, the Ukrainian forces do not have the luxury of ignoring the Mirage 2000-5, which “remains very capable” And “even outperforms in several areas” part of the Russian aircraft, estimates Yohann Michel, especially if the pilots “are properly trained”.

Facing the National Assembly on Friday, Volodymyr Zelensky accompanied his thanks with a call for “Do more”addressed to all of Ukraine’s Western partners. For Léo Péria-Peigné, “It would especially need new equipment, and perhaps stop selling or giving away what is in the French army’s parks”. After the Mirage, is the delivery of more recent Rafales possible? Nothing is less certain, according to the Ifri researcher, because this would involve restarting the engine of the French defense industry, currently seized up by a “funding [qui] remains quite limited”he explains.

The other obstacle lies in the advanced technologies that equip the Mirage or the Rafale. “These devices do not have the same characteristics, nor do they have the same secrets inside”, recalls Yohann Michel. Radar models, missiles, link systems… “There are things we can afford to give, and others we cannot necessarily”, he reframes. VScertain air weapons that the West did not choose to deliver to Ukraine “are capable of intercepting Russian aircraft over Russia”, explains the researcher. What “really change the situation, but also increase the risk of escalation.”

Without mentioning the Mirage planes, the Russian authorities once again accused France on Friday of wanting to aggravate the situation in Ukraine. “Macron demonstrates his absolute support for the kyiv regime and declares his readiness for direct participation by France in the military conflict”declared Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov, quoted by The Moscow Times website.