Mirage move: France confirms jet delivery to Ukraine by 2025

Although information about France's possible delivery of Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Ukraine has been circulating since 2023, the authorities decided to confirm the preparations for their delivery only in October this year. As revealed by the newspaper La Tribune, the first batch, expected to reach Ukraine in the first quarter of 2025, will include only three French fighters.

This confirms the earlier concerns of some analysts, who argued that Ukraine cannot expect a larger number of Mirage 2000-5s. It is possible that, in total, they will receive six to a maximum of 12 such fighter jets. All of them will, however, be modified and adapted to carry weaponry, which should pose the greatest threat to the Russians.

The Mirage 2000-5 fighters that will be handed over to the Ukrainian air force will be able to carry French-British SCALP-EG/Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which have been reaching the front lines for some time now. These long-range weapons allow targeting at distances of up to 500 kilometres. Each missile is over 5 metres long and weighs roughly 1,300 kilograms (with 450 kilograms accounting for the warhead).

In addition, according to "La Tribune," the Ukrainians will be able to use French AASM glide bombs, which they are already familiar with (they use them on MiG-29 and Su-25 aircraft), and modern Mica air-to-air missiles with a range of about 80 kilometres. The Mirage 2000-5 for Ukraine will also receive improvements in electronic warfare systems. By default, it is equipped with two 30 mm DEFA 554 cannons.

These are single-engine multirole fighters characterised by a delta wing. They are over 15 metres long with a wingspan of 9 metres. They can reach speeds of up to Mach 2.35 and operate at altitudes over 19,000 metres.