France to transfer Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine by mid-2025

France plans to provide Ukraine with Mirage 2000 fighter jets equipped with new technology before being transferred. The upgraded French planes will be ready to be dispatched to Ukraine in the first half of 2025.

French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced this, according to Sud Ouest.

According to the French defense department head, the conversion procedure will take place at the Cazo base in Gironde.

"The goal is to equip them with combat capabilities of the air-to-ground class. And to strengthen their electronic warfare system. But the most important aspect is the training of pilots and mechanics, which is ongoing in Nancy," the minister noted.

In June, France announced the transfer of several French Mirage-2000-5 fighter jets to Kyiv and training additional Ukrainian service personnel within the framework of "new cooperation" with Ukraine.

However, Macron declined to specify the number of Mirage 2000-5 fighters to be transferred to Ukraine or the collaborators involved. He also pledged to establish French pilots and mechanics teams to train the Ukrainians soon.

"We agreed on the needs. The priority now is to start forming [groups of] pilots and mechanics [for training]. This is something that will be launched in literally a few days. It's about technical training," Macron said.

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On September 20 last year, the mass media reported that Ukraine was negotiating with France to transfer Mirage 2000 attack fighters.

Before that, information was spread that Ukrainian pilots were allegedly in France, where they were training on Mirage 2000 attack aircraft. Later, the Ministry of Defense of both countries denied these statements.

Subsequently, Yurii Ihnat, the former spokesman of the Air Force Command of Ukraine's armed forces, said that Ukraine needs modern multi-purpose aircraft. Hence, the French Mirage 2000 is not a worthy option.

Since the start of 2024, there has been renewed speculation that Ukraine may receive French Mirage 2000 jets. These aircraft are not intended to replace the F–16, but they can provide protection for the Soviet bombers currently in Ukraine's military.

Mirage 2000 is a French multi-purpose fighter developed by Dassault Aviation in the 1970s. It was the main combat aircraft of the French Air Force in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Mirage 2000 can perform various tasks, from intercepting air targets to delivering precise strikes on ground objects.

Mirage 2000 was created as a response to the emergence of new generations of Soviet fighters. Its first flight took place in 1978, and serial production began in the early 1980s.