After the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the French-origin Mirage 2000-5, which was recently delivered to Ukraine, has assumed air defense duties. The Dassault aircraft reportedly shot down a Russian Kh-101 missile on March 7, the first such kill in Ukrainian airspace.
The aircraft was reportedly deployed overnight to repel Russia’s latest aerial strike which included 194 drones and 67 missiles, mostly targeting civilian and energy facilities in the Odesa, Poltava, Kharkiv, and Ternopil districts.
Ukraine was able to shoot down 100 drones and 34 missiles. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Facebook: “The Mirages successfully intercepted Russian cruise missiles.”
Subsequently, the Ukrainian Air Force published a photo of the Mirage-2000 shooting down a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile on the social media site X. The Kh-101 is a low-observable cruise missile with a reported operational range of 4,500 kilometers. The Russian Air Force regularly uses it to attack Ukrainian cities.
France delivered the first batch of Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Ukraine in February to help Kyiv defend its airspace against Russia. This was about eight months after France announced sending the aircraft as part of a comprehensive military package that included pilot training.
Ukrainian Air Force fighter jet Mirage-2000s, provided by 🇫🇷 France to 🇺🇦Ukraine, shoot down X-101 cruise missiles in Ukrainian skies, during a russian attack on March 7, 2025!
Thank you to our partners! pic.twitter.com/ndYbfgL8Kx— Ukrainian Air Force (@KpsZSU) March 7, 2025
French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced that the aircraft had been modified to engage ground targets and would be ideally suited for the conflict in Ukraine.
“The aim is to equip them with air-to-ground combat capabilities and reinforce their electronic warfare system. But most important is the training of pilots and mechanics, which continues in Nancy,” the Minister said.
While technical upgrades to the aircraft and subsequent technical training were conducted at Cazaux Air Base, Ukrainian air and ground operators were reportedly trained at Nancy Air Base. The Storm Shadow/Scalp missiles have been integrated into the jets providing Ukraine with precision strike capability.
The Mirage 2000-5 variant boasts a sophisticated sensor and control system, enhanced air-to-air and air-to-ground combat capabilities, and upgraded avionics. While the aircraft was originally designed for air-to-air combat, it could primarily be used in the air defense role in Ukraine.
The Mirage 2000-5 reportedly joined the air defense mission alongside the F-16, which the Ukrainian Air Force operated in August 2024.
The F-16 delivered by Ukraine’s partners in the NATO has been instrumental in repelling Russian attacks. In fact, one of these American-origin fighters reportedly downed six Russian cruise missiles in one mission in January 2025.
However, the strained relationship between the US administration and Ukraine could complicate the Ukrainian Air Force’s F-16 operations. Donald Trump has halted military aid to Ukraine, which means that the embattled country would not get the crucial support for the radar jammers used in the F-16s. This would essentially deny the Ukrainian air force its most crucial aerial countermeasures at a critical juncture in the war.
According to reports, this is where the Mirage 2000-5 comes into the picture. The Ukrainians could assign the Dassault Mirage jets with the task of aerial jamming.
Moreover, experts believe that the Mirage 2000-5 would likely prove more lethal against Russia than the F-16s that have failed to alter the course of the ongoing war.
Mirage 2000-5 Better Suited Than F-16?
The F-16 and Mirage 2000 are both multirole fighters of comparable size, weight, and combat radius, tailored for precision ground attack and air-to-air combat.
The F-16s are equipped with the AN/APG-66(V)2 radar, which has a detection range of 110 km. They can also be fitted with LANTIRN and Litening targeting pods for precision-guided munitions. For strike missions, F-16s carry precision-guided munitions and bombs, and for air combat, they are armed with AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles.
In contrast, the Mirage 2000-5 is equipped with the RDY radar, which can detect a fighter-sized target at approximately 100–120 kilometres under optimal conditions.
Writing for EurAsian Times earlier, Indian Air Force veteran and an expert on Russian military, Squadron Leader Vijainder K. Thakur, argued that while it would appear that the Mirage 2000-5 presents no more threat to Russian forces than the danger that comes with greater numbers, given their many similarities.
“The Mirage 2000-5 has a significant advantage: its long-range strike capability, which stems from its ability to carry and launch Storm Shadow missiles,” he stated.
The expert supported his argument by saying that the Mirage 2000-5 could prove more lethal with one of the deadliest weapons in the Ukrainian arsenal, the Storm Shadow missiles.
Mounted aboard a Mirage 2000-5, the Storm Shadow can communicate with the aircraft’s flight and weapons management systems, improving targeting flexibility and enhancing launch accuracy.
The Ukrainian Air Force currently uses the Soviet-era SU-24MR fighter bomber to launch Storm Shadow missiles. Thakur states that compared to the Su-24MR, the Mirage 2000-5 is a more compact and covert launch platform. It can therefore operate closer to Russian territory and increase the Storm Shadow missile’s effective range because it is less likely to be picked up early by Russian air defense radars.
The Mirage-2000-5 has the ICMS Mk 2 electronic warfare (EW) system, which consists of flare and chaff dispensers, jammers, and radar warning receivers. With its ability to identify, rank, and neutralize radar threats, this system provides a certain amount of defense against radar detection.
Using its EW capability, the Mirage 2000-5 could launch closer to the line of contact or even sneak into and launch from inside Russian-held territory by navigating through holes in the Russian air defense (AD) radar coverage.
“Ukraine is now using Storm Shadow missiles less frequently than in the past for strikes into Russia. The drop in Storm Shadow attacks has been widely attributed to a drop in Ukraine’s Storm Shadow inventory,” Thakur states. “This is unlikely. While there have been several reports about shortages of UK-manufactured Storm Shadow missiles, there have been no reports of any shortages of France-manufactured SCALP missiles, an analog of the Storm Shadow.”
Additionally, Thakur pointed out that Russian air defense forces have improved their ability to identify, track, and intercept Storm Shadow missiles over the last two years.
As a result, fewer missiles are hitting their objectives currently than they did in the past. Using the Mirage 2000-5 as the launch platform might alter this. When Ukraine begins deploying Mirage 2000-5s to launch strikes, the launch distances, parameters, and flight profiles to meet those parameters will probably change, requiring Russian air defense forces to devise new strategies.
Ukrainian Mirage 2000-5 fighters will likely be fitted with the French MICA air-to-air missile, which is essentially a version of the US AMRAAM missile, for air warfare.
A multipurpose missile, the MICA, can be used in medium- and short-range conflicts. “It’s likely that the deployment of the MICA-equipped Ukrainian Mirage 2000-5 will push Russian Su-35 combat air patrol fighters deeper into Russian territory, allowing Mirage 2000-5 fighters to sneak in closer to targets under Russian control,” according to Thakur.
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