Ukraine’s fighter fleet boosted with France’s Mirage 2000s and extra Netherlands’ F-16s
The announcement of Mirage 2000 deliveries comes eight months after the transfer was confirmed by France. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
The first Dassault Mirage 2000 aircraft have finally been delivered to Ukraine, as confirmed by France’s defence minister on 6 February. They will join the F-16s already in service to bolster Ukrainian air defence.
France’s defence minister, Sebastien Lecornu, has announced that the first of the promised Dassault Mirage 2000-5 aircraft have been delivered to Ukraine.
While no specific number was confirmed, Lecornu confirmed the delivery in a post on X, adding that the Ukrainian pilots operating the aircraft had been trained in France for “several months”.
France first announced it would donate Mirage 2000-5 aircraft to Ukraine in June 2024. It was reported in November that Ukraine would receive six Mirage 2000-5 fighters.
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France’s donated Mirage fighters arrived along with more F-16s from the Netherlands, according to a statement from Ukraine’ defense minister, Rustem Umerov, confirmed by Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy on X.
Ukraine has already received the first batch of F-16 fighter jets from Denmark and the Netherlands in August 2024. A second batch of F-16 jets from Denmark reportedly arrived in the country on December 2024.
While aircraft numbers are increasing, training of the pilots alongside the jets' deliveries remains a point of pressure. Training of Ukrainian fighter pilots for the platform is ongoing at the European F-16 training centre in Romania, to which the country recommitted its efforts in December 2024. It also approved a US$226 million support package for Ukraine’s F-16s in November 2024.
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