Ukraine’s fighter fleet boosted with France’s Mirage 2000s and extra Netherlands’ F-16s

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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Will F-16s and Mirage 2000s have a major impact on Ukraine’s counter-attack?

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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