A Ukrainian crew operating one of their country’s few Dassault Mirage 2000s said their French-built fighter has been nearly 100% effective against Russia’s weapons.
The Ukrainian Air Force released a video about the fourth-generation combat jet on Wednesday, in which a Mirage pilot and several technicians discussed the aircraft at a forward airstrip.
“The effectiveness of intercepting enemy drones and missiles on this aircraft is 98%. These are impressive numbers,” said the pilot as he sat inside his single-seat Mirage 2000-5. His face was obscured, and he was not named in the video.
Ukraine is expected to receive roughly 20 of the fourth-generation fighters, which the French military is phasing out of its own operations. For now, Kyiv only has a handful of the fighters — previous estimates indicated five or six — after losing one in July.
For Ukraine, precious Western jets like these are primarily reserved for air defense against threats such as cruise missiles.
A technician, identified only as Dmytro, showed the camera one of the main weapons for such missions: a Magic 2 infrared-guided air-to-air missile.
“It has performed exceptionally well,” Dmytro said, resting a hand on the weapon. “Its kill probability is practically 100%.”
The Ukrainian air force also published several clips of a Mirage 2000 destroying its targets, as filmed from inside the fighter’s cockpit.
The crew of the featured Mirage 2000 said they had downed at least 12 Russian Kh-101 cruise missiles, which are long-range subsonic guided missiles launched from the air.
“Right now, there are six on the aircraft, but in reality, there are many more,” said Dmytro of stencil kill markings for the Kh-101 on the fighter’s frame.
Notably, the fighter crew said their filming location was the third airstrip they flew from in a single week, highlighting how Ukraine has been dispersing its Mirage 2000s as it’s done so with many of its other fighters. The tactic makes it harder to track and destroy fighter aircraft, compared to having the planes return to a central airfield each time.
Fighter crew says they still need more options
Despite their praise for the French fighter, the Mirage 2000 crew said they need more long-range options for destroying Russian drones and missiles.
The Magic 2, meant for air-to-air intercepts and dogfights, is a relatively short-range missile and was introduced into operational service in the 1980s.
Screenshot via YouTube/Ukrainian Air Force
The Ukrainian pilot said Mirage 2000 operators need “something in the middle ground between efficiency and cost” to fight off the high number of munitions Russia is slinging into Ukraine.
The Kremlin has been launching hundreds-strong salvos of exploding long-range drones and missiles against Ukraine, often pausing or reducing the intensity of attacks on some days to accumulate more weapons for massive assaults on others.
In the Ukrainian air force’s video, the pilot floated the possibility of flying the Rafale, the French military’s modern fighter.
“Because it is a plane from the same country, retraining on the Rafale will be much faster than on other planes from other countries,” he said.
The Rafale is one of the aircraft that Ukraine is eyeing for a revamp of its air force, which will likely unfold over the next decade or even longer. Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that his country had signed a letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale F4s by the end of 2035.
The agreement would make Ukraine one of Dassault’s customers for the aircraft, but does not guarantee that it will buy all 100. Kyiv is also planning to include the American F-16 Fighting Falcon and Swedish Gripen in its new fleet.
