Ukraine’s air force has received its first Dassault Aviation Mirage 2000-5 fighters from France, while also continuing to boost its fleet of donated Lockheed Martin F-16s.
With French President Emmanuel Macron having last year pledged to transfer the nation’s remaining examples of the interceptor to Kyiv, the first examples arrived in the country on 6 February.
“With Ukrainian pilots on board who have been trained for several months in France, they will now participate in defending the skies of Ukraine,” French defence minister Sebastien Lecornu wrote on X.
Aviation analtics company Cirium records the French air force as having had 26 Mirage 2000-5Fs in service prior to the initial transfer.
“Ukraine’s air fleet continues to develop,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also confirms via X. “The first Mirage 2000 jets from France have arrived, adding to our air-defence capabilities. This is another step in strengthening Ukraine’s security.
“With the latest deliveries, we are also continuing to expand our F-16 fleet, with the Netherlands fulfilling its commitments to support this effort,” he adds.
“We continue systematic work together with partners to increase the number of modern combat aircraft in Ukraine,” notes defence minister Rustem Umerov, who in late-January visited an undisclosed site in the Netherlands where some of Kyiv’s air force personnel are receiving training.
“Our service members here are gaining hands-on experience in servicing and repairing these aircraft,” he said.
Cirium lists nine F-16s as already in use with the Ukrainian air force. An eventual total of almost 100 of the jets will be donated by Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway, including assets used for training outside of the country.
