Mirage 2000-5 is not the pinnacle of the evolutionary development of these French fighters, so there are still several options for more advanced upgrades
After French President Emmanuel Macron officially announced the strengthening of Ukraine with Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets, it may be quite logical to ask whether it is possible to modernize these machines. After all, we are talking about a not-so-young machine that was modernized in the 90s, and therefore it is necessary to understand what these French fighters can and cannot do without exaggeration.
And of course, the Mirage 2000-5 is not the pinnacle of the evolution of this aircraft , because after all, we are talking about a fairly popular fighter in the world, which, if we count the Mirage 2000 in total, is in service with 8 countries.
In particular, the next version of the aircraft is the Mirage 2000-5 Mk2, which was ordered by Greece in 2000 in order to update the machines that were ordered back in 1985. The main difference of this version is the following update of the on-board radar – RDY-2, which received, according to available information, a fighter-type target detection range of up to 140 km (instead of 130 km) and a SAR mode, which allows you to map the terrain and implement a flight with terrain evasion.
Also integrated into the aircraft is the updated built-in ICMS Mk3 complex, as well as a more accurate navigation system of inertial and satellite navigation. A new Damocles optical aiming station was added to the aircraft. The monitors in the cockpit were also updated.
There is a Mirage 2000-9 version, which was ordered by the UAE a little earlier, back in 1998. It is rightly believed that, despite the different name, we are talking about almost the same version of modernization. The only known difference – built-in IMEWS EW complex, which has wider capabilities than ICMS Mk3, although it is built on it.
There is also an Indian subversion of the Mirage 2000-5 Mk2, which received a separate index Mirage 2000I for a single and Mirage 2000TI for a two-seat machine, to which the Mirage 2000H and 2000TH aircraft delivered in the 80s were upgraded. The renewal program took place in the 2010s, in particular, the approval was carried out in 2011 with the allocation of a total of 2.2 billion dollars for fifty machines – 43 million dollars per aircraft, and deliveries began in 2015.
Although it is believed that in general the modifications are similar, but the Israeli companies Elbit and Rafael took a very active role in the Indian version. In particular, it is known about the integration of the Litening optical sighting station, the integration of air-to-air missiles; and updating the on-board electronics and the pilot's helmet from these companies.
It should be noted that when this modernization was ordered, the issue of integrating a long-range air-to-air missile was raised. Meteor. But the works were not carried out. But India is trying to experiment with the aircraft on its own, for example, it has integrated or conducted work in this direction with the use of R-73 missiles on the Mirage 2000I.
Thus, objectively, the Mirage 2000-5 in its first version has room for improvement. But to say it could be a global update – No. Moreover, unlike the F-16, which continues to be constantly updated at the expense of blocks of the same type, the Mirage 2000 was updated for each customer individually.
That is, for example, if there is a desire to replace the on-board radar from RDY-1 to RDY-2 on the French Mirage 2000-5, it is unlikely that such an opportunity will exist, because it is doubtful that Thales is currently producing them. And therefore we will be talking about some new version of this radar, which will be developed and manufactured individually. The same applies to the EW complex and all other elements of the aircraft. But any suspended containers, in particular the Damocles optical sighting station, are unlikely to require long integration work.
But in general, we will be talking about the corresponding price tag for the works, which became an obstacle in modernization, for example, Taiwan decided not to upgrade cars. And most likely, if we do not take Ukraine, the Mirage 2000-5 will live out its aviation age only in India.
Because currently there is a process of reducing operators and withdrawing aircraft of this type from operation. This decision is implemented by France itself. Greece has already announced plans to sell them. Qatar had almost completed the 2023 sale to Indonesia, but the deal was canceled in February 2024. Peru intended to decommission them by 2025. And the UAE has already started the process of replacing the Mirage 2000 with the Rafale F4 under a record contract.