President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement came as a surprise. He promised Ukraine he would deliver Mirage fighter jets by the end of the year and have the pilots train in France. The trigger for this will likely be the frustration in Kiev over the delayed delivery of the F-16 fighter jets from the US – as President Joe Biden continues to hesitate.
If the Mirage delivery for Ukraine were to become a reality, it would be of great importance, Jeffrey Fischer, retired US Air Force colonel, told krone.at. This means that Kiev will stop putting pressure on the US to “just buy F-16s,” the military expert said. There have already been several delays with the much-cited F-16 jets. Now Zelenskyi had apparently had enough. A few days ago he publicly criticized the fact that there are far too few training places for Ukrainian pilots.
Other countries preferred training
The US prefers peacekeeping countries when it comes to training sites for the F-16 fighter jets, even though Ukraine is at war, Fischer explained, citing decision makers in the US Air Force. This is ‘unbelievable’, they say behind closed doors. The background will probably be the hesitation of US President Joe Biden, who continues to fear a Russian escalation if Ukraine is supplied with fighter jets that are less controllable than the missile systems already delivered.
A second fighter jet carries the risk of requiring more personnel, logistics and training hours. With the F-16 as the best-selling fighter in the world, this is much easier. But now Ukraine has had enough of the slow pace of US deliveries, Fischer analyzes.
Mirage will fly this year
According to Macron, training for Ukrainian pilots on the Mirage 2000-5 jets will begin this summer in France. That takes five to six months. The schedule for aircraft and pilots to be operational in the war in Ukraine by the end of the year could therefore remain in place.
“Your fighter jets, flown by Ukrainian pilots, will prove that Europe is stronger than the evil that threatens it,” Zelensky told members of the French National Assembly on Friday.
The Ukrainian president could now use Macron’s pledge as leverage for the US to accelerate the deployment of F-16 fighter jets. “Let’s see if training positions magically become available,” says military expert Fischer. Biden tried to smooth things over during a meeting with Zelensky in Paris on Friday. The US president apologized for the months-long halt to arms deliveries due to the Republican blockade – an issue that has now been resolved.
“We will not abandon Kiev”
Biden assured Zelenskiy that America “will not abandon Kiev.” Ukraine is a “bulwark” against Russian aggression and the US has a duty to support Kiev. “I assure you that the United States will support you,” he emphasized. “We are fully committed.”
It is still unclear how many Mirage jets France wants to supply. Macron did not want to provide information about this, citing a coalition of partners that was being built. The French military currently has around 100 Mirage fighter jets in service. These are the oldest fighter jets in the French air force, which would prefer to have around 100 more modern Rafale fighter jets.
There is also the question of how the Mirage aircraft will benefit Ukrainian defenders. Because the Mirage is designed for air defense, it is not really suitable for targeted attacks on Russian positions, French security expert Elie Tenenbaum of the Paris Institute of International Relations (IFRI) explained to the daily newspaper ‘Le Monde’. The delivery shows “France’s will to equip Ukraine with a real air defense capability.”
Swedish scouts as pranksters
It is therefore important that the Ukrainian armed forces receive combat aircraft at all. It therefore makes no sense to compare the Mirage-2000 with the Russian fighter jets, Fischer emphasizes. What’s more important is how they are used. Both the F-16 and the Mirage 2000 would be supported in operations by Swedish-supplied Wedgetail reconnaissance aircraft.
“Real-time data from the Russian Air Combat Command will then likely end up in the cockpits of Ukrainian fighter jets, while the pilots can keep their radar signals secret,” the Austria-based military expert explains. Although the Russian Air Force itself has A-50 aircraft with the same capacity, it has not been able to deploy them effectively: two of these reconnaissance aircraft have already been shot down in Ukraine.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
