First Combat Deployment Of Aircraft Sent By France

On March 7, 2025, Ukrainian military forces deployed Mirage 2000-5F fighter jets in combat that successfully intercepted cruise missiles fired by Russia in a large-scale overnight attack, confirmed by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

This is the first official report that the fighters provided by France were used by Ukraine and comes just a few weeks after the arrival of the first Mirage 2000-5F aircraft in-country.

Russia launched about 70 missiles including cruise and ballistic models during the attack, along with approximately 200 attack drones targeting critical energy infrastructure in the Ukrainian regions of Odesa, Poltava, Chernihiv, and Ternopil.

It was reported that residential buildings were also hit resulting in casualties in Kharkiv when a missile struck near an apartment building.

Zelensky noted the decisive role the newly operational Mirage 2000 jets played, along with F-16 fighters that were mobilized to defend against the attack.

“Today, F-16 fighter jets and Mirage aircraft provided by France were used to protect Ukrainian skies. In particular, the Mirages successfully intercepted Russian cruise missiles,” said Zelensky in a post on X.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced the package of fighter jets he was sending to Ukraine in June 2024. That package included the Mirage 2000-5 jets used in this first operation. Although the number of aircraft being sent was not officially disclosed, previous reports said that an initial batch of three aircraft would be sent by the end of the first quarter of 2025.

The aircraft sent were specially modified to enhance their capabilities for the Ukrainian operations. Such mods included equipping them for air-to-ground ops, upgrading their electronic warfare systems to counteract Russian jamming, and integrating the ability to launch SCALP-EG/Storm Shadow cruise missiles that are already in use by Ukrainian Su-24 bombers. They were also equipped with MICA air-to-air missiles and AASM Hammer precision bombs.

FMI:  ukraine.ua/