France may be able to transfer 6 to 12 Mirage 2000 aircraft to Ukraine - La Tribune
The French Air Force has 26 Mirage 2000 aircraft in service.
This is reported by the French newspaper La Tribune, which has calculated how many Mirage 2000 aircraft France will be able to transfer to Ukraine, Censor.NET reports.
The newspaper notes that the country plans to retain a squadron, i.e. 20 aircraft. Thus, Paris can transfer no more than 6 units to Ukraine.
However, as the publication notes, this number of Mirage 2000s is not enough to help Ukraine, which is seeking to strengthen its air defence.
French journalists also suggest that six planes are not enough to satisfy Emmanuel Macron 's ambitions to remain at the centre of the political game in terms of helping Ukraine. La Tribune writes that the most likely range is from 6 to 12 combat aircraft, but this will complicate the organisation of flights and maintenance of the French Air Force fleet.
The publication also adds that, in addition to France, three other countries - Qatar, Greece and the UAE - have a fleet of Mirage 2000-5 or a more advanced version of the 2000-9. However, according to the media, these countries have yet to be convinced to sell or transfer their aircraft.
In particular, La Tribune points out that the day before his visit to France, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Qatar, where he could have discussed this topic with Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The newspaper adds that Qatar is looking to sell its 12 aircraft of this type.
The media notes that there is also a possibility that Ukraine will receive 25 Greek Mirage 2000-5s, but India has already expressed interest in these aircraft.
As a reminder, on 7 June, French leader Emmanuel Macron officially announced that his country would provide Ukraine with Mirage-2000 fighter jets. He also announced the start of training and maintenance of these aircraft. However, the French president did not disclose how many of these aircraft would be delivered to Ukraine.
