In his evening address on November 29, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi noted a conversation with president of France Emmanuel Macron. The conversation was aimed at strengthening Ukraine's air defense, as well as "comprehensive defense support and accelerating the transfer of Mirage aircraft."
On the one hand, this report can be seen as a reason to mention the transfer of these aircraft, but on the other hand, it emphasizes that work on the Mirage aircraft for the Defense Forces of Ukraine is ongoing, and that soon we will see another type of fighter jet in service with the Ukrainian Air Force. This message is an occasion to recall the chronology of public statements and media publications regarding these aircraft in recent months.
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It should be noted that Emmanuel Macron officially announced the transfer of Mirage 2000-5 to Ukraine on June 6. At that time, a six-month timeframe was announced, taking into account the training process (i.e., approximately by December of this year). In mid-July, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic to Ukraine, Gael Vessier, announced a shorter timeframe for the transfer of the fighter jets — namely, a few months — but it seems that this was either a stipulation or a PR stunt.
In October, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu gave a more restrained prediction, noting that Ukraine should expect Mirage aircraft in the first quarter of 2025. That is, the delivery of the aircraft may be extended until the end of March.
In addition, it is worth noting that while the media initially reported only three Mirage 2000-5s would be delivered to the Ukrainian Air Force, it was later reported in November that this number would increase to six aircraft.
Later, the French said that in order to deliver this number of aircraft, they needed to accelerate production from 3 to 4 Rafale aircraft per month. This could also negatively impact the timing, as France later admitted that the situation with the Rafale was not very encouraging, with only nine of the 15 planned fighters delivered this year. On the other hand, it could serve as a form of public communication for self-reassurance, indicating that the French are monitoring the combat capability of their air force and that the transfer of aircraft to Ukraine should not affect this factor.
If we are talking about speeding up the delivery of Mirage aircraft to Ukraine, it is likely to take about a month and a half. If the projections are positive, the aircraft could be in service with the Ukrainian Air Force by January or February. However, as practice often shows, such timeframes are usually extended.
Earlier Defense Express reported that France had wanted its own ballistic missile with a range of 1000 km.
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