The UAE's EDGE Group recently published images on X (formerly Twitter) showing Mirage 2000-9 fighters armed with Thunder precision-guided bomb kits developed by its subsidiary Halcon.
Depending on the version, Thunder P-31, P-32, and P-4 (P-34) can be fitted to Mk 81, Mk 82, and Mk 84 bombs, respectively. The kits combine satellite and inertial guidance, making them broadly comparable to the American JDAM. They can also be equipped with a semi-active laser seeker, reducing the claimed circular error probable (CEP) to less than three meters.
Read more: Taiwan Pays $110K Per Mirage 2000-5 Annually for Maintenance, Ukraine Spent $10M for Three Combat Jets in Under Year
As noted by Opex360, integrating a new domestically produced precision weapon into the Mirage 2000-9 fleet may indicate that the UAE has reconsidered earlier plans to dispose of these aircraft.
The country had previously explored selling part of its Mirage fleet, with Morocco, Greece, and Egypt reportedly among the potential buyers. However, the recent conflict with Iran appears to have changed those calculations. The UAE Air Force reportedly employed Mirage 2000-9 fighters during strikes on Iranian targets, where the aircraft could make use of several indigenous precision-guided munitions.
The UAE originally ordered its Mirage fighters under contracts signed in 1983 and 1998. Today, the fleet consists of 37 single-seat Mirage 2000-9EADs, 13 two-seat Mirage 2000-9DADs, and six Mirage 2000RAD reconnaissance aircraft, although several airframes have reportedly been retired in recent years.
The long-term replacement for the fleet is already on order. In 2021, the UAE signed a contract for 80 Dassault Rafale F4 fighters.
Defense Express also recalls that, back in 2023, media reports claimed that some UAE Mirage 2000-9 fighters could eventually be transferred to Ukraine.
Even at the time, however, the story raised questions. The reports suggested that France would first purchase the aircraft from the UAE before transferring them to Ukraine. That scenario appeared difficult to justify, given that France had only recently retired its own Mirage 2000C fighters in 2022 and could have refurbished and upgraded those aircraft for the Ukrainian Air Force without buying jets from a third country.
Read more: More Than 40 Mirage Aircraft Could Go to Ukraine as France Pushes Deal With Greece
