Achieving air superiority for Ukraine requires not only modern fighters to repel the russian aviation but also an attack aircraft specialized in delivering long-range strikes upon the enemy, the Ukrainian Air Force Command signaled in its recent statement. According to Ukraine's top air force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk, acquiring F-16 multirole aircraft is still a priority for now, but the A-10 and Mirage 2000D are not out of the table either:
"Of course, we won't be able to immediately discard Soviet aircraft from operation. Therefore, alongside F-16s, the MiG-29 will also operate in the sky; it is possible that the combat capabilities of the Su-24M bombers will be strengthened by the Mirage 2000D, and the Su-25 attack aircraft by A-10 Thunderbolt II," said Oleshchuk.
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Notably, while we already explained Ukraine's need for A-10 aircraft, the Mirage 2000 family of aircraft was barely ever discussed in the context of potential provisions to the Ukrainian forces. It was only a topic for debates back in March 2023 and some rumors later in August but no public progress on this matter since then. So why did the Ukrainian Air Force mention the not-so-promising prospect of acquiring this type of aircraft in particular? The answer lies in the fact that Mirage 2000D has a capability essential for Ukraine.
Particularly, that Mirage 2000D is a standard carrier of SCALP-EG cruise missiles and other guided air weapons. Accordingly, the "strengthening" of Su-24M with Mirage 2000D aircraft means an overall increase in the number of carriers of the Western cruise missiles in service with the Ukrainian Air Force.
There's also a technical aspect. MBDA management earlier disclosed that it took only "a few weeks" to design and implement adaptations enabling the use of SCALP-EG from Ukrainian Su-24M bombers. Meanwhile, Germany is considering the transfer of its Taurus cruise missile to Ukraine, which will necessitate a similar adaptation.
If Berlin commits to providing Taurus, some of the Ukrainian Su-24Ms will have to leave the country for up to six months to get ready to accept the new weapon, so the Air Force will need some aircraft in replacement for that period, Mirage 2000D being the perfect candidate.
Important to note, the Ukrainian Air Force mentions Mirage 2000D as a specialized attack aircraft, not some abstract "Mirage 2000 as a SCALP-EG carrier" because it leaves less room for speculation when approaching the partner countries.
For instance, an option was considered to give Ukraine an old decommissioned Mirage 2000C, revamped to launch only SCALP missiles, an aircraft still very limited in its choice of modern weapons.
Another episode notable in this context was related to 12 Mirage-2000-5 aircraft that Indonesia was going to buy from Qatar but hasn't yet. Reports suggested that those were evaluated as potential reinforcement for Ukraine's air fleet, although this type of Mirage is supposed to be unable to launch SCALPs.
These examples underline why it's so important to clarify that Ukraine is looking forward to the Mirage 2000D modification specifically because only this specialized missile carrier can actually level up Ukraine's capabilities and complement available Su-24Ms, not just be a band-aid solution to a temporary problem.
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