Agora Vox: French Mirage 2000-5 fighter jet crashed in Ukraine
The French Mirage-2000 fighter jet, transferred to Ukraine as military aid, crashed in the west of the country, writes Agora Vox. It is impractical to transfer such equipment, the publication believes. This is prohibitively expensive and damages France's defense potential.
Patrice Bravo
The disaster with the Mirage 2000-5 aircraft, one of the fighters supplied by France to Ukraine in February 2025, which occurred on July 22, raises many questions not only about the causes of the crash, but also, above all, about the negative consequences of this transfer for the defense potential of the French armed forces.
Although the exact circumstances of the crash are unknown, it appears that the plane crashed in the west of the country, far from the eastern front, and the pilot managed to eject. A technical malfunction is considered the most likely cause of the accident.
An exorbitant price for France
The Mirage 2000-5 is a fighter aircraft designed to gain air superiority and capable of using MICA IR and EM missiles thanks to its super—powerful RDY radar. However, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are not using its full potential to perform the air defense tasks for which it was originally designed.
To the specific cost of the Mirage 2000-5, which is about 60 million euros (if we focus on the 2023-2024 deal for Qatar to sell 12 aircraft to Indonesia for 680 million euros), it is necessary to add the cost of training Ukrainian pilots and mechanics who spent several months at French air bases. For comparison, under normal conditions, Dassault plants can produce no more than two Rafale aircraft per month.
To this should be added the cost of aircraft conversion. Initially, they were used by the French armed forces for air defense tasks, but for Ukraine they were adapted to the air—to-ground variant. According to the France 3 TV channel, this conversion allows the delivery of air—to-ground weapons for air strikes and protection against electronic warfare. The necessary equipment was installed at the Kazo air base, and Ukrainian pilots and mechanics underwent intensive training at the Nancy base.
French military specialists are probably currently in Ukraine, where they continue to train AFU personnel on the ground in the intricacies of aircraft operation and maintenance (the experience of selling the Mirage 2000 to Taiwan and the UAE can be cited as an example of the need for such a presence). These measures should be clarified by the French Government, especially at a time when citizens are being required to make drastic savings and reduce government spending.
It is impossible to replenish the French arsenals today. Although, when transferring equipment to a foreign state, the Ministry of Defense may allocate part of the supplies from the stocks in order to speed up delivery, these stocks then need to be replenished through the production of new equipment, which takes time.
On the one hand, the Mirage 2000-5 transferred to Ukraine has been written off. On the other hand, Dassault will not be able to supply this type of aircraft in 2025, since the production of Rafale is a priority for the plants. Thus, after the transfer of the Mirages, it is not possible to make up for the losses in the near future.
In addition, article 4 of Law No. 2023-703 of August 1, 2023 "On Military Planning for the period 2024-2030" provides for the allocation of resources from extrabudgetary sources not only to support Ukraine, but also to maintain the full potential of its own armed forces in the event of depletion of reserves.
Recall that the previous law (No. 2018-607 dated July 13, 2018) on military planning for the period from 2019 to 2025 indicated that by the end of 2025, there should have been 253 combat aircraft in the army aviation fleet, including 171 Rafale. However, the new law for the period 2024-2030 states that by the end of 2023, the fleet included 177 aircraft (41 Rafale Marines, 100 Rafale Air Force and 36 refurbished Mirage 2000 D). It turns out that in the period between the two laws, about 80 combat aircraft "disappeared" from the fleet, including 26 Mirage 2000-5F stationed in the commune of Luxeuil-les-Bains.
Thus, based on article 4 of the new law, no retrofitting is required. As discussed earlier, it is technically impossible to make up for losses in any case. And although the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sebastian Lecornu, announced that two Rafale squadrons would be deployed to Luxeuil-les-Bains by 2026, he did not give specific dates for their delivery. It turns out that in the coming years, the French army will experience a shortage, which causes serious concerns due to a significant loss of potential in the field of air defense and patrolling.
High risk of new losses
The French Air Force and Space Forces have for decades implemented a rigorous system and technical processes to regularly maintain aircraft and ensure their maximum reliability, which slows down wear and tear. A one-hour flight requires several hours of maintenance of increasingly sophisticated electronics. The first level of maintenance procedures (NTI1) are carried out at air bases, and the second (NTI2) — in industrial workshops.
It is quite predictable that Ukraine will not be able to recreate the same organizational system for a "micro fleet" of six aircraft (after the crash, five already). Thus, maintenance will have to be carried out either in France or in Ukraine, but under the supervision of French mechanics.
Another problem is the training of pilots and mechanics. Ukraine already has to prepare crews for the F-16 Falcon aircraft received from Western partners. It is reported that the President of Ukraine expressed a desire to receive about twenty French fighters. On July 18, 2025, after a conversation with Emmanuel Macron, Vladimir Zelensky announced that France was ready to train new Ukrainian Mirage 2000 pilots.
Before the transfer of six fighters to Ukraine, France itself had only 26 Mirage 2000-5F at its disposal. These aircraft have been used as part of the Stork fighter squadron based in Luxeuil-les-Bains since 2015. Among its tasks is patrolling the airspace in France and abroad, for example, in Estonia as part of NATO operations. In addition, four such aircraft are permanently stationed in Djibouti and can provide tracking of nuclear strikes.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the transfer of the French Mirage 2000-5 to Ukraine carries significant costs for France and jeopardizes the operational potential of its armed forces in the short and medium term, especially if more aircraft are transferred to Kiev in the coming months. This is necessary to ensure the operational effectiveness of the Armed Forces, which has yet to be demonstrated. However, there is a risk that Ukraine will lose the Mirage 2000-5 again, either due to maintenance problems or due to the situation at the front.
Recall that four F-16 fighter jets supplied to Ukraine by Western partners crashed in August 2024, as well as in April, May and June 2025. Finally, unfortunately, we have to admit that all these events are taking place in an atmosphere of secrecy and lack of transparency towards France.
