India is extending the service life of its Mirage-2000 fighters in every possible way. Yesterday, September 19, the portal firstpost.com He reported that the Indian Air Force is buying decommissioned aircraft from France in order to use them for spare parts.
The contract worth €27 million includes the supply of 24 fighters. At the same time, eight of them are still in flight condition. The Indian Air Force intends to "cannibalize" the purchased fighters in order to improve the technical condition of the 50 remaining Vajra in service (this is how the Mirage-2000 is called in Indian service).
Mirage 2000 Fighter Jet
Image source: pinterest.com
India ordered 36 single-seat and four two-seat Mirage-2000 in 1982 in response to Pakistan's purchase of American-made F-16 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin. In 2004, the Indian Air Force ordered an additional supply of 10 aircraft. In 2011, another contract was signed, under which the Mirage-2000 aircraft were upgraded to the Mirage 2000-5 Mk version, which increased their service life until 2030. At the same time, the Indian Air Force is experiencing an acute shortage of spare parts (the purchase of decommissioned fighters from France announced yesterday is already the second in a row).
The Mirage-2000 was developed by Dassault Aviation in the late 70s as a light fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force. In the period from 1978 to 2007, 601 aircraft were produced in various modifications, which were also exported to eight countries.