TSAMTO, October 19. According to Jane's Defense Weekly, the Indian Air Force's modernization program of 51 Mirage-2000N multirole fighters to the Mirage-2000-5 standard is almost three years behind the originally agreed schedule.
According to the sources of the publication, at the moment only 25 aircraft have been upgraded to the Mirage-2000-5 standard under an agreement worth $175.47 billion. Indian rupees ($2.33 billion), concluded in 2011 by the Indian state-owned company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Dassault Aviation, Thales and MBDA.
In accordance with the terms of the agreement, two Mirage-2000H upgraded by Dassault Aviation in France were transferred to the Indian Air Force in 2015. The remaining 49 aircraft were planned to be upgraded at the HAL facility in Bangalore by the end of 2021.
Nevertheless, according to industry representatives, the modernization was delayed due to delays in the delivery of HAL repaired M53-5 turbofan engines from Snecma and other fighter components, as well as due to irregular reports by the Indian Air Force on the operational efficiency of the first two fighters with new integrated systems.
Moreover, the crash of the upgraded Mirage-2000N fighter in February 2019 and the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic further delayed the implementation of the program.
The modernization, aimed at extending the operational life of the fighters by 20-25 years, provides for their equipment with improved avionics, on-board computers, electronic warfare systems (EW) and advanced long-range air-to-air missiles, a glass cabin, interference transmitters and countermeasures, refueling rods, multi-mode radar RDY-3 and combined inertial/GPS navigation systems Totem 3000.
The kit also includes modular calculators, transponders of the "friend-foe" state identification system, MICA air-to-air missiles of the MBDA group and Israeli guidance kits for SPICE-2000 bombs.
The Indian Ministry of Defense informed the Parliament in March 2013 that the cost of the program would be 109.47 billion. Indian rupees for the modernization of aircraft and 66 billion. Indian rupees for a set of weapons.
The Indian Air Force Command stated that the modernization of the Mirage-2000N, including 8 two-seat combat training aircraft, will significantly increase their combat capabilities, partially compensating for the reduction in the authorized number of fighter squadrons from 42 to about 28 currently.
At the end of February 2019, the Indian Air Force Command announced the successful use of 20 upgraded and non-upgraded Mirage-2000N to strike terrorist camps in the Balakot area (in northwestern Pakistan). The attack was a response to the terrorist attack on February 14 of the same year in Kashmir. Then more than 40 Indian soldiers were killed as a result of a car bombing by a suicide bomber.
