Paris delivers Kyiv Mirage 2000-5
Macron surprises with fighter jet aid for Ukraine
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French President Macron has announced that he will provide Ukraine with Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets. The training programs are set to start soon and end this year. But there are still some uncertainties.
On the day of the D-Day commemoration, French President Emmanuel Macron made a surprise announcement in a TV interview about the delivery of French fighter aircraft. According to the statement, Paris will provide Ukraine with several Mirage 2000-5 aircraft.
According to broadcaster BFMTV, Macron said in the interview: “Tomorrow we will start a new cooperation and announce the delivery of Mirage 2000-5. These are French fighter planes that will enable Ukraine to protect its country and its airspace.” The training program for the pilots is to start soon.
According to the report, Macron did not provide any precise details on the number of aircraft that Kiev will receive. He justified this by saying that France is currently in the process of building a coalition with other partners. The aim is to train pilots in France for five or six months starting this summer. The aircraft should then be ready for use by the end of the year.
Jets could be a big help
Macron's move was not foreseeable. Mirage fighter jets have played a minor role in previous debates about arms deliveries outside France. The first aircraft in the series entered service in the 1980s, the first 2000-5 version in the 1990s.
If fighter jets are actually sent to the front at the end of the year, this could be a great help for Ukraine – depending on the number. The initiative to deliver F-16 fighter jets has repeatedly been plagued by problems. According to a Politico report, only 20 Ukrainian pilots are expected to complete their training this year. There are also said to be difficulties due to a lack of capacity for the lengthy and expensive training.
The F-16 initiative as a whole has progressed less quickly than initially expected. Kiev is probably pinning all its hopes on the Mirage 2000-5 not doing the same. Many other military aid measures from the West for Ukraine in the past have also failed to meet expectations in terms of speed.
