IAF receives two Mirage 2000 fighters from France to boost its fighter fleet

The two second-hand fighter jets give a boost to their fighter jet fleet at a time when tensions are rising especially with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Sources said that the aircraft will now be upgraded to the latest standards under the ongoing Mirage Upgrade Program at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

Government sources told the new agency, “The Indian Air Force has received two Mirage 2000 Trainer Edition aircraft from France. Both the aircraft were flying with their Air Force and reached Gwalior airbase recently.” ANI,

The two aircraft were acquired by the Indian Air Force as part of a program to increase the number of aircraft in the Mirage fighter fleet to around 50.

The IAF had acquired around 51 Mirages in different batches and they form three squadrons which are all based at Gwalior Air Force Station.

Sources said that the Mirage upgrade deal between the French and Indian sides was to increase the capacity of 51 aircraft and some of these kits have survived the crash of these aircraft.

Sources said the same kit could be installed on these two French Air Force planes and made them suitable for combat missions.

Sources said that the Indian Air Force has very smartly invested in finding parts for Mirage in the form of old French aircraft and this will help the Air Force to retain them till 2035.

The Miraj has been in service since the 1980s and has been a mainstay of the force from the Kargil War to the 2019 Balakot airstrike, where they bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camp in Pakistan.

The Miraj also successfully took out the Pakistani Army camps and bunkers on Tiger Hilltop in the Kargil War and changed the face of the war by successfully hitting enemy camps at such a height using laser-guided bombs.