France Offers Life Extension for Worldwide Mirage 2000D Operators, Including India

The French Air and Space Force's decision to extend the operational life of its Mirage 2000D fighter jets offers a much-needed boost for nations that continue to rely on this versatile aircraft. India, in particular, stands to benefit substantially from this move.

The extension ensures a continued supply of crucial spare parts and potentially delays the aircraft's overall retirement, easing logistical and operational concerns for operators worldwide.

France, the world's largest Mirage 2000 operator, had previously planned a complete transition to the advanced Dassault Rafale. However, recent discussions with Dassault Aviation have shifted focus towards maintaining a steady flow of spare parts and equipment needed to extend the service life of the Mirage 2000D well into the mid-2030s.

This decision carries significant implications for India, which operates the third-largest Mirage 2000 fleet after France and the United Arab Emirates. India's original plans involved phasing out its Mirage 2000 fleet by 2035, with the indigenously developed Tejas MkII fighter jet stepping in as its replacement.

The French extension introduces valuable flexibility for India. The potential to extend the Mirage 2000D's lifespan within the Indian Air Force reduces the immediate pressure to find replacements and could pave the way for a more seamless transition to the Tejas MkII program.

Crucially, France's continued commitment to the Mirage 2000D program guarantees an ongoing supply of spare parts, bolstering the operational readiness of India's existing Mirage 2000 fleet.

 

[sanket]

Even Dassault Extends service Life offers To Mirage 2000 Fleet Globally Time Line for Induction for Tejas MK2 should not b impacted or Delayed .Secondly what India would need is Even after costly upgrade Mirage is Not par with MIG-29 &F-16 This Three fighters were in same decade . If F-16 & MIG-29 can b upgraded to AESA Radar Latest Avionics & Latest E/W BVR with range over 100 kMplus why Not Mirage-2000.Only Service Life Extension is Not enough it should b at par with similar Fighter jets upgraded.Actualyy al 3 Fighters should n Multirole after upgrading But Even after pouring money for upgrade Mirage-2000 is Ground attack Fighter jet.

 

[Shafted mohammed]

Oh ya and the price would be 50 million per plane , No , thank you.

 

[Hari Sud]

Hold your comments until you know the full facts.

 

[NSR]

Spare parts or no spare parts, it does not make a difference anymore.
First of all Mirage-2000UPG can't even go to a fight on its own because it lacks an AESA radar and lacks deployment of BVRAAMs.

India already blew anywhere fromn $45 to 60 millions per fighter upgrading them for what purpose?

Now whatever spare parts it gets does not make a didly difference at all.
Mirage-2000UPG is only good enough for ground attack while its big brothers like SU-30MKIs and Rafales ride shotgun duties for the missions.

Be wise and limit further spending on Mirage-2000s.

 

[Apocalypse gupta]

Hold your comments until you know the full facts.

We are here to comment on the available facts. No point in holding comments until full info is available. We can just change our opinion if complete facts are different in future.

 

[Apocalypse gupta]

If F-16 & MIG-29 can b upgraded to AESA Radar Latest Avionics & Latest E/W BVR with range over 100 kMplus why Not Mirage-2000.Only Service Life Extension is Not enough it should b at par with similar Fighter jets upgraded.

I dont know about upgrading mirage 2000 evwn more. As far as I know we have already upgraded it and it was pretty expensive. They have a limited service life after all

 

[Apocalypse gupta]

How will this impact the potential deal with greece to buy their older mirage 2000 for spare parts?

 

[sanket]

My point is Even after Upgrade Mirage-2000 does not have AESA Radar or Not even PESA Radar secondly Dassault denied to Integrate Meteoer on Mirage-2000 . Astra MK2 can b integrated on MIG-29 or even Tejas MK1A so Role of this Fighter jet is limited to Ground attack either it has to Fly under Escort of MIG-29 and Tejas MK1A .(Rafale & Su-30mki.) After all Look First Shoot First .It should b flyed Independently ¬ under Escort.Dassault shold have allowed Meteor BVR Missile on it or India should Integrate Astra mk1&MK2 on it.which are 100 plus kM Range BVR.,So how it will called Multi-Rle Fighter jet.Forgot to mention Rudram Missile.& Brahmos -NG too it should carry weapon whichever needed in war.

I Think even Tejas FOC can Fire BVR 100 plus kM (Astra mk1 & Iderby-ER).and Mirage-2000 after costly upgrade Fire Below 60 to 70 kM BVR. so it is out range in BVR.

 

[Apocalypse gupta]

My point is Even after Upgrade Mirage-2000 does not have AESA Radar or Not even PESA Radar secondly Dassault denied to Integrate Meteoer on Mirage-2000 . Astra MK2 can b integrated on MIG-29 or even Tejas MK1A so Role of this Fighter jet is limited to Ground attack either it has to Fly under Escort of MIG-29 and Tejas MK1A .

What is your point? Are you asking for them to be upgraded, retired, or just maintain in service until tejas mk2 can replace it?

 

[Ashutosh]

Obsolete no.....retire them.

 

[Sandeep]

How will this impact the potential deal with greece to buy their older mirage 2000 for spare parts?

It depends on the quality of the parts and who can offer the cheapest price.

 

[Sandeep]

India should not make anymore life upgrade or extension on the Mirage jets as we have already made a very expensive upgrade already which hasn't offered us any real value for money. India should only make deals to maintain its current fleet with necessary spares and servicing and if it's not available from Dassault directly then we should buy some older jets which still have some service life in them and cannibalise it for any parts that are needed.

Despite all of this India's main focus should be on quickly developing the Tejas MK2 jet as quick as possible because we need to increase our squadron strength with more of these jets rather than another 100 Tejas MK1A jets. If there will be a long delay before production of Tejas MK2 can begin then we can order a few more 20-40 Tejas MK1A jets and hopefully by then we will be ready to start production of Tejas MK2 jets.

 

[Bikramjeet Goswami]

Obsolete no.....retire them.

If only India had the priviledge of retiring a weapon system just on the basis of obsolence! 🤪
We continue to use items well past they are obsolete, we have to because of lack of budget, poor planning, lack of R&D and local manufacturing, politics, corruption, international restrictions and what not.

 

[sanket]

What is your point? Are you asking for them to be upgraded, retired, or just maintain in service until tejas mk2 can replace it?

Dassault should allow Integration of Meteor System & AESA Radar on it. & Indigenous weapons too , They just want to sale more RafalesMirage-2000 ,.F-16 & MIG-29 are of same era But Now After Rebranding & with Latest upgrades F-21 is contender of MRFA,so thats difference.Apart from Extension of service Life.Dassault have done it before.

 

[Bikramjeet Goswami]

Despite all of this India's main focus should be on quickly developing the Tejas MK2 jet as quick as possible because we need to increase our squadron strength with more of these jets rather than another 100 Tejas MK1A jets. If there will be a long delay before production of Tejas MK2 can begin then we can order a few more 20-40 Tejas MK1A jets and hopefully by then we will be ready to start production of Tejas MK2 jets.

Tejas MK1/MK1A production numbers are abysmal, Tejas MK2 ìs about 10 years away (optimistically) from being avaialble in squadron strength. If a major war breaks out (which looks more likely every passing day), even if we are not directly involved, global supply chains will collapse. Spares, whether sourced 1st hand Dassault, from grounded aircraft or locally reverse engineered would come in handy.

 

[ABHIJIT APSINGIKAR]

Tejas MK1/MK1A production numbers are abysmal, Tejas MK2 ìs about 10 years away (optimistically) from being avaialble in squadron strength. If a major war breaks out (which looks more likely every passing day), even if we are not directly involved, global supply chains will collapse. Spares, whether sourced 1st hand Dassault, from grounded aircraft or locally reverse engineered would come in handy.

Dude your estimate on Tejas MK2 is itself optimistic. We won't witness a Tejas MK2 till 206-37. Assuming they don't face more problems in fabrication, the prototype itself is projected to be fabricated in 2025 and will start test trials sometime in 2027 and then it would have to spend about 5-7 years (industry standard) completing its flight test regime and incrementally optimizing its FBW, control laws and flight control algorithms. Then assuming our government immediately approves the procurement and orders jets it would take another 3-3.5 years before deliveries commence.

 

[Varaaah]

So the cunning French played a game with India to sell their Rafales?

 

[Pink Panther]

I dont know about upgrading mirage 2000 evwn more. As far as I know we have already upgraded it and it was pretty expensive. They have a limited service life after all

They might pay France to upgrade them to Rafale F3 standard.

 

[Pink Panther]

Tejas MK1/MK1A production numbers are abysmal, Tejas MK2 ìs about 10 years away (optimistically) from being avaialble in squadron strength. If a major war breaks out (which looks more likely every passing day), even if we are not directly involved, global supply chains will collapse. Spares, whether sourced 1st hand Dassault, from grounded aircraft or locally reverse engineered would come in handy.

We have Bison and antique Mirages to fight with, multiple wars are going on already in the World and many more are brewing.