PARIS — France plans to provide Mirage 2000-5 jets to Ukraine and start training pilots this summer, with the primary training accomplished by the top of the 12 months, French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday.
France is constructing a coalition with other countries to supply the jets, much like the coalition by several other European countries to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighters, Macron said in an interview with broadcasters TF1 and France 2. The French president and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were in Normandy for D-Day commemorations.
“We’ll be launching a brand new cooperation program and announcing the transfer of Mirage 2000-5s — French fighter jets that can enable Ukraine to guard its soil and airspace,” Macron said. “From tomorrow, we’re going to launch a pilot training program, followed by the transfer of those aircraft.”
Dassault Aviation produced about 600 Mirage 2000 jets, of which half were exported to eight countries including Greece, the United Arab Emirates and Taiwan. The Mirage 2000-5 is an updated air defense variant with improved radar. It’s compatible with the Mica air-to-air missile in addition to the Scalp cruise missiles that France has supplied to Ukraine, which is fighting off a Russian invasion.
Macron declined to say what number of jets France will provide, noting details will follow on Friday when Zelenskyy is in Paris.
“The important thing factor is pilot training time, and so we’re going to propose to President Zelenskyy that pilots be trained as early as this summer — it normally takes five to 6 months — in order that by the top of the 12 months they’ll give you the option to fly these aircraft,” Macron said, adding that the Ukrainian pilots shall be trained in France.
The Dutch and Danish governments last 12 months announced they would supply F-16 jets to Ukraine, with Norway and Belgium joining the coalition. Training of pilots for the aircraft has been ongoing in several European countries.
France may even propose to coach and equip a brigade of 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers, in response to Macron. He said France and allies are considering training soldiers on Ukrainian soil in response to a request by the embattled country.
“Is that this something that’s an escalation factor? The reply is not any,” Macron said. “Going to coach someone within the western zone, which is a free area of Ukraine, will not be aggressive towards Russia.”
Macron said Ukraine can use French arms to attack locations in Russia from where the country is being targeted, and restricting such use can be equal to not allowing Ukrainians to defend themselves against being bombed.
“The limit is ready by what the Russians do,” Macron said. “We’re not those who determine now that we’re going to vary our methods and attack Ukraine from Russian soil.”
Zelenskyy will meet with French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu in Paris on Friday. He’ll also meet with defense firms KNDS, Thales, MBDA, Dassault Aviation and Arquus, in addition to attend the signing of a letter of intent with KNDS to create a unit in Ukraine, in response to the Armed Forces Ministry.
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He began his profession at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.