In the middle of border tensions, the Indian Air Force has received a boost to its fighter jet fleet. The Air Force has received a two-second hand Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft from France. Now, they have been delivered to the Gwalior airbase. Center sources told ANI, The Indian Air Force has received two Mirage 2000 trainer version aircraft from France. Both the aircraft were flying with their Air Force and reached Gwalior airbase recently.
Sources said that the aircraft will now be upgraded to the latest standards. Therefore, this will be done under the ongoing Mirage Upgrade Program at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Both the aircraft have been received by the Indian Air Force as part of a program to make the Mirage fighter fleet about 50 aircraft.
The IAF has acquired around 51 Mirages in different batches. They had formed three squadrons all based at Gwalior Air Force Station. According to the sources, the Mirage upgrade deal between the French and Indian sides was to increase the capacity of 51 aircraft. However, some of these kits have survived the crash of these aircraft.
Sources said that the same kit could be installed on these two French Air Force planes. In order to make 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. This will help the Air Force to retain them till 2035.
The Mirage has been in the military since the 1980s. It has been a main weapon from the Kargil War to the 2019 Balakot airstrike, where it bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camp in Pakistan. Mirage had also successfully destroyed Pakistani Army camps and bunkers at Tiger Hilltop in the Kargil War. It had changed the face of the war by successfully hitting enemy camps at such a height using laser-guided bombs.