The French Air and Space Force has officially reintroduced the modernized Mirage 2000DRMV strike aircraft in a ceremony yesterday. By the end of this year, the force will have 50 upgraded examples of the delta-wing jet, which, despite its relative age, remains a highly capable conventional strike and close air support asset. It will now continue in frontline service until at least 2035, when it will finally be replaced by the Rafale — expected to be complemented by a planned uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV) and eventually also an all-new pan-European crewed combat jet.
The modernized Mirage 2000DRMV (RMV for Rénovation Mi-Vie, or midlife update) adds various new weapons, with air-to-ground options now including the U.S.-made 1,000-pound GBU-48, 500-pound GBU-49, and 2,000-pound GBU-50 Enhanced Paveway II precision-guided bombs. In terms of locally developed ordnance, there is the laser-guided version of the locally made AASM rocket-assisted bomb — versions of which have seen extensive use in Ukraine. Other offensive options include the Thales/TDA ASPTT (Air-Sol Petite Taille Tactique) lightweight, laser-guided, air-to-surface munition, also known as the BAT-120LG.
For the first time, the Mirage 2000D also has gun armament, with the CC422 30mm cannon pod installed on the left chin pylon below the air intake. Aircraft guns, once again, can be a valuable close air support tool. However, since the Mirage 2000D was derived from the airframe of the nuclear-strike Mirage 2000N, this was never fitted with internal cannons.
The upgraded Mirage is also better equipped to use these weapons, thanks to the introduction of the more modern Targeting Long-range Identification Optronic System (TALIOS) pod, as used on the Rafale. This replaces the aging ATLIS II, PDL CTS, and Damocles pods that were previously used by the Mirage 2000D. TALIOS is also a dual-use pod that provides tactical reconnaissance as well as targeting. For reconnaissance, the pod generates high-resolution color imagery, which can be transmitted in real time via the Link 16 datalink.
For air-to-air missions, the MICA NG infrared-guided air-to-air missile replaces the old Magic IIs.
Meanwhile, the Mirage 2000DRMV is provided with a new centerline drop tank, which carries fuel and also has built-in countermeasures dispensers. This doubles the available chaff and flare launchers on the jet to four. An alternative centerline drop tank also contains an electronic intelligence (ELINT) system, meaning that the jet can fly longer-range missions of this type. Previously, the older ASTAC pod had to be carried on this station, meaning the centerline fuel tank had to be omitted.
In addition to these weapons and stores, the Mirage 2000DRMV has a modernized cockpit, including a more intuitive digital instrument panel. Reportedly, the pilots of the modernized jet are also being issued with the Thales Scorpion helmet-mounted display, an item already provided to French Rafale crews and also notably used by the U.S. Air Force A-10 and F-16 communities, among various other applications.
However, other key avionics — including the Antilope 5 terrain-following radar — remain unchanged. All of this is being done at a reported cost of around 530 million euros, or roughly $590 million.
The Mirage 2000D emerged as a more flexible, conventionally armed derivative of the Mirage 2000N two-seat, all-weather, nuclear strike aircraft.
Originally, the Mirage 2000N had no ability to carry out precision attacks with conventional weapons. The Mirage 2000D addressed this.
Externally very similar to the Mirage 2000N, the original D-model also featured an entirely reworked cockpit with new displays and hands-on throttle and stick (HOTAS) controls. As well as targeting pods, the Mirage 2000D added an improved electronic self-defense suite.
Initial offensive weapons for the Mirage 2000D comprised the laser-guided AS30L missile, the BGL 1000 laser-guided bomb (LGB), as well as the U.S.-made 500-pound GBU-12 and the 2,000-pound GBU-24 Paveway II LGBs. The Mirage 2000D could also carry a single SCALP-EG or APACHE standoff missile on its centerline pylon. The APACHE, which carried cluster submunitions for airfield denial, has since been withdrawn from service, while France has donated considerable numbers of its SCALP-EG cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Production of the Mirage 2000D spanned from 1993 to 2001, with 86 Mirage 2000Ds completed. These soon became workhorses of the French Air Force, in the course of extensive operations flown over Afghanistan, in Africa’s Sahel region (Operation Barkhane), as well as in the Middle East (Operation Chammal).
Reflecting their important role, the Mirage 2000D had already been progressively upgraded, before the DRMV program, adding new weapons including dual-mode GBU-49 laser/GPS-guided bombs, as well as Link 16 datalink, an Improved Data Modem, and encrypted radios.
As well as being delayed, the Mirage 2000DRMV program has been scaled back since it was first launched, from 71 upgraded jets to the current 50 due to be redelivered to the French Air and Space Force. However, the aircraft is still very much in demand, including for the kinds of high-intensity conflicts that NATO’s European air arms are increasingly preparing for, faced by the growing Russian threat.
The first modernized Mirage 2000DRMV was handed over to the French Air and Space Force in early 2021 and was used for evaluation. Today, the operational Mirage 2000D fleet is operated from Base Aérienne 133 Nancy-Ochey in northeast France. The base’s three squadrons are equipped with 67 Mirage 2000Ds.
With ongoing operations, especially in the Middle East, the upgraded Mirage 2000DRMVs are likely to be deployed sooner rather than later, to make the most of their new capabilities. These French Middle East deployments, targeting Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria, send rotations of jets to H4 Air Base in Jordan and to Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.
As it stands, the Mirage 2000D is set to be the last of the illustrious line of delta-wing combat jets serving the French Air and Space Force. The Mirage 2000N was retired in 2018, followed by the basic Mirage 2000C air defense version in 2022. Today, the fleet of improved Mirage 2000-5F air defense versions is also being drawn down, with examples being donated to Ukraine. Mirages of different versions have served the French Air Force since 1961, when the first-generation Mirage III entered service.
Suitably modernized, the Mirage 2000DRMV is now set to continue in frontline French service until 2035. At that point, the Rafale should be available in numbers such that the D-model Mirage can finally be withdrawn. Around the same timeframe, the French Air and Space Force plans to also be operating a new crewed combat jet, known as the Next Generation Fighter (NGF), as well as complementary ‘loyal wingman’ type drones.
However those more ambitious plans take shape, the Mirage 2000D looks certain to eventually record an impressive four decades in service.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com