During a television interview this Thursday, June 6, President Emmanuel Macron announced the sale of Mirage 2000-5. A surprise statement since until then, Paris had clarified that the delivery of French combat aircraft was not the Ukrainians’ first request from France.
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A turnaround all the more surprising given that in recent months, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornubefore the national representation, indicated that the France owned few of these devices. The Air Force is in fact cut to the bone, explains Franck Alexandre, journalist specializing in defense. And the minister specified that the maintenance of these planes represented an immense challenge.
Reason why, the priority had been given to the F-16 ceded by the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Belgium, aircraft on which Ukrainian pilots are currently being trained.
Multiple questions
Consequently, the presidential announcement raises many questions: will the only French fighter group, the 1/2 Cigognes, to fly on Mirage 2000-5, have to give up some of its planes? Or, since Emmanuel Macron mentions a coalition, could it be devices sold abroad, notably to the Greece ? In fact, Athens is currently looking to resell its Mirage 2000-5 fleet. In this case, the acquisition would have to be financed.
Finally, the president mentions training which would begin this summer to have pilots and planes available in six months. But is it possible to meet such a deadline, knowing that it takes several years to train a seasoned pilot? No announcement of sending instructors in Ukraine for the moment, but Emmanuel Macron indicates that France will form a brigade, or 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers.
A complete, trained and fully equipped brigade, which has never been done on this scale. “ We are moving to a new stage », declared the head of state. A brigade trained in France since the ambition to send instructors to Ukrainian soil, without being excluded, still seems far from being unanimous in Europe.