- On June 16, 2026, the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) delivered to the Air and Space Force the fiftieth and last mid-life refurbished Mirage 2000D (RMV) upon its completion of modernization work.
- Launched in 2015, the Mirage 2000D mid-life upgrade program aims to extend the aircraft’s operational lifespan beyond 2030 and adapt it to the requirements of contemporary conflicts. It involves upgrading 50 Mirage 2000Ds of the French Air and Space Force, as well as 2 Mirage 2000D testbed aircraft (ABE) from the DGA Flight Test Center.
- Conducted under the project management of the DGA, this armament operation consisted of the production of modification kits and the renovation of the first two aircraft by Dassault Aviation, then the scaling up of this modernization to the following fifty aircraft by the Aeronautical Industrial Service (SIAé).
- These modernization projects were carried out by the AIA of Clermont-Ferrand (63) which ensured the standardization of the equipment by coordinating it with scheduled maintenance operations in order to minimize the unavailability of the equipment for the benefit of the forces.
This mid-life upgrade enhances the operational capabilities of the Mirage 2000D.
It consists of:
- Strengthening the air-to-ground capabilities of the Mirage 2000D through the integration of a 30mm cannon pod combined with an improvement in fire control, giving it a close-in fire support capability;
- Improve the aircraft’s air-to-air and self-protection capabilities by replacing the MAGIC II missiles with the MICA IR (infrared) missile;
- Modernizing all of the aircraft’s electronic systems, that is, all of its onboard electronic systems. Indeed, for the first time, the aircraft’s mid-life upgrade also includes opening up the core system with the addition of a complementary system allowing users to have additional calculation, conversion, and communication functions. These functions are provided by software developed in particular by the Air and Space Force;
- Upgrade the simulators and mission preparation system.
Entering service in the 1990s, the Mirage 2000D specializes in ground attack missions. In all weather conditions, day or night, the fighter can operate at very low altitudes and very high speeds. Faced with rapidly evolving threats, the adaptations it has undergone over the years allow it to maintain operational effectiveness in air-to-ground combat and intelligence gathering.
The mid-life upgrade of the Mirage 2000D fully embodies the DGA’s commitment to meeting the needs of the French Air and Space Force, as well as the SIAé’s contribution to the modernisation and operational maintenance of state aircraft, supporting an agile, modern, and resolutely operational combat posture. Thanks to this modernisation, the aircraft now benefits from an open system enabling rapid adaptation to evolving needs and from state-of-the-art equipment capable of meeting the challenges of current and future theaters of operation.
