The Indian Air Force (IAF) has signed a deal to purchase phased-out Mirage aircraft of the French Air Force to sustain its fleet of Mirage-2000, government sources said.
“A squadron of the French Mirage jets had been phased out some time ago. On August 31, a contract was signed for acquiring these phased-out planes to improve the spares and airframe capability to help improve the serviceability of around 50 Mirage-2000s in the Indian fleet,” government sources stated.
These aircraft would be supplied in containers to the Indian Air Force and none of them would be used for flying, sources said.
Earlier also, India had signed a deal with French companies for supplying old Mirages which reached Gwalior last year and they have helped in significantly improving operational availability.
India has procured these aircraft from France in the 1980s and they have been one of the most powerful fleets of aircraft despite being over three decades old.
Mirage-2000 had taken part in the Balakot airstrikes against terrorist camps in Pakistan and destroyed a camp there. The aircraft had fired their Spice-2000 bombs precisely to take out targets deep inside Pakistan’s territory.