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| The French Air Force is to upgrade 55 of its Mirage 2000D all-weather combat aircraft to keep them in service through to 2030. Source: Frederic Lert |
The French Air Force is to proceed with an upgrade of its Dassault
Mirage 2000D combat aircraft that was approved by the Ministry of
Defence (MoD) in late 2015.
The contract to carry out the mid-life upgrade (MLU) was announced by
Dassault on 19 July, and will see the company carry out work primarily
to the avionics and weapons systems.
As previously reported by IHS Jane's , this work will include
managing radar and avionics obsolescence issues, as well as swapping the
soon-to-be retired MBDA R550 Magic 2 short-range air-to-air missile
(AAM) with the newer MBDA MICA InfraRed (IR) AAM, and the fitting of a
gun pod for air-to-surface and air-to-air applications.
Further, the Sagem AASM Hammer precision-guided munition (PGM) will
be integrated, and the aircraft will be made compatible with the Thales
Talios laser designation pod as fitted to the Dassault Rafale. There has
been no announcement on the possible integration of the Astac
electronic intelligence pod previously fitted to the now-retired
Dassault Mirage F1, and trialled on the Mirage 2000D.
No contract value or timelines were given in the Dassault announcement, but IHS Jane's understands that the first aircraft will go through the MLU process in 2019.
The Mirage 2000D has been in service since 1993, and of the 63 listed
in the air force's inventory 55 will be upgraded as part of the MLU.
Once modernised, the Mirage 2000D is slated to remain in service through
to 2030.
Source: Jane's Defense.
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