Prof Bronk said: “There are layers of medium to very long-range SAMs [surface to air missiles] anywhere near the front line. Any Ukrainian fighter is going to be flying at very low altitudes to try and use terrain-masking to minimise the range at which those SAM systems can engage them.
“It’s a really significant limiting factor for how much utility they can get in the crucial air defence task of which any fighter is primarily needed.”
More costly than ground-based systems
The jets could, of course, be used to fend-off missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, but at an incredible cost compared to using ground-based systems for the task.
“It [Mirage] could be used to intercept cruise missiles and Shahed-type drones inside Ukraine, but so can F-16, and quite frankly it’s an incredibly expensive way of trying to do that,” said Prof Bronk.
Paris is building a coalition of countries that operate the Mirage 2000, with the ultimate goal of having an unspecified number of the planes in the war-torn country by the end of the year.
The programme mirrors the scheme by Nato allies to provide Ukraine’s air force with dozens of F-16s.
France’s access to Mirage 2000-5 models is extremely limited – its air force only has around 26 of the dash five version in service, and they are set to be replaced entirely by 2029 – but it was an export success.
To start delivering en masse, Paris would need to negotiate with the likes of Greece, India, and the UAE, whose air forces use the jet.
In February, Indonesia backed out of a €700 million (£594 million) deal to buy 12 of the aircraft, potentially meaning they could be freed up for Ukraine.