Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 at RAF Waddington in 4K

[Redskin301]

The fact that the Dassault Mirage 2000 of the Indian Air Force is coming to Europe is very unique, given that the aircraft are already getting old and the fact that the IAF only has 56 airframes in use. The Dassault Mirage 2000 is referred to in India as the Mirage 2000 'Vajra', freely translated from Hindi this means 'Lightning'. The Air Force of India has received a total of 48 single-seat Mirage 2000H and eight two-seat Mirage 2000TH aircraft. The big difference with the version in service with the French Air Force is the fact that the Indian Mirages are able to carry the Russian R-73AE Archer missile under the wings. As is known, the Indian Air Force also has many Russian types in service, which made the upgrade to carry this missile a logical choice for the Indians. The Mirages can carry the R-73Ae since the 2007 upgrade.

From 2015, the IAF's Mirages were upgraded to the Mirage 2000-5 MK2 standard. Following the upgrade to the Mirage 2000-5 standard, the IAF's Mirages will be referred to as the Mirage 2000I & Mirage 2000TI. This version of the aircraft is an Indian specific version for the Indian Air Force, the aircraft is similar to the Mirage 2000-5 Mk2 which is equipped with a mix of Indian, French and Israeli avionics and weapons packages. The contract was signed in 2011 and the first upgraded aircraft was delivered in 2015. Dassault-Aviation updated the first few Mirage 2000H, 2000TH aircraft to 2000I, 2000TI standard. The later updates were carried out by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. It is the intention that the Mirages of the IAF standard will last at least until the year 2030. From that moment on, the intention is that the aircraft will be replaced by a new type to be purchased. Which type is for now still an unanswered question.