Inside Ukraine’s Mirage 2000 operations: Dispersal tactics, Magic-2 missile kills and the pilots’ hopes for Rafale
November 27, 2025
The Ukrainian Air Force has released a video posted on its YouTube channel showing how it operates its Mirage 2000-5F fighter jets supplied by France. Ukrainian pilots spoke of the defectiveness of the Magic-2 missile, how the jets are dispersed during attacks, and that the pilots are looking forward to more powerful jets arriving.
Ukraine disperses fighter jets during attacks
Ukrainian pilots spoke of a recent heavy Russian attack on their airfield, but all jets managed to scramble and disperse from the base in time. It should be noted that on the other side, Russia is similarly forced to disperse its aircraft as airbases come under Ukrainian attack.
As Ukraine’s airbases come under Russian long-range strikes, pilots maintain multiple contingency dispersal locations. They take off and immediately relocate to alternative sites as soon as intelligence reveals there are incoming Russian attacks targeting their bases.
At least six former-French Mirage 2000s have been supplied to Ukraine. One of which crashed due to a technical issue after being delivered. France is currently working to send more Mirage 2000s, and there are discussions about the Mirage 2000s retiring from the Greek Air Force.
Mirage 2000s taking part in air defence
Ukrainian pilots spoke of the R.550 Magic-2 short-range air-to-air missile. According to them, this missile has a near-perfect (98%) success rate against designated drones and missiles.
According to Militarnyi, Magic-2 is designed to destroy enemy fighter jets and helicopters, and other enemy aircraft. The missile has a range of 15 kilometres and a speed of up to Mach 3. The pilots added that the Mirage 2000 lacks longer-range weaponry, and this is a limiting factor.
One Mirage 2000-5F was seen with kill markings for downing six Russian Kh-101 cruise missiles, although the pilot stated that the number will double when other kills are confirmed. The area under the Kh-101 kills was blurred in the video, and so it is unclear what else the jet has taken down.
One pilot said he trained in France, and “We spent about six months learning how to fly the aircraft and employ its weapons on the dual-control Mirage 2000. Then we transitioned to the single-seat aircraft – the very one I’m flying now.”
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Ukrainian pilots looking forward to post-war air force
The Ukrainian pilots also stressed the need for the Ukrainian Air Force to continue developing its capabilities and its need for modern aircraft and weapons. The vast number of Russian aerial threats necessitates a balance between effectiveness and cost.
One Ukrainian pilot stated, “If I had the opportunity to switch to another aircraft better than the Mirage, I would probably choose the Rafale. It’s also French, so retraining would be much faster than on jets from other countries.”
The pilot noted that the Rafale can carry the European Meteor long-range air-to-air missile. The Meteor is regarded as one of the most formidable air-to-air missiles of its type. It is one of the few weapons with the range to strike Russian aircraft that are now launching glide bombs outside of Ukraine’s air defence zone.
Ukraine has recently signed a Letter of Intent with France on the eventual provision of up to 100 Rafales, with the last expected to be delivered by 2035. It is unclear when the first will be delivered.
This builds on Ukraine’s recent Letter of Intent for up to 150 Swedish Saab Gripen fighter jets. President Zelenski stated the first Gripen should be delivered in 2026, although the initial ones could be ex-Swedish Gripen C/Ds, followed by new production Es.
Ukraine is envisioning a post-war fleet of up to 300 fighter jets made up of Rafales, Gripens, and F-16s. Once these arrive in numbers, Ukraine’s worn-out fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29s, Su-24s, Su-25s, and Su-27s is expected to retire.
Featured Image: Ukraine Air Force
