To reduce the “zoo” of its Air Force, Greece is going to retire its Mirage 2000-5 Mk. II, leaving three types of combat aircraft in service. Namely: Rafale, F-16, and eventually F-35, which should be received no earlier than 2028.
Greece has already tried to sell these aircraft for spare parts to India, but negotiations ended in failure. Previously, India had already bought used Mirages from France as donors of spare parts for their own, purchased back in the 80s of the last century.
Greece refuses to transfer these aircraft to Ukraine for free, because the funds received are likely to be used to purchase additional Rafales to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities. But Athens’ problem is that the contract to maintain the Greek Mirage 2000-5 Mk II in working order expires in 2027, as recalled in Opex360.
And the manufacturers of this aircraft, Dassault Aviation, Thales and Safran, are unlikely to agree to extend this contract, due to the concentration of all their efforts on the Rafale.
That is, in Greece, there are two years, while the aircraft are still in combat-ready condition, for which it is desirable to find a client. And if Ukraine decides to buy them, or there are countries that will finance it, for example, France, then Greece will gladly do it, otherwise the Greeks will only have to write them off as scrap.
The main differences between the Greek Mirage 2000-5 Mk II and the Mirage 2000-5F transferred to Ukraine are: improved RDY-2 radar with SAR technology (ground target detection), and the ability to detect enemy fighters at a distance of 140 km (Ukrainian ones have an RDM with a range of 110 km); the ability to carry SCALP-EG cruise missiles without additional upgrades; Better navigation systems and improved avionics.
Mirage 2000-5F transferred to Ukraine can also carry SCALP-EG, but for this France had to carry out modernization for some time, which was probably also a factor due to which their delivery to Ukraine was delayed.
Therefore, Greek Mirage, in order to be considered an expedient expenditure of funds and resources, must undergo restorative repairs, which will also take some time.
