Green Delta’s

The French Air and Space Force (FAF) always has a variety of interesting types in its inventory. One of them is the Dassault Mirage 2000D, which is solely used by the FAF and is their primary Ground Attack and Close Air Support platform. Flown out of Nancy Air Base and operated by three squadrons, the Mirage 2000D is a unique asset in the NATO and French inventory and will remain so in the foreseeable future.

Designed in the late 1970’s the Mirage 2000 was intended to be a 4th Generation lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III in the French Air Force service. De Delta wing design by Dassault resulted in the single seat Mirage 2000C and the twin seat Mirage 2000B. In the early 80’s the French Air Force had a requirement for a nuclear capable ground attack platform. Dassault converted the Mirage 2000B design in the nuclear capable Mirage 2000N of which 75 where produced. With the delay in the Dassault Rafale program in the early 90’s the French Air Force had a need for a conventional strike platform to supplement the Sepecat Jaguar in the ground attack role. Once again Dassault looked at ways to modify its existing Mirage 2000 design and converted the Mirage 2000N prototype into the Mirage 2000D. The Mirage 2000D was specifically designed to perform long-range precision strikes and provide close air support with conventional weapons. The first prototype flew in 1991, and a total number of 86 Mirage 2000D’s where produced. The Mirage 2000D can use a wide variety of ordnance. Besides the more common free fall and Laser Guided Bombs, the 2000D is also capable to employ the Apache and Scalp cruise missiles. The Mirage 2000D has 9 hardpoints. four of those are primarily used to fit external fuel tanks and the Magic II heat seeking air to air missiles. The remaining five can be used to carry ground attack weapons. Of those hardpoints, one is mostly used for the targeting pod. The Mirage 2000D fleet can use any of three types of targeting pods operational in the FAF:

  • ATLIS II
  • PDLCT
  • Damocles

The ATLIS II dates back to the 1980’s and is a Laser/Electro-optical targeting pod and limited to daylight and clear weather operations. As the ATLIS II is showing its age and is limited in use, its being replaced by both the PDLCT and the far superior Damocles pod. The PDLCT is developed by Thomson-CSF, the same company who developed the ATLIS II pod, and is a thermic camera-mounted laser designation pod. As the PDLCT lacks a FLIR system it has largely been superseded by the Damocles pod, developed by Thales. The Damocles pod features a laser designator, FLIR and is capable of producing high resolution images. It can be used to employ all the ground attack weapons currently in the inventory of the French Air Force. Unfortunately the Damocles pod is limited available to the Mirage 2000D fleet. This is a result of the French Rafale fleet only being able to carry the Damocles pod and due to the operational demand for the Mirage 2000D to use the Damocles pod in theatre in the Middle East and Africa. Therefore most training mission by the Mirage 2000D are still being flown with the PDLCT pod. The Mirage 2000D is being upgraded constantly. The most significant items available to the Mirage 2000D fleet in the near future are the capability to carry Small Diameter Bombs (SDB’s) and the possibility to carry a gun pod on one of the hardpoints. As the Mirage 2000D lacks an internal gun, the gun pod finally gives the Mirage 2000D the possibility to perform strafing runs in support of the ground forces.

The Mirage 2000D is solely in use by the French Air Force, and besides a few airframes with the test units at Mont-De-Marsan and Cazaux airbase, all Mirage 2000D’s are based at Base Aerienne 133 Nancy-Ochey (Air Base 133 Nancy-Ochey). Nancy-Ochey airbase dates back to World War I when it was used by the British Royal Flying Corps and by the Royal Naval Air Service. Upon the ending of World War I the airbase was used by the French Air Force until the 1940’s when the German forces seized the airbase. In 1944 when the allies forces liberated Nancy and its surroundings, the airbase came under US control until the 1960’s when the USAF left the airbase and control of the airbase was transferred to the French Air Force. Currently Nancy-Ochey houses three Mirage 2000D squadrons, each squadron consist of three Escadrilles:

  • Escadron de Chasse 1/3 Navarre
    • 95 Oriflamme chargé d’un Martinet
    • 153 Gypaéte
    • 62 Coq de Combat
  • Escadron de Chasse 2/3 Champagne
    • 67 Cigogne de Navarre
    • 75 Charognard
    • 102 Soleil de Rhodes
  • Escadron de Chasse 3/3 Ardennes
    • 1e Esc GC III/3 Hure Barre bleue
    • 2e Esc GC III/3 Hure Barre rouge
    • 44 Sanglier assis ou Hure Barre verte

Until February 2020, Nancy-Ochey airbases housed a fourth Squadron, Escadron de Transformation 4/3 Argonne. This unit was the dedicated Mirage 2000D conversion unit. This role was taken over by Escadron de Chasse 2/3 Champagne. In 2023 a Mirage 2000B unit has moved to Nancy-Ochey Airbase namely Escadron de Transformation 4/3 Argonne, that had been reactivated  when the Mirage 2000 training unit moved out of Orange Airbase to Nancy-Ochey Airbase.

The Mirage 2000D is operated by a two man crew. One pilot and one Weapons System Officer (WSO). The pilot is purely responsible for flying the aircraft and releasing the weapons, while the WSO, mostly senior officers, are responsible for navigation, relaying target information and making sure the weapons are ready to be employed. In order to become a pilot on the Mirage 2000D, future pilots first have to pass officer training at Salon-De-Provence Airbase. When successful they will  receive basic and advance flying training at Cognac Air Base, on the new Pilatus PC-21. After completing the flight training the pilots proceed to Cazaux Airbase to receive tactical training on the Alpha Jet before moving on to the  Mirage 2000B’s of Escadron de Transformation 4/3 Argonne. Those pilots selected to fly the Mirage 2000D will receive additional training with Escadron the Chasse 2/3 Champagne to be become fully qualified on the Mirage 2000D. The training for the WSO is also done at Nancy because these skills have to be trained on the Mirage 2000D simulator and during real flights in the backseat of an Mirage 2000D.

As the Mirage 2000D is the only dedicated ground attack platform in the French Air Force it has a lot of operational commitments. The Mirage 2000D force maintains a detachment in Mali and in the Middle East to support ongoing operations there. In the pas the Mirage 2000D has been active in a number of operations such as Operation Harmattan in Libya, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, Operation Barkhane in Mali and the fight against ISIS in the Middle East. As a result the Mirage 2000D crews are the most deployed and experienced members of the French Air and Space Force community.

With the Rafale force increasing in numbers the well-known sight of the Mirage 2000 may be less common then it used to be. Luckily the Dassault Mirage 2000D will remain in service for the foreseeable future in order for us to enjoy the beautiful delta shape created by Dassault.

We would like to thank all involved, especially French Air Force HQ and Nancy-Ochey airbase in their assistance in creating this article.