Girish Linganna
A team from Qatar visited India and met Indian Air Force (IAF) officials to discuss buying 12 used Mirage 2000 fighter jets from France. Reports suggest that the used jets are in good condition, with at least 30% of their airframe life remaining.
The IAF has been using Mirage 2000 jets since they were bought from France in the mid-to-late-1980s. These jets played a vital role in the Kargil War, destroying Pakistani supply centres with laser-guided bombs. They were also used in the Balakot air strikes to destroy a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) training centre in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The engines of the Qatari jets are the same as those in the IAF’s Mirages, which will make maintenance simpler. The price for the 12 jets is set at Rs 5,000 crore. Experts say this is quite expensive, almost the same as buying a new Tejas Mk-1A fighter jet, even though the Tejas comes with more advanced features.
The Qatari jets are reportedly the Mirage 2000 Dash 1 model, while the IAF uses the more advanced Dash-2 version. This makes the Qatari jets less advanced than those of the IAF. To make the deal more attractive, Qatar is also including some Mica air-to-air missiles with the jets.
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