French Mirage 2000-5F fighter jets performed well in countering Houthi Shahed drones during a patrol in Yemen, shooting down about 10 drones, according to Chief of Staff of the French Air Force, General Jerome Bellanger.

He also shared a video of one of the interceptions.

“I congratulate our combat crews who are involved in operations and have recently destroyed almost ten drones, including in the Red Sea. The quality of our weapon systems and the experience of our crews have once again demonstrated their operational effectiveness,” stated General Bellanger.

He noted the effectiveness of Mirage 2000-5 and Rafale fighters against Shahed kamikaze drones. Ukrainian pilots will also have to fight with the Mirage 2000-5F received from France.

The released video shows the cockpit view from a Shahed drone as it is shot down by a MICA air-to-air missile.

According to Opex360, on March 9, 2024, the General Staff of the French Armed Forces announced that a French frigate and fighter jets involved in Operation ASPIDES had intercepted four kamikaze drones. They were launched from the territory of Yemen by Houthi rebels and were heading for the Alsace multi-purpose frigate.

The unnamed fighter jets mentioned could only be Mirage 2000-5Fs from the 3/11 Corsica fighter squadron based in Djibouti.

The first French Mirage 2000-5F multi-role fighters arrived in Ukraine on February 6, 2025.

“With Ukrainian pilots on board, who have undergone several months of training in France, they will now participate in the defense of Ukrainian skies,” said French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu.

At the same time, the first group of pilots and aviation technicians completed training for this type of multi-role aircraft at the end of December 2024.

According to RTL, Ukraine has requested a total of 12 Mirage 2000-5Fs to meet the immediate needs of the Ukrainian Air Force. However, this information has not been officially confirmed. Thus, according to Avionslegendaires.net. France will provide Ukraine with twelve to twenty of these fighters as part of military assistance.

Before arriving in Ukraine, Mirage 2000-5F fighters were modified to allow the use of weapons against ground targets.