Ukrainian Mirage 2000-5F Shoots Down Banderol Missile With Cannon for First Time

A French Mirage 2000-5F fighter jet has, for the first time in history, shot down a Russian S8000 Banderol small-sized cruise missile using its aircraft cannon.

France transferred aircraft of this type to Ukraine from the stocks of its Air and Space Force in 2025, according to French Aid to Europe.

The aircraft’s primary cannon armament consists of two 30 mm DEFA 554 automatic aircraft cannons, which are integrated into the fuselage.

The fighter carries 125 rounds of ammunition for each cannon, with a rate of fire of up to 1,800 rounds per minute. The guns use 30×113 mm high-explosive fragmentation and armor-piercing incendiary ammunition, with a muzzle velocity of approximately 815 m/s.

S8000 Banderol

The S8000 Banderol was developed by the Russian company Kronstadt. Its maximum speed is 620–650 km/h, while its cruising speed is 520–560 km/h.

The missile is powered by a Chinese-made Swiwin turbojet engine weighing 8.5 kg. At a maximum rotational speed of 65,000 rpm, the engine produces up to 81.6 kgf of thrust. With these engine characteristics, the missile’s stated range is up to 500 km.

The missile is equipped with an OFBC-150 high-explosive warhead with a total mass of 114.3 kg, of which 49.5 kg is explosive filler.