India to get its first upgraded Mirage 2000 this month

India will get its first upgraded Mirage 2000 later this month from France under a Rs 10,000 crore deal.

French defence major Dassault Aviation, the original manufacturer, will handover two upgraded aircraft to India on March 25 in Istres Dassault Aviation Flight Test Center.

India had in 2011 signed an upgrade programme worth over Rs 10,000 crore with Dassault Aviation for upgrading the fleet of its Mirage 2000 aircraft totaling 51.

However, at least three aircraft have been lost in crashes since then.

The firm, which is negotiating a multi-billion dollar deal for supplying 126 Rafale combat aircraft to India, has said that after the successful completion of this phase, the rest of the fleet will be upgraded in India by state-run HAL with help from Dassault and Thales, another French firm.

The IAF had started procuring the Mirage 2000 in the early 80s and the upgrade is likely to expand its life span by around 10-15 years.

The upgrades on the aircraft include a night vision goggle-compatible glass cockpit, advanced navigational systems, advanced Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system, advanced multi-mode multi-layered radar, fully integrated electronic warfare suite besides others.