Qatar offers to sell 12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets to IAF: Report

After a thorough evaluation of the planes, the deal's ultimate cost will be determined; it is anticipated to fall between Rs 6,000 and 7,000 crore.

A prestigious delegation from Qatar is in New Delhi to negotiate the potential sale of 12 "sparingly used" Mirage 2000 jets to the Indian Air Force. This deal would provide the air force with more combat aircraft at a time when the force's older MiG fighters are gradually being phased out of service, reported The Economic Times.

According to sources that spoke to ET, the two Mirage squadrons now in use by the air force might benefit from the inclusion of the Qatari aircraft, which are outfitted in accordance with the modernization criteria for the Mirage 2000-5. The French-built Mirage 2000s, which were one of the IAF's staple strike aircraft, are no longer in production but should remain in the Indian inventory for ten more years.

Moneycontrol couldn't independently verify the report.

After a thorough evaluation of the planes, the deal's ultimate cost will be determined; it is anticipated to fall between Rs 6,000 and 7,000 crore, as per the report. The number of flight hours an aircraft has depends on its residual life. According to the report, it is estimated that significant residual life remains, which will benefit the two present squadrons in continuing to be strong in the years to come.

The aircraft will be delivered with weapons and spares, and India is expected to drive a hard bargain for them. Given that Gwalior already has ground equipment and maintenance facilities in place, as well as enough pilots and technical support staff, it should be easy to integrate the aircraft into the combat strength, the report further said.

Due to its dependability and extremely precise armament, India preferred the Mirage fighter jet for conducting attack missions prior to the introduction of the Rafales. At terror training camps in Balakot in 2019, the same aircraft had conducted precision attacks.

Due to the delayed arrival of squadrons to replace the ageing MiG-21s, the air force has been severely lacking in combat aircraft. While 36 Rafale jets have been ordered, the original requirement was for 126 jets of the same class.