Ukraine Loses First French Jet Due to Malfunction

On Tuesday night local time, a Ukrainian Air Force pilot successfully ejected from a Mirage 2000 multi-role fighter jet over Ukrainian skies, losing the French plane but resulting in no casualties.

In a statement, the Air Force said the pilot reported the technical problem to air traffic control and successfully executed emergency procedures before ejecting. An investigation into the cause of the malfunction is underway.

“On the evening of July 22, 2025, during the performance of a flight mission on a Mirage 2000 fighter, an aviation equipment failure occurred, which the pilot reported to the flight director. He acted competently, as required in crisis situations, and successfully ejected,” the Air Force wrote.

“The search and rescue team located the pilot, and his condition is stable. There were no casualties on the ground.”

Because the Mirage jets can get off the ground more quickly than the American-made F-16s, for example, which the Ukrainians also possess, they are seen as a useful tool in intercepting incoming cruise missiles and Shahed-type drones. They can also be used to launch longer-range missiles such as the SCALP (or Storm Shadow) at targets well inside Russian territory.

In March, it was reported that a Mirage successfully downed a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile for the first time.

Ukraine received the first batch of three Mirage 2000 fighter jets promised by France in February, after French President Emmanuel Macron said that Paris would be sending six of its aging fleet of Mirages to Kyiv. The total number promised or delivered by France since then has not been disclosed, but it is believed to be between 12 and 15.

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The French company Dassault produced a total of 601 of the aircraft between 1978 and 2007 in several different configurations. The older aircraft, which the French government has sold to several other countries out of its renovated fleet, have been retrofitted recently to better perform these sorts of missile- and drone-interception missions.