For Ukraine, the situation continues to deteriorate. Russia intensifies its offensives throughout the territory, while the United States aligns its position on the diplomacy of the Kremlin and suspended its military aid in kyiv. Donald Trump has indeed announced the cessation of arms deliveries to Ukraine, deliveries comprising essential jamming systems for fighter planes F-16, provided under the administration of former American president Joseph Biden (2021-2025).
But everything is not lost for kyiv, who can still count on the support of several European countries, starting with France. Faced with American disengagement, Paris seeks to increase its involvement. The French Mirage 2000 hunters who started to be delivered could replace the F-16s. France would thus plan to deliver several dozen of these supersonic devices, of which a first half-dozen already operates in Ukraine, reports Forbes in an article of March 7.
At the start of the war, in February 2022, the United States played a key role by forming the Ukrainian pilots, providing spare parts and ammunition, and mandating a US Air Force team to schedule An/Alq-131 jamming modules, installed under the F-16.
A necessary update
The Ukrainian Air Force has taken full advantage of this equipment, capable of saturating Russian radars. “They work as a” flying air defense “with advanced missile detection technology”observes the organization of independent survey Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) in a thread published on X. The analysis group is notably recognized for its detailed monitoring of military operations since the extension of the conflict to the entire Ukrainian territory.
1/ Western F-16s Are Increasingly Spotted Near The Russia-Ukraine Border. Armed with air-to-air missiles & gbu-39/b bombs, Enabiling them to strike group targets, they act as “flying air defense” with advanced missile warning tech pic.twitter.com/vfqetll6zf
– cit (en) (@citeam_en) FEBRUARY 24, 2025
While Moscow strengthens his offensive, kyiv now fears that the American reversal on his military support is fatal to him, when negotiations for a cease-fire are looming in the coming weeks. Ann/alq-131 are only effective if they operate on the same wavelength as enemy radars. By reprogramming them, the Russian forces can thus thwart them, and the US Air Force team is essential to recalibrate the radar jammer on the F-16. No more help, more update from years/alq-131.
This is where the Mirage 2000s sent to Ukraine come into play and equipped with their own jammers. They do not require any American involvement in their programming and the Ukrainian aviation should therefore be able to continue to thwart the Russian radars and continue its raids.
However, the jammers of the Mirage 2000 requires a small update. At the forefront in the 1980s, they are less efficient today. Paris has promised to set up these improvements before sending new devices to kyiv.
