In July of this year, the Ukrainian Air Force announced that a Mirage 2000 fighter jet malfunctioned while on mission and crashed after the pilot ejected and escaped. The crashed fighter jet was one of the first three Mirage 2000-5F planes that France provided to Ukraine in February of this year. This news has attracted widespread attention. What is the difference between this' phantom 'and previous' phantoms'? What kind of performance does it possess? What problems did this crash reflect? In this issue, let's explore the performance of the Phantom 2000-5F. One of the derivative models of the "Phantom" fighter jet. Tracing the development history of the "Phantom" fighter jet, it can be found that after more than 70 years of iteration, it has become the most modified fighter jet of Dassault Systeme in France. During this period, multiple versions of the Mirage fighter jet, including conventional and strategic versions, were developed and sold to multiple countries and regions. The Phantom 2000-5F is one of its derivative models, modified and upgraded from the Phantom 2000C. Due to optimized aerodynamic layout, modern avionics, and new weapon systems, the Mirage 2000-5F has become the first multi-purpose fighter in the Mirage series, capable of performing diverse tasks such as air interception, ground strikes, close range air support, and aerial reconnaissance. After the installation of advanced avionics systems and radar, the Mirage 2000-5F has the ability to "not worry about missile launch", which has obvious advantages when it was first put into operation. The French Air Force was the first user of the Mirage 2000-5F, initially equipped with 37 aircraft, and currently has over 20 in service. The reason why Dassault Systemes continues to launch derivative models of the Mirage fighter jet is twofold: on one hand, to meet the different needs of various parties, and on the other hand, to maintain the Mirage production line. The launch of the Phantom 2000-5F and the latest Phantom 2000-9 models is aimed at the above objectives. The Mirage 2000-5F underwent multiple practical tests after being deployed to the French Air Force. It has its presence in both the "Hot Wind Action" in 2011 and the "Hamilton Action" in 2018. In recent years, this type of fighter jet has also participated in some French military operations in Sudan, the Gulf of Aden, and other places. France's aid to Ukraine for the Mirage 2000-5F fighter jet is not only a reflection of NATO countries' support for Ukraine, but also an attempt to enhance the influence of the Mirage fighter jet through military aid, laying the groundwork for future sales to potential users and benefiting its own development. Of course, some analysts believe that France's move is to clear its inventory of Mirage fighter jets with military aid, making way for the retirement and replacement of the aircraft in the future. After upgrading its capabilities, the overall performance of the "Phantom" 2000-5F delivered by France to Ukraine may not reach the level of the current "top of the line version" in France. It should be a "practical version" or "simplified version" tailored for Ukraine. Compared to the "Phantom" 2000C, the "Phantom" 2000-5F has improved its capabilities and unlocked some new "skills". The level of informatization has significantly improved. To improve compatibility with the NATO combat system, the Mirage 2000-5F has been equipped with Link-16 data link, GPS, and inertial navigation system, as well as the Damocles targeting pod and second-generation mechanical scanning pulse Doppler radar. It can be seen/shot down and can track at least 8 targets simultaneously, enhancing its air to ground capabilities. By integrating and upgrading the display system, pilots can more conveniently receive real-time battlefield data. The ability to strike is relatively comprehensive. The Mirage 2000-5F has a payload of 6300 kilograms and 9 weapon mounting points, capable of carrying "Mika" over the horizon air-to-air missiles, R550 "Magic" infrared guided missiles, etc. It is equipped with two 30mm machine guns as standard, maintaining strong air combat capabilities. Among them, the "Mika" missile has two models: active radar guidance and infrared guidance, with a range of 60 kilometers to 80 kilometers and the ability to "launch and forget". The biggest modification of this aircraft is the improvement of its ground strike capability, which allows it to launch the "Scape EG" stealth cruise missile from the air. The basic model has a range of over 250 kilometers, and the improved model has a range of over 450 kilometers. It can strike high-value targets in depth such as command posts and air defense positions. The AASM "Hammer" rocket assisted precision guided bomb has an effective range of over 60 kilometers. In addition, the aircraft can also drop GBU-12 "Gem Road" II laser guided bombs and unguided bombs such as Mk82/Mk84. The electronic warfare capability has been enhanced. The low-end version of the Phantom 2000-5F is equipped with the Mk2 comprehensive countermeasure kit, which is an electronic defense system that integrates radar warning receivers, jammers, foil strips, and hot flame projectile launchers. Some high-end versions integrate the comprehensive countermeasure kit Mk3, which is a fully digital electronic defense system with stronger performance than Mk2 and is also standard on the Phantom 2000-9. France's aid to Ukraine's fighter jets does not rule out the possibility of installing Mk3. Overall, the Mirage 2000-5F fighter jet is lightweight, highly maneuverable, and has strong precision strike capabilities. Especially with its delta wing design, its instantaneous hovering angular velocity reaches 30 degrees per second, making it suitable for mid to high altitude penetration and agile air combat. After being equipped with long-range cruise missiles and modern electronic defense systems, the aircraft's beyond visual range strike capability and survivability have been further enhanced. Various factors affect its effectiveness. Last year, Ukraine proposed to France that it needed 12 Mirage 2000-5F aircraft to meet its urgent combat needs. However, France promised to assist up to 6 aircraft at this stage due to various considerations and trained the first batch of 26 pilots for Ukraine. There is obviously a great deal of uncertainty about whether the delivery of these fighter jets can achieve their goals, mainly due to the following reasons. Faced with the problem of 'not adapting to the local environment'. The Mirage 2000-5F is an old model for France, but a "new model" for Ukraine, which can easily lead to the problem of "not adapting to the local environment". It takes time for newly trained pilots to master it proficiently. The pressure of post guarantee is not small. Some trained Ukrainian pilots and mechanics believe that the operating cost of the Mirage fighter jet is relatively high, with an average maintenance cost of 1.5 or even 2 times that of the F-16 per aircraft. In addition, Ukraine lacks prior experience and sufficient spare parts, so the pressure of later support is obviously not small. At the same time, due to France's gradual replacement of the Mirage series fighter jets with the Rafale in recent years, some parts of the Mirage fighter jets may be discontinued, sold or even supplied, which will make it increasingly difficult to maintain the Mirage fighter jets as they are used. Difficult to integrate into the combat system. From the current types of fighter jets used by both Russia and Ukraine, it is difficult to scale up the Mirage 2000-5F even if the number of deliveries increases in the future. Currently, Ukrainian air combat platforms are equipped by multiple countries including the Soviet, American, and French. It is difficult to integrate the Mirage 2000-5F into them and form a combat system. From this perspective, although the entry of the Mirage 2000-5F has to some extent filled the gap in combat power caused by the loss of Ukrainian fighter jets, its battlefield performance still needs to be proven by facts. (New Society)