French Air and Space Force retired Mirage 2000C
On 23 June 2022, the Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace (AAE, French Air and Space Force) said goodbye to the Mirage 2000C with the disbandment of Escadron de Chasse 2/5 Ile de France (EC02.005) at Base Aérienne 115 (BA115) Orange/Caritat.
The 1980-era jet entered service as an air defence fighter aircraft in 1983. To mark the demise of the Mirage 2000C, EC02.005 painted one of their aircraft in a special black and silver scheme with "Mission Accomplished" titles on the trailing edges of the characteristic delta wing.
The unit had been preparing to bid farewell to the Mirage 2000C for some time, as part of AAE restructuring plans, and within the last year had cut back its activities by half, flying around 20 sorties per week in the final months. Ile de France will return flying the Dassault Rafale in 2024.
EC02.005's two-seat Mirage 2000Bs will be kept in service. The duals are transferred to the Mirage 2000D base at BA133 Nancy/Ochey, where they will continue to convert crews onto these jets and onto the Mirage 2000-5F which are operated by Escadron de Chasse 1/2 Cigognes (EC01.002) at BA116 Luxeuil/St.Sauveur.
Despite the official retirement, the Mirage 2000Cs will make periodic ferry flights taking them into storage. That routine will be broken on 14 July 2022, Bastille Day, when three aircraft are scheduled to take part in a flypast over Paris as part of the annual military parade.
Photos by Jeroen Jonkers (Scramble Archive) and Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace