After remaining grounded for more than a month, the Mirage 2000 aircraft fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is expected to resume flying operations by the end of this month, Air chief Marshal N A K Browne said here today.
India’s fleet of the frontline Mirage 2000 fighter jets has been grounded for more than a month since the March 5 investigations were launched into two air crashes that occurred within a gap of 11 days.
Through checks are being carried out and only after 100% satisfaction over the safety of the jets and the pilots, is the fleet expected to start flying again which will be mostly by the end of this month.
There are reports that there are some issues detected in the engine of the crashed aircraft which was taken toFranceby original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Snecma for investigations.
The Mirage 2000 has had an excellent flight safety record in the IAF as only six of them have crashed since their induction into operational service in the mid 1980’s.
The IAF has recently signed two deals worth over USD 3.2 billion for upgrading the capabilities of the Mirage 2000 planes with French companies Dassault, Thales and MBDA.
Dassault was recently awarded the contract for supplying 126 Rafale aircraft to the IAF.