Dassault Aviation will handover the two upgraded Mirage 2000 aircraft to India on March 25 in Istres Dassault Aviation Flight Test Center, PTI reported Today.
India had in 2011 signed an upgrade programme worth over US$1.5 billion (INR 10,000 crore) with Dassault Aviation for upgrading the fleet of its Mirage 2000 aircraft totaling 51.
The firm, which is negotiating a multi-billion dollar deal for supplying 126 Rafale combat aircraft to India, has said that after the successful completion of this phase, the rest of the fleet will be upgraded in India by state-run HAL with help from Dassault and Thales.
The IAF had started procuring the Mirage 2000 in the early 80s and the upgrade is likely to expand its life span by around 10-15 years.
The upgrades on the aircraft include a night vision goggle-compatible glass cockpit, advanced navigational systems, advanced Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system, advanced multi-mode multi-layered radar, fully integrated electronic warfare suite besides others.