The end of 2013 had two remarkable moments in the history of Brazilian Air Force (FAB). The first was the choice of the Saab Gripen NG (today Gripen E) as the new FAB fighter and winner of the FX-2 program. The other, right on New Year's Eve, was the last flight and retirement of Brazil's then most powerful combat aircraft, the Dassault Miracle 2000.
From the beginning to the end of their short career with the FAB, the Mirage 2000s were always in the hands of the 1st Air Defense Group, the Jaguar Squadron, a unit based in Anápolis Air Base (GO).
It was from the base in Cerrado that the last flight of an F-2000, as the model was designated by the FAB, departed. At 10:42 am, the then Aviator Captain Augusto Ramalho took the power lever of FAB 4948 forward, making the Snecma M53 engine roar for the last time on the Anápolis runway.
The destination: Campo dos Afonsos, Rio de Janeiro, where the last F-2000 to fly in the country would be preserved. “Our Mirages fulfilled their mission and now make room for more modern equipment, a cycle is complete. It’s an honor to make the last flight, it’s a mix of sadness and joy”, commented Captain Ramalho at the time.
Just over an hour later, at 11:53 am, the F-2000 touched the Campo dos Afonsos runway. The place that was once one of the cradles of Brazilian aviation also marked the end of the Mirage era in Brazil.
The Mirage 2000 arrived in the country in 2006 as a stop gap between the retirement of the Mirage III – the country's first supersonic aircraft – and the choice of a new combat vector. The FAB was already looking for a model to replace the F-103 (as the Mirage III was called), which after 30 years of service was about to be retired.
Through the F-XBR Program, the Air Force Command evaluated several models, including the Mirage 2000-5 itself, a newer version of the one eventually acquired. However, the government ended up canceling the program.
With no options, the FAB decided to look for a temporary solution and acquired a batch of 12 used Mirage 2000B and Mirage 2000C fighters, for 80 million euros. In July 2005, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his French counterpart, Jacques Chirac, signed the transfer of the planes.
Under the contract, the FAB received two two-seat Mirage 2000Bs, 10 single-seat Mirage 2000Cs, logistical material, external tanks, ground equipment, tooling, training for pilots and specialists and weapons: Matra Super 530D air-to-air missiles, guided by radar semi-active, infrared-guided Matra R.550 Magic II missiles and the DEFA 554 cannons with their 30mm ammunition and chaff and flare countermeasures.
To operate and maintain the planes, the FAB sent soldiers to the Orange air base, in , where they received training. The aircraft were separated into three batches of four units and brought to Brazil in flight. Traveling the Orange-Dakkar-Anápolis route and refueling in flight with KC-135s from the Armée de l’Air, the first Brazilian Mirage 2000 arrived in the country in 2006, welcomed in a ceremony at Anápolis Air Base. The remaining jets were delivered in 2007 and 2008.
Although they were the most powerful fighters in the country, capable of reaching Mach 2.2 (more than twice the speed of sound), the F-2000s were already veteran aircraft. According to portal data Air Power, the Brazilian Mirages came from the first production batches of the model, manufactured between 1984 and 1987. Before being delivered to the FAB, the aircraft underwent a review that gave them 1000 flight hours, achieved in 2011.
At the same time as receiving the F-2000s, the FAB also reopened competition for a new fighter, now called FX-2. However, the choice for the winner between the Dassault Rafale, Saab Gripen NG and Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet dragged on until 2013. The delay forced the air force to extend the maintenance contract for the planes, as well as the cannibalization of half of the fleet to keep the rest flying.
In 2012, it was decided to write off the Mirage 2000, to be carried out at the end of the following year. Thirteen days before the F-2000's last flight, the Saab Gripen was publicly announced as Brazil's new fighter aircraft. Ten years later, seven of the 36 fighters acquired are already in operation, in addition to one aircraft used in tests as part of the technology transfer package. From 2014 onwards, the F-5s, already modernized, took on air defense missions until the arrival of the Gripen.
The Mirage that remained
Of the 12 fighters acquired by the FAB, three remained in Brazil and the remaining nine were sold. A Mirage 2000C, 4948, was taken to MUSAL. An F-2000B is at the Brasília Air Base next to the Mirage III, which displays the model's 30 years of service in the country.
In 2019, the third aircraft, FAB 4940, received a stylized livery, paying homage to three-time Formula 1 champion Ayrton Senna and the 40 years of the Jaguar Squadron. In 1989, Senna flew in the unit's Mirage III DBR, a fact that is ed fondly by the Air Force to this day.
The remaining nine Mirage 2000s were put up for sale and ended up being acquired by the French company PROCOR in May 2019 for R$1,8 million. PROCOR already had experience with the jet, providing services to the model's global fleet.
