After three years, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) finally managed to sell nine of the 11 Mirage 2000 fighters that were taken out of service in 2013. According to information published by the Brazilian Aeronautical Commission located in Washington, DC, Dassault aircraft were acquired by the company Procor, of France, for the price of $452,000.
Although the nine fighters are not capable of flying because they have exceeded the 10,000 hour limit, it is believed that the buyer intends to use them as aggressor aircraft. The advanced combat training of pilots has been the target of a “outsourcing” movement in recent years. Instead of keeping a fleet of fighters in the role of foes, some forces such as the USAF and US Navy have hired companies for this function, which would make sense with the Brazilian Mirage 2000.
The 12 Mirage 2000 fighters of versions C and B (two-seat) were purchased used by the French Air Force by the government of former President Lula da Silva in 2005. At the time, the FAB was about to retire the old Mirage III received in the 1970s and the prospect of relying on the future fighter F-X2 competition was still distant. For the twelve planes, Brazil paid 60 million euros, about $ 67 million.
Discount
When it put the fighters on sale, the FAB was asking $ 2.5 million for eight units, but the lack of interested parties made the government lower the price last year to $ 508,600 and increase the number of airplanes to eleven – until then, the Aeronautics intended to preserve four jets, but decided to retain only one.
It is not yet known why Procor chose to take out only nine Mirage 2000s and neither what the FAB will do with the two remaining copies. The aircraft sold have the designations 4940, 4941, 4942, 4943, 4944, 4945, 4947, 4949 and 4933, this one of the biplace version and the most expensive of them, with a price of $ 63,000.
The Mirage 2000 is still the most powerful fighter that ever operated in the Brazilian Air Force between 2005 and 2013.
