Ukraine’s Mirage 2000s Finally Go On The Offensive
Are there enough bombs?
The Ukrainian air force is finally deploying its French-made Dassault Mirage 2000 fighters on bombing raids targeting Russian troops on the ground. It’s a welcome development, a year after France donated the first of—so far—a small handful of the nimble, supersonic jets.
Ground attacks with precision glide bombs can hit the the enemy where they’re weakest: in the wide logistical zone as far as 25 miles behind the line of contact. That’s where regiments and brigades store their ammunition and fuel and muster their troops ahead of assaults across the no-man’s-land.
But there’s a big problem as Ukraine seemingly intensifies its strikes in this zone. A shortage of bombs.
The Russians understand the importance of striking the Ukrainians in the logistical zone, and have assigned their best drone teams and air force fighter regiments to relentlessly strike the zone. The Ukrainians have been slower to target the Russian logistical zone, however—instead directing their drone teams to hunt Russian infantry in the no-man’s-land while holding back air force fighter brigades for defensive air patrols over major cities.
A recent video depicting a Ukrainian Mirage 2000 lobbing a pair of French-made Hammer precision glide bombs is an indication the Ukrainians are finally beginning to shift more resources to strikes on Russian ammo and fuel depots and troop concentrations. To what extent the Ukrainians can escalate these strikes depends in large part on the supply of munitions.
