A UAE Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jet on November 10, 2008. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) Inset, a satellite image shows seven Mirage 2000s and one A330 MRTT parked on the tarmac at Hotan Air Base in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. (Image courtesy of IISS/Planet Labs)
China would benefit from familiarizing itself with the Mirage 2000’s capabilities and capabilities and potentially participating in different air combat training exercises, which could give it an advantage in the event of a conflict with Taiwan.
The “Falcon Shield 2024” air exercise between the UAE and the People’s Liberation Army Air Force will give Beijing greater access to Western and European military aviation technology. The exercise, which began on July 10, 2024, and will run through the end of this month, will see the UAE Air Force deploy French-made Mirage 2000 jets to a Chinese air base.
This is a concern because the aircraft is used by both China’s regional adversaries, the Taiwanese Air Force and the Indian Air Force, according to a report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The think tank analyzed satellite imagery from an air base in Hotan, Xinjiang, that showed at least seven Dassault Mirage 2000-9 DAD/EAD jets.
Satellite imagery shows seven Mirage 2000s and one A330 MRTT on the tarmac at Hotan Air Base in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. (Image credit: IISS/Planet Labs)
This Mirage variant specializes in ground attack and deep penetration attacks, but still retains a potent air-to-air capability. Taiwan is currently reported to operate 54 Mirage 2000s out of 60 ordered in the 1990s, of which 48 are single-seat Mirage 2000-5EIs and 12 are twin-seat Mirage 2000-5DIs.
انطلاق التمرين العسكري المشترك “درع الصقر 2024” مع الصين
في إطار التعاون المشترك بين دولة المتحدة وجمهورية الصين الشعبية، أعلن ت وزارة “2024” 2024 2024 2024.
يأتي هذا التمرين بهدف تبادل الخبرات ورفع… pic.twitter.com/dlahafSQVK
— وزارة الدفاع |MOD UAE (@modgovae) July 16, 2024
Interestingly, reports suggest that 30 of the UAE’s Mirage 2009-D jets will be transferred to Morocco following approval from Paris to address security concerns with Algeria. The UAE is also in the process of replacing its Mirages with new Dassault Rafale F4s.
Training
Other UAE aircraft taking part in the exercise included an Airbus A330 MRTT aircraft. The 2023 edition of the exercise also included Mirage jets and two Boeing C-17A Globemaster cargo planes. The 2024 edition also includes the addition of temporary shelters that often accompany unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations.
The UAEAF also operates the US-made Lockheed Martin F-16E/F Block 60, which did not take part in the Falcon Shield exercise. China needs first-hand experience with the F-16, but Taiwan also has 142 aircraft and has another 66 on order, so the UAE could face serious consequences if the type were to enter China’s service.
“The exercise aims to exchange experiences, enhance the operational efficiency of both sides, increase the readiness of participating forces and focus on conducting joint operations to optimally utilize various capabilities to counter aerial threats,” the UAE Ministry of Defense said on Twitter. Accompanying photos show personnel from the UAE Air Force and the People’s Liberation Army Air Force posing in front of a Mirage 2000, a J-16 and a J-10.
A satellite image from August 2023 shows a UAE A330 MRTT and six Mirage 2000 aircraft parked at Hotan airport during exercise Falcon Shield that year. (Image credit: Planet Labs/IISS)
Benefits for China
However, the exercise “raises questions about Beijing’s possible intelligence gathering on Western aircraft,” IISS noted, adding that “understanding the Mirage 2000, its performance and capabilities, as well as the potential for differential air combat training, would be beneficial for the PLA Air Force.” Differential combat training against foreign aircraft would provide important insights into interacting tactics and techniques.
In particular, pilots can examine the technical characteristics of other aircraft, such as radar, communication frequencies, engines, maneuverability, capabilities of missiles and radar locks, etc. These are thoroughly discussed in debriefings, where the Air Force analyzes any direct or indirect evidence of potential weaknesses and develops countermeasures and tactics.
Conversely, China can improve its defense aerospace technology through such training. Especially in China’s case, most of its frontline fighter jets, such as the J-10 series, Su-30MKK, J-11, J-16, and J-20, are domestically manufactured, and the supply chain is also all domestic. This makes it easier and faster to adjust the technology, engineering, and software of radars, missiles, and seekers.
A United Arab Emirates Air Force Mirage 2000, a UAE F-16 Desert Falcon and a U.S. F-35A Lightning II conducted a partnering flight in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility on May 29, 2019. The flight was conducted to continue building military-to-military relationships and interoperability with the UAE. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Chris Drzazgowski)
Being the host nation could allow China to “overtly or covertly” use assets such as AEW (airborne early warning) to “monitor the exercise and potentially provide further information on the ability of Chinese AEW radars to detect the Mirage 2000,” the IISS added. “Depending on the nature of the joint exercise, the performance of Chinese fighter radars and electro-optical and radio frequency missile seekers may also be investigated.”
For example, the PLAAF could examine seeker performance and detection range of the PL-10 short-range AAM (air-to-air missile), which uses an IIR (imaging infrared) seeker “during different air-to-air combat exercises” against a Mirage. “The PLAAF likely uses air activity in and around Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone and Taiwan Air Force responses to examine radar and seeker performance. However, airborne exercises provide a more manageable environment in which multiple iterations of simulated engagements can be conducted.”
Three challenges to the United States
The exercise comes amid growing importance of defense aerospace in China-UAE relations. Abu Dhabi ordered 12 Hongdou L-15A jets in early 2022 to replace the Aermacchi MB-339s that are part of the Al Fursan aerobatic team. China will begin deliveries of the aircraft in the fourth quarter of 2023. Discussions are underway for an additional 36 aircraft, likely to be used in advanced jet trainer or light attack roles.
The UAE also operates Chinese-made MALE (medium-altitude, long-endurance) drones, such as the Wing Loong II, which is based at Qusaweira Air Base. Against this backdrop, the UAE-China air exercise poses three challenges for Washington: strategic, diplomatic and defense-technical.
Partho Satam has had a 15-year career spanning two daily newspapers and two defense publications. He believes war is a human activity, with causes and consequences that go beyond questions of which missile or jet flies the fastest. As such, he enjoys analyzing military issues at the intersection of foreign policy, economics, technology, society and history. His research spans the full spectrum of defense aerospace, tactics, military doctrine and theory, personnel issues, West Asia, Eurasian affairs, energy sector and space.