Dassault Mirage 2000D
The conventional strike two-seater — laser-guided bombs and SCALP cruise missiles · First flight 1991 · In service 1995
The Mirage 2000D is the conventional-attack derivative of the nuclear 2000N, with the nuclear role removed and a cockpit and weapon system built around precision-guided munitions. The prototype, a modified 2000N, first flew on 19 February 1991; the first production aircraft followed on 31 March 1993, and the type entered service in April 1995. Eighty-six were built, the last delivered in 2001.
The 2000D carries laser-guided GBU bombs, AASM guided bombs and AS-30L missiles, while the later D-R2 standard added the Apache anti-runway weapon and the SCALP EG cruise missile on the centreline pylon. It has been France's main strike aircraft on operations from Afghanistan (from 2001) to Libya (2011), Mali (from 2013) and Iraq and Syria (from 2014).
A mid-life upgrade (Rénovation Mi-Vie) brings new avionics and weapons integration to part of the fleet; the first modernised aircraft was accepted in April 2025, and the 2000D is expected to serve until at least 2035. Since 2017 it has also flown the Couteau Delta tactical display, successor to the 2000N's Ramex Delta.
