--- title: "French Fighters Downed “Nearly A Dozen Drones” In Red Sea Combat" description: "As the first Mirage 2000s arrive in Ukraine, the French Air Force confirms that these jets, as well as Rafales, have been used to shoot down Houthi drones. As the first Mirage 2000s arrive in Ukraine, the French Air Force confirms that these jets, well as Rafales, have been used to shoot down Houthi drones." date: "2025-02-11" modified: "2025-02-11" authors: - name: "Thomas Newdick" job_title: "Staff Writer" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/thomas-newdick" url: "https://www.twz.com/air/french-fighters-downed-nearly-a-dozen-drones-in-red-sea-combat" categories: - "Air" - "Air Forces" - "Around The Globe" - "Drones" - "Fighters" - "French Air Force" - "Middle East" - "News & Features" - "Rafale" - "Red Sea" - "Ukrainian Air Force" - "Unmanned" tags: - "Houthis" - "Mirage 2000" --- # French Fighters Downed “Nearly A Dozen Drones” In Red Sea Combat ![Members of Marine Aerial Refueler Squadron-234, (VMGR-234) provide aerial refueling to French Mirage 2000 Fighters from a K C-130J over Djibouti, May 24, 2021. VMGR-234 supports Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) with aerial refueling operations, extending the reach of fixed and rotary wing aircraft.]() *U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Daniel Asselta* French Air and Space Force [Mirage 2000-5F]() and [Rafale]() fighters shot down “nearly a dozen drones” in recent [combat operations over and around the Red Sea](), the head of that service has confirmed. The announcement comes soon after the first French-supplied Mirage 2000-5Fs arrived in Ukraine, where they will be expected to face similar threats, in the form of [Russian-operated long-range one-way attack drones](). “In the Air and Space Force, both the Mirage 2000-5 and the Rafale recently demonstrated their effectiveness against [Shahed-type suicide drones](), against which Ukrainian pilots will have to fight,” Jérôme Bellanger, the Chief of Staff of the French Air and Space Force [wrote]() on LinkedIn yesterday. ![This picture taken on December 31, 2018 shows a French Dassault Rafale fighter-bomber aircraft parked at the Royal Jordanian Air Force's Prince Hassan Air Base (H5), about 117 kilometres northwest of the capital Amman, from which French fighter jets take off for sorties within their capacity in the international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group. - France's defence minister arrived in Jordan on December 31, 2018 to visit troops battling the Islamic State group, showing Paris's determination to continue the fight after a shock US decision to withdraw from Syria. (Photo by Daphné BENOIT / AFP) (Photo by DAPHNE BENOIT/AFP via Getty Images)]() *A Rafale fighter at Prince Hassan Air Base, northwest of the Jordanian capital Amman, during the counter-ISIS operation. *Photo by DAPHNE BENOIT/AFP via Getty Images* DAPHNE BENOIT* Bellanger continued: “I salute our combat crews engaged in operations, who recently destroyed nearly a dozen drones, notably in the Red Sea. The quality of our weapons systems and the expertise of our crews have once again demonstrated their operational effectiveness.” Bellanger also posted a brief video from the head-up display of a French Rafale, showing the close-range interception and engagement of a [Houthi drone]() using an air-to-air missile. (Note that in the caption for the video below, the fighter is misidentified as a Mirage 2000, but the [electro-optical sensor]() characteristic to the Rafale is visible when illuminated by the missile’s motor). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRwHXOkSGP4 The exact total of Houthi drones that were downed by the French fighters was not disclosed and *TWZ* has approached the French Ministry of Defense for more details, including the dates of these incidents. The French Air and Space Force has a permanent detachment of Mirage 2000-5F fighters in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, from where they would be ideally positioned to intercept drones over the Red Sea. Meanwhile, Rafales have been deployed on a rotational basis at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan, as well as at Al Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates, both of these primarily in support of Operation Chammal, the French contribution to the anti-ISIS mission in Iraq and Syria. ![This picture taken on January 1, 2019 shows a French airman displaying the badge signifying "Operation Chammal", the French military operation within "Operation Inherent Resolve", the international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group, as he stands in front of a Dassault Rafale fighter-bomber aircraft at the Royal Jordanian Air Force's Prince Hassan Air Base (H5), northeast of the capital Amman, from which French fighter jets take-off for sorties against IS. France's defence minister arrived in Jordan on December 31, 2018 to visit troops battling the Islamic State group, showing Paris's determination to continue the fight after a shock US decision to withdraw from Syria. (Photo by Daphné BENOIT / AFP) (Photo by DAPHNE BENOIT/AFP via Getty Images)]() *A French airman displaying the patch signifying Operation Chammal, the French military operation within Operation Inherent Resolve, the international coalition against the ISIS group, as he stands in front of a Rafale at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan. *Photo by Daphné BENOIT / AFP* DAPHNE BENOIT* Both the Mirage 2000-5 and the Rafale are primarily armed with [MBDA MICA]() air-to-air missiles for air defense, with these beyond-visual-range weapons being available with optional radar-homing or infrared seeker heads. Both fighters also have cannon armament, with the Mirage having a pair of 30mm DEFA weapons and the Rafale being armed with a single GIAT weapon of the same caliber. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89GZ_z6px30 The Iranian-backed Houthis began launching [drone](), [missile](), and [other attacks]() against foreign warships and commercial vessels in and around the Red Sea, as well as targets in Israel, [in October 2023](), and fighters from various nations have been prominently involved in tackling some of these threats. The fact that French fighters had been involved in shooting down Houthi drones over and around the Red Sea had been disclosed before, although the French Ministry of Defense provided very few details. ![]() *A French Mirage 2000 conducts training over Djibouti, on May 22, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Aaron Irvin Staff Sgt. Aaron Irvin* During [a large-scale Houthi attack on ships]() in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden on March 9, 2024, the French Armed Forces stated that one of its warships and undisclosed French fighters shot down four combat drones that were advancing toward naval vessels belonging to the European Aspides mission in the region. **A video showing the French Navy *Aquitaine* class frigate *Lorraine* during a Red Sea deployment last year:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKpEsXWLoxI&t=2s The drones presented “an imminent threat to merchant vessels, U.S. Navy, and coalition ships in the region,” the French Ministry of Defense said in a post on social media platform X. Later the same month, the French Armed Forces released a video showing the downing of a Houthi drone over the Red Sea [by a French Navy helicopter,]() using machine gun fire. “On March 20, while conducting close protection under EUNAVFOR Aspides in the Red Sea, the embarked helicopter of a French destroyer shot down a Houthi UAV threatening the commercial navigation,” the official Aspides account said on X. https://www.twitter.com/EtatMajorFR/status/1770479631545532591?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1770479631545532591%7Ctwgr%5Ea93e83b718c658186cc3e04582c2cfa17da6c649%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twz.com%2Fsea%2Ffrench-frigate-captain-describes-frenetic-red-sea-combat Aside from these actions involving aircraft, the[ French Navy]() has also [shot down]() multiple [Houthi drones]() within these same waters since becoming an active player in the Red Sea [in December]() of 2023. For a time, France [was part]() of the international, U.S.-led task force [Operation Prosperity Guardian]() (OPG), launched in that same month to combat the threat of Houthi missiles and drones on commercial shipping. France subsequently said[ it would not operate]() under U.S. command, amid possible strains in the relationship, as we [reported previously](). Since then, France has conducted its mission in the region as part of the Aspides task force. Unlike OPG, Aspides was set up as a purely defensive task force. Returning to fighters being used to counter Houthi drones, *TWZ* [recently broke the news]() that U.S. Air Force F-16s have been using 70mm laser-guided rockets to down these during operations in and around the Red Sea in the past year. This involves the [Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II]() (APKWS II) rockets, originally developed to engage targets on the ground, but now also employed as lower-cost, more numerous air-to-air weapons. So far, officials have not confirmed how many of the rockets have been used in this manner, how many Houthi drones have been shot down as a result, or when this capability was first used in combat. ![]() *A pair of U.S. Air Force F-16Cs on patrol somewhere in the Middle East on January 25, 2025. The jet seen at the rear is armed with a 70mm rocket pod, as well as other weapons. *U.S. Air Force** The extent of the Houthis’ mass drone and missile attacks has, on occasion, seen fighters having to land to reload with missiles while threats were still flying overhead. With primary air-to-air weapons being rapidly expended, the crew of at least one U.S. Air Force F-15E was forced to [switch to guns after running out of missiles]() but did not succeed in downing any targets. For the French Mirage 2000-5F, the combat employment against the Houthi drone threat has provided something of a proving ground for the next stage of the type’s career in Ukraine. As you can read about [here](), the first Mirage 2000-5Fs, taken from French stocks, arrived in Ukraine last week. The delta-winged jet is the second Western-made fighter type for Ukraine, following the arrival of the [F-16](), the first of which [arrived in Ukraine last summer](). **Three photos showing unmarked Mirage 2000-5Fs over Poland, apparently on their delivery flight to Ukraine:** https://www.twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1887958723722612813 The Ukrainian Mirages are receiving new air-to-ground capabilities before being delivered, but the aircraft was [primarily developed for air defense](). The Mirage 2000 can take off in a relatively short distance and has a very impressive rate of climb, as well as a top speed of Mach 1.6 even when carrying missiles and a fuel tank. With a single external fuel tank, the Mirage 2000-5F can also patrol for 1 hour and 45 minutes, provided use of the afterburner is limited. With these qualities in mind, it’s expected that the fighters will help contribute to the protection of Ukrainian cities and infrastructure against Russian drone and cruise missile attacks. In these missions, they will face Iranian-designed Shahed long-range one-way attack drones and derivatives, very similar to at least some of the drones that have been used by the Houthis. ![Russia has launched a record number of Shahed drones at Ukraine.]() *A Russian-operated Shahed drone that was brought down or crashed in Ukraine. *via X* *Via Twitter** “The Ukrainian Air Force has new, combat-proven capabilities to carry out this air combat,” Bellanger, the Chief of Staff of the French Air and Space Force, [commented](), in relation to the Mirage 2000-5F transfer. While the Mirage 2000-5F continues to complement the Rafale with the French Air and Space Force and appears to have found something of a niche for itself intercepting drones in the Red Sea region, we surely won’t have to wait too long for the first reports of the venerable fighter flying combat missions with the Ukrainian Air Force, too. *Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com* ## Author Thomas Newdick is a staff writer at *TWZ*, where he covers military aviation, defense technology, weapons systems, and international security. Based in Berlin, Germany, he reports on conflicts, military modernization efforts, and emerging aerospace technologies around the world, with a particular interest in airpower and its role in contemporary warfare. His reporting is informed by deep expertise in modern and historical airpower, particularly in Europe, with a focus on military aviation, air campaigns, and aerospace developments across the continent and beyond. Over a journalism career spanning more than 25 years, Thomas has become known for making complex defense and aerospace topics accessible to a broad audience. His reporting combines technical expertise, historical context, and a focus on the real-world operational and strategic implications of military developments. ### Author social links [Twitter]()