title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: The "Protocols" is a fabricated document purporting to be factual. Textual evidence shows that it could not have been produced prior to 1901. It is known that the title of Sergei Nilus' widely distributed edition contains the dates "1902–1903", and it is likely that the document was actually written at this time in Russia, despite Nilus' attempt to cover this up by inserting French-sounding words into his edition. Cesare G. De Michelis argues that it was manufactured in the months after a Russian Zionist congress in September 1902, and that it was originally a parody of Jewish idealism meant for internal circulation among antisemites until it was decided to clean it up and publish it as if it were real. Self-contradictions in various testimonies show that the individuals involved—including the text's initial publisher, Pavel Krushevan—deliberately obscured the origins of the text and lied about it in the decades afterwards.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: If the placement of the forgery in 1902–1903 Russia is correct, then it was written at the beginning of a series of anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire, in which thousands of Jews were killed or fled the country. Many of the people whom De Michelis suspects of involvement in the forgery were directly responsible for inciting the pogroms.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: According to Norman Cohn, the modern myth of a world-wide conspiracy by Jews has its earliest precursor in a work written by a Jesuit priest, Augustin Barruel, who in his Mémoires pour servir à l’histoire du Jacobinisme (1798) argued that the medieval and multinational Order of the Knights Templar had not been completely extinguished in 1312 but rather lived on down the ages as a secret fraternity intent on destroying the papacy and all monarchical forms of government. In Barruel's view, the modern members of this occult movement had wrested control of the Order of Freemasons he deemed responsible for undermining popular morality and the Catholic religion. Barruel's ideas of a universal conspiracy were influenced by news of the contents of a tract, "Proofs of a Conspiracy" (1797), being written by a Scottish mathematician John Robison in London. According to Barruel, the French Enlightenment thinkers, commanding a membership of half a million followers in France, in turn pledged their blind allegiance to the Bavarian Illuminati under Adam Weishaupt. The Jews rarely figure in Barruel's 5 volume polemic, though several years later, a letter written by a putative Florentine army officer going under the name of J.B. Simonini, and addressed to Barruel, after complimenting him for having identified the infernal sects manoeuvering to "pave the way for the Antichrist", added that the 'Judaic sect' should be included in the roster. The letter, Cohn concluded, 'seems to be the earliest in the series of anti-Semitic forgeries that was to culminate in the "Protocols".'. Simonini himself, according to Léon Poliakov, was probably a pseudonym masquerading the work of the French political police controlled by Joseph Fouché, perhaps in an attempt to thwart Napoleon's plans to convoke a Grand Sanhedrin and grant enfranchisement to the Jews. Cohn's reconstruction of the background is now contested.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Towards the end of the 18th century, following the Partitions of Poland, the Russian Empire inherited the world's largest Jewish population. The Jews lived in "shtetls" in the West of the Empire, in the Pale of Settlement and until the 1840s, local Jewish affairs were organised through the "qahal", the semi-autonomous Jewish government, including for purposes of taxation and conscription into the Imperial Russian Army. Following the ascent of liberalism in Europe, the Russian ruling class became more hardline in its reactionary policies, upholding the banner of Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality, whereby non-Orthodox and non-Russian subjects, including Jews, were not always embraced. Jews who attempted to assimilate were regarded with suspicion as potential "infiltrators" supposedly trying to "take over society", while Jews who remained attached to traditional Jewish culture were resented as undesirable aliens.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Resentment towards Jews, for the aforementioned reasons, existed in Russian society, but the idea of a "Protocols"-esque international Jewish conspiracy for world domination was minted in the 1860s. Jacob Brafman, a Russian Jew from Minsk, had a falling out with agents of the local "qahal" and consequently turned against Judaism. He subsequently converted to the Russian Orthodox Church and authored polemics against the Talmud and the "qahal". Brafman claimed in his books "The Local and Universal Jewish Brotherhoods" (1868) and "The Book of the Kahal" (1869), published in Vilna, that the "qahal" continued to exist in secret and that it had as its principal aim undermining Christian entrepreneurs, taking over their property and ultimately seizing power. He also claimed that it was an international conspiratorial network, under the central control of the "Alliance Israélite Universelle", which was based in Paris and then under the leadership of Adolphe Crémieux, a prominent freemason. The Vilna Talmudist, Jacob Barit, attempted to refute Brafman's claim.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: The impact of Brafman's work took on an international aspect when it was translated into English, French, German and other languages. The image of the ""qahal"" as a secret international Jewish shadow government working as a state within a state was picked up by anti-Jewish publications in Russia and was taken seriously by some Russian officials such as P. A. Cherevin and Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev who in the 1880s urged governors-general of provinces to seek out the supposed "qahal". This was around the time of the "Narodnaya Volya" assassination of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and the subsequent pogroms. In France, it was translated by Monsignor Ernest Jouin in 1925, who supported the Protocols. In 1928, Siegfried Passarge, a geographer who later gave his support to the Nazis, translated it into German.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Aside from Brafman, there were other early writings which posited a similar concept to the "Protocols". This includes "The Conquest of the World by the Jews" (1878), published in Basel and authored by Osman Bey (born Frederick Millingen). Millingen was a British subject and son of English physician Julius Michael Millingen, but served as an officer in the Ottoman Army where he was born. He converted to Islam, but later became a Russian Orthodox Christian. Bey's work was followed up by Hippolytus Lutostansky's "The Talmud and the Jews" (1879) which claimed that Jews wanted to divide Russia among themselves.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Source material for the forgery consisted jointly of "Dialogue aux enfers entre Machiavel et Montesquieu" ("Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu"), an 1864 political satire by Maurice Joly; and a chapter from "Biarritz", an 1868 novel by the antisemitic German novelist Hermann Goedsche, which had been translated into Russian in 1872.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: "The Protocols" is one of the best-known and most-discussed examples of literary forgery, with analysis and proof of its fraudulent origin dating as far back as 1921. The forgery is an early example of "conspiracy theory" literature. Written mainly in the first person plural, the text includes generalizations, truisms, and platitudes on how to take over the world: take control of the media and the financial institutions, change the traditional social order, etc. It does not contain specifics.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Numerous parts in the "Protocols", in one calculation, some 160 passages, were plagiarized from Joly's political satire "Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu". This book was a thinly veiled attack on the political ambitions of Napoleon III, who, represented by the non-Jewish character Machiavelli, plots to rule the world. Joly, a republican who later served in the Paris Commune, was sentenced to 15 months as a direct result of his book's publication. Umberto Eco considered that "Dialogue in Hell" was itself plagiarised in part from a novel by Eugène Sue, "Les Mystères du Peuple" (1849–56).


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Identifiable phrases from Joly constitute 4% of the first half of the first edition, and 12% of the second half; later editions, including most translations, have longer quotes from Joly.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Philip Graves brought this plagiarism to light in a series of articles in "The Times" in 1921, being the first to expose the "Protocols" as a forgery to the public.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Daniel Keren wrote in his essay "Commentary on The Protocols of the Elders of Zion", "Goedsche was a postal clerk and a spy for the Prussian Secret Police. He had been forced to leave the postal work due to his part in forging evidence in the prosecution against the Democratic leader Benedict Waldeck in 1849." Following his dismissal, Goedsche began a career as a conservative columnist, and wrote literary fiction under the pen name Sir John Retcliffe. His 1868 novel "Biarritz" ("To Sedan") contains a chapter called "The Jewish Cemetery in Prague and the Council of Representatives of the Twelve Tribes of Israel." In it, Goedsche (who was unaware that only two of the original twelve Biblical "tribes" remained) depicts a clandestine nocturnal meeting of members of a mysterious rabbinical cabal that is planning a diabolical "Jewish conspiracy." At midnight, the Devil appears to contribute his opinions and insight. The chapter closely resembles a scene in Alexandre Dumas' "Giuseppe Balsamo" (1848), in which Joseph Balsamo a.k.a. Alessandro Cagliostro and company plot the Affair of the Diamond Necklace.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: In 1872, a Russian translation of "The Jewish Cemetery in Prague" appeared in Saint Petersburg as a separate pamphlet of purported non-fiction. François Bournand, in his "Les Juifs et nos Contemporains" (1896), reproduced the soliloquy at the end of the chapter, in which the character Levit expresses as factual the wish that Jews be "kings of the world in 100 years" —crediting a "Chief Rabbi John Readcliff." Perpetuation of the myth of the authenticity of Goedsche's story, in particular the "Rabbi's speech", facilitated later accounts of the equally mythical authenticity of the "Protocols". Like the "Protocols", many asserted that the fictional "rabbi's speech" had a ring of authenticity, regardless of its origin: "This speech was published in our time, eighteen years ago," read an 1898 report in "La Croix", "and all the events occurring before our eyes were anticipated in it with truly frightening accuracy."


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Fictional events in Joly's "Dialogue aux enfers entre Machiavel et Montesquieu", which appeared four years before "Biarritz", may well have been the inspiration for Goedsche's fictional midnight meeting, and details of the outcome of the supposed plot. Goedsche's chapter may have been an outright plagiarism of Joly, Dumas père, or both.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: The "Protocols" purports to document the minutes of a late-19th-century meeting attended by world Jewish leaders, the "Elders of Zion", who are conspiring to take over the world. The forgery places in the mouths of the Jewish leaders a variety of plans, most of which derive from older antisemitic canards. For example, the "Protocols" includes plans to subvert the morals of the non-Jewish world, plans for Jewish bankers to control the world's economies, plans for Jewish control of the press, and – ultimately – plans for the destruction of civilization. The document consists of 24 "protocols", which have been analyzed by Steven Jacobs and Mark Weitzman, who documented several recurrent themes that appear repeatedly in the 24 protocols, as shown in the following table:


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Pipes notes that the "Protocols" emphasizes recurring themes of conspiratorial antisemitism: "Jews always scheme", "Jews are everywhere", "Jews are behind every institution", "Jews obey a central authority, the shadowy 'Elders'", and "Jews are close to success."


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: As fiction in the genre of literature, the tract was analyzed by Umberto Eco in his novel "Foucault's Pendulum" (1988):


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Eco also dealt with the "Protocols" in 1994 in chapter 6, "Fictional Protocols", of his "Six Walks in the Fictional Woods" and in his 2010 novel "The Cemetery of Prague".


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: "The Protocols" appeared in print in the Russian Empire as early as 1903, published as a series of articles in "Znamya", a Black Hundreds newspaper owned by Pavel Krushevan. It appeared again in 1905 as the final chapter (Chapter XII) of the second edition of "Velikoe v malom i antikhrist" ("The Great in the Small & Antichrist"), a book by Sergei Nilus. In 1906, it appeared in pamphlet form edited by Georgy Butmi de Katzman.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: These first three (and subsequently more) Russian language imprints were published and circulated in the Russian Empire during the 1903–06 period as a tool for scapegoating Jews, blamed by the monarchists for the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and the Revolution of 1905. Common to all three texts is the idea that Jews aim for world domination. Since "The Protocols" are presented as merely a document, the front matter and back matter are needed to explain its alleged origin. The diverse imprints, however, are mutually inconsistent. The general claim is that the document was stolen from a secret Jewish organization. Since the alleged original stolen manuscript does not exist, one is forced to restore a purported original edition. This has been done by the Italian scholar, Cesare G. De Michelis in 1998, in a work which was translated into English and published in 2004, where he treats his subject as Apocrypha.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: As the Russian Revolution unfolded, causing White movement-affiliated Russians to flee to the West, this text was carried along and assumed a new purpose. Until then, "The Protocols" had remained obscure; it now became an instrument for blaming Jews for the Russian Revolution. It became a tool, a political weapon, used against the Bolsheviks who were depicted as overwhelmingly Jewish, allegedly executing the "plan" embodied in "The Protocols". The purpose was to discredit the October Revolution, prevent the West from recognizing the Soviet Union, and bring about the downfall of Vladimir Lenin's regime.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: The chapter "In the Jewish Cemetery in Prague" from Goedsche's "Biarritz", with its strong antisemitic theme containing the alleged rabbinical plot against the European civilization, was translated into Russian as a separate pamphlet in 1872. However, in 1921, Princess Catherine Radziwill gave a private lecture in New York in which she claimed that the "Protocols" were a forgery compiled in 1904–05 by Russian journalists Matvei Golovinski and Manasevich-Manuilov at the direction of Pyotr Rachkovsky, Chief of the Russian secret service in Paris.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: In 1944, German writer Konrad Heiden identified Golovinski as an author of the "Protocols". Radziwill's account was supported by Russian historian Mikhail Lepekhine, who published his findings in November 1999 in the French newsweekly "L'Express". Lepekhine considers the "Protocols" a part of a scheme to persuade Tsar Nicholas II that the modernization of Russia was really a Jewish plot to control the world. Stephen Eric Bronner writes that groups opposed to progress, parliamentarianism, urbanization, and capitalism, and an active Jewish role in these modern institutions, were particularly drawn to the antisemitism of the document. Ukrainian scholar Vadim Skuratovsky offers extensive literary, historical and linguistic analysis of the original text of the "Protocols" and traces the influences of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's prose (in particular, "The Grand Inquisitor" and "The Possessed") on Golovinski's writings, including the "Protocols".


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Golovinski's role in the writing of the "Protocols" is disputed by Michael Hagemeister, Richard Levy and Cesare De Michelis, who each write that the account which involves him is historically unverifiable and to a large extent provably wrong.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: In his book "The Non-Existent Manuscript", Italian scholar Cesare G. De Michelis studies early Russian publications of the "Protocols". The "Protocols" were first mentioned in the Russian press in April 1902, by the Saint Petersburg newspaper "Novoye Vremya" ( – "The New Times"). The article was written by famous conservative publicist as a part of his regular series "Letters to Neighbors" ("Письма к ближним") and was titled "Plots against Humanity". The author described his meeting with a lady (Yuliana Glinka, as it is known now) who, after telling him about her mystical revelations, implored him to get familiar with the documents later known as the "Protocols"; but after reading some excerpts, Menshikov became quite skeptical about their origin and did not publish them.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: The "Protocols" were published at the earliest, in serialized form, from August 28 to September 7 (O.S.) 1903, in "Znamya", a Saint Petersburg daily newspaper, under Pavel Krushevan. Krushevan had initiated the Kishinev pogrom four months earlier.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: In 1905, Sergei Nilus published the full text of the "Protocols" in "Chapter XII", the final chapter (pp. 305–417), of the second edition (or third, according to some sources) of his book, "Velikoe v malom i antikhrist", which translates as "The Great within the Small: The Coming of the Anti-Christ and the Rule of Satan on Earth". He claimed it was the work of the First Zionist Congress, held in 1897 in Basel, Switzerland. When it was pointed out that the First Zionist Congress had been open to the public and was attended by many non-Jews, Nilus changed his story, saying the Protocols were the work of the 1902–03 meetings of the Elders, but contradicting his own prior statement that he had received his copy in 1901:


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: A subsequent secret investigation ordered by Pyotr Stolypin, the newly appointed chairman of the Council of Ministers, came to the conclusion that the "Protocols" first appeared in Paris in antisemitic circles around 1897–98. When Nicholas II learned of the results of this investigation, he requested, "The Protocols should be confiscated, a good cause cannot be defended by dirty means." Despite the order, or because of the "good cause", numerous reprints proliferated.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: In February 1920, Eyre & Spottiswoode published the first English translation of "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" in Britain. According to a letter written by art historian Robert Hobart Cust, the pamphlet had been translated, prepared, and paid for by George Shanks and their mutual friend, Major Edward Griffiths George Burdon, who was serving as Secretary of the "United Russia Societies Association" at that time. In an edition of Lord Alfred Douglas’ "Plain English" journal dated January 1921, it is claimed that Shanks, a former officer in the Royal Navy Air Service and the Russian Government Committee in Kingsway, London, had found post-war employment in the Chief Whip's Office at 12 Downing Street, before being offered a position as Personal Secretary to Sir Philip Sassoon, at that time serving as Private Secretary to British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in Britain's Coalition Government.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: In the United States, "The Protocols" are to be understood in the context of the First Red Scare (1917–20). The text was purportedly brought to the United States by a Russian Army officer in 1917; it was translated into English by Natalie de Bogory (personal assistant of Harris A. Houghton, an officer of the Department of War) in June 1918, and Russian expatriate Boris Brasol soon circulated it in American government circles, specifically diplomatic and military, in typescript form, a copy of which is archived by the Hoover Institute. It also appeared in 1919 in the "Public Ledger" as a pair of serialized newspaper articles. But all references to "Jews" were replaced with references to "Bolsheviki" as an exposé by the journalist and subsequently highly respected Columbia University School of Journalism dean Carl W. Ackerman.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: In 1923, there appeared an anonymously edited pamphlet by the Britons Publishing Society, a successor to The Britons, an entity created and headed by Henry Hamilton Beamish. This imprint was allegedly a translation by Victor E. Marsden, who had died in October 1920.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: On October 27 and 28, 1919, the Philadelphia "Public Ledger" published excerpts of an English language translation as the "Red Bible," deleting all references to the purported Jewish authorship and re-casting the document as a Bolshevik manifesto. The author of the articles was the paper's correspondent at the time, Carl W. Ackerman, who later became the head of the journalism department at Columbia University. On May 8, 1920, an article in "The Times" followed German translation and appealed for an inquiry into what it called an "uncanny note of prophecy". In the leader (editorial) titled "The Jewish Peril, a Disturbing Pamphlet: Call for Inquiry", Wickham Steed wrote about "The Protocols":


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: For nearly two years starting in 1920, the American industrialist Henry Ford published in a newspaper he owned — "The Dearborn Independent" — a series of antisemitic articles that quoted liberally from the Protocols. The actual author of the articles is generally believed to have been the newspaper's editor William Cameron. During 1922, the circulation of the Dearborn Independent grew to almost 270,000 paid copies. Ford later published a compilation of the articles in book form as "The International Jew: The World's Foremost Problem". In 1921, Ford cited evidence of a Jewish threat: "The only statement I care to make about the "Protocols" is that they fit in with what is going on. They are 16 years old, and they have fitted the world situation up to this time." Robert A. Rosenbaum wrote that "In 1927, bowing to legal and economic pressure, Ford issued a retraction and apology—while disclaiming personal responsibility—for the anti-Semitic articles and closed the "Dearborn Independent" in 1927. He was also an admirer of Nazi Germany.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: In 1934, an anonymous editor expanded the compilation with "Text and Commentary" (pp 136–41). The production of this uncredited compilation was a 300-page book, an inauthentic expanded edition of the twelfth chapter of Nilus's 1905 book on the coming of the anti-Christ. It consists of substantial liftings of excerpts of articles from Ford's antisemitic periodical "The Dearborn Independent". This 1934 text circulates most widely in the English-speaking world, as well as on the internet. The "Text and Commentary" concludes with a comment on Chaim Weizmann's October 6, 1920, remark at a banquet: "A beneficent protection which God has instituted in the life of the Jew is that He has dispersed him all over the world". Marsden, who was dead by then, is credited with the following assertion:


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: In 1920–1921, the history of the concepts found in the "Protocols" was traced back to the works of Goedsche and Jacques Crétineau-Joly by Lucien Wolf (an English Jewish journalist), and published in London in August 1921. But a dramatic exposé occurred in the series of articles in "The Times" by its Constantinople reporter, Philip Graves, who discovered the plagiarism from the work of Maurice Joly.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: According to writer Peter Grose, Allen Dulles, who was in Constantinople developing relationships in post-Ottoman political structures, discovered "the source" of the documentation and ultimately provided him to "The Times". Grose writes that "The Times" extended a loan to the source, a Russian émigré who refused to be identified, with the understanding the loan would not be repaid. Colin Holmes, a lecturer in economic history at Sheffield University, identified the émigré as Mikhail Raslovlev, a self-identified antisemite, who gave the information to Graves so as not to "give a weapon of any kind to the Jews, whose friend I have never been."


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: In the first article of Graves' series, titled "A Literary Forgery", the editors of "The Times" wrote, "our Constantinople Correspondent presents for the first time conclusive proof that the document is in the main a clumsy plagiarism. He has forwarded us a copy of the French book from which the plagiarism is made." In the same year, an entire book documenting the hoax was published in the United States by Herman Bernstein. Despite this widespread and extensive debunking, the "Protocols" continued to be regarded as important factual evidence by antisemites. Dulles, a successful lawyer and career diplomat, attempted to persuade the US State Department to publicly denounce the forgery, but without success.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: The selling of the "Protocols" (edited by German antisemite Theodor Fritsch) by the National Front during a political meeting in the Casino of Berne on June 13, 1933, led to the Berne Trial in the "Amtsgericht" (district court) of Berne, the capital of Switzerland, on October 29, 1934. The plaintiffs (the Swiss Jewish Association and the Jewish Community of Berne) were represented by Hans Matti and Georges Brunschvig, helped by Emil Raas. Working on behalf of the defense was German antisemitic propagandist Ulrich Fleischhauer. On May 19, 1935, two defendants (Theodore Fischer and Silvio Schnell) were convicted of violating a Bernese statute prohibiting the distribution of "immoral, obscene or brutalizing" texts while three other defendants were acquitted. The court declared the "Protocols" to be forgeries, plagiarisms, and obscene literature. Judge Walter Meyer, a Christian who had not previously heard of the "Protocols", said in conclusion,


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Vladimir Burtsev, a Russian émigré, anti-Bolshevik and anti-Fascist who exposed numerous Okhrana agents provocateurs in the early 1900s, served as a witness at the Berne Trial. In 1938 in Paris he published a book, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion: A Proved Forgery", based on his testimony.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: On November 1, 1937, the defendants appealed the verdict to the "Obergericht" (Cantonal Supreme Court) of Berne. A panel of three judges acquitted them, holding that the "Protocols", while false, did not violate the statute at issue because they were "political publications" and not "immoral (obscene) publications (Schundliteratur)" in the strict sense of the law. The presiding judge's opinion stated, though, that the forgery of the "Protocols" was not questionable and expressed regret that the law did not provide adequate protection for Jews from this sort of literature. The court refused to impose the fees of defense of the acquitted defendants to the plaintiffs, and the acquitted Theodor Fischer had to pay 100 Fr. to the total state costs of the trial (Fr. 28,000) that were eventually paid by the Canton of Berne. This decision gave grounds for later allegations that the appeal court "confirmed authenticity of the Protocols" which is contrary to the facts.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Evidence presented at the trial, which strongly influenced later accounts up to the present, was that the "Protocols" were originally written in French by agents of the Tzarist secret police (the Okhrana). However, this version has been questioned by several modern scholars. Michael Hagemeister discovered that the primary witness Alexandre du Chayla had previously written in support of the blood libel, had received four thousand Swiss francs for his testimony, and was secretly doubted even by the plaintiffs. Charles Ruud and Sergei Stepanov concluded that there is no substantial evidence of Okhrana involvement and strong circumstantial evidence against it.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: A similar trial in Switzerland took place at Basel. The Swiss Frontists Alfred Zander and Eduard Rüegsegger distributed the "Protocols" (edited by the German Gottfried zur Beek) in Switzerland. Jules Dreyfus-Brodsky and Marcus Cohen sued them for insult to Jewish honor. At the same time, chief rabbi Marcus Ehrenpreis of Stockholm (who also witnessed at the Berne Trial) sued Alfred Zander who contended that Ehrenpreis himself had said that the "Protocols" were authentic (referring to the foreword of the edition of the "Protocols" by the German antisemite Theodor Fritsch). On June 5, 1936, these proceedings ended with a settlement.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: According to historian Norman Cohn, the assassins of German Jewish politician Walther Rathenau (1867–1922) were convinced that Rathenau was a literal "Elder of Zion".


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: It seems likely Adolf Hitler first became aware of the "Protocols" after hearing about it from ethnic German white émigrés, such as Alfred Rosenberg and Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter. Rosenberg and Scheubner-Richter were also members of the early Aufbau Vereinigung counterrevolutionary group, which according to historian Michael Kellogg, influenced the Nazis in promulgating a "Protocols"-like myth.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: The "Protocols" also became a part of the Nazi propaganda effort to justify persecution of the Jews. In "The Holocaust: The Destruction of European Jewry 1933–1945", Nora Levin states that "Hitler used the Protocols as a manual in his war to exterminate the Jews":


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Hitler did not mention the Protocols in his speeches after his defense of it in "Mein Kampf". "Distillations of the text appeared in German classrooms, indoctrinated the Hitler Youth, and invaded the USSR along with German soldiers." Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels proclaimed: "The Zionist Protocols are as up-to-date today as they were the day they were first published."


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Richard S. Levy criticizes the claim that the "Protocols" had a large effect on Hitler's thinking, writing that it is based mostly on suspect testimony and lacks hard evidence. Randall Bytwerk agrees, writing that most leading Nazis did not believe it was genuine despite having an "inner truth" suitable for propaganda.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Publication of the "Protocols" was stopped in Germany in 1939 for unknown reasons. An edition that was ready for printing was blocked by censorship laws.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Having fled Ukraine in 1918–19, Piotr Shabelsky-Bork brought the "Protocols" to Ludwig Müller von Hausen who then published them in German. Under the pseudonym Gottfried zur Beek he produced the first and "by far the most important" German translation. It appeared in January 1920 as a part of a larger antisemitic tract dated 1919. After "The Times" discussed the book respectfully in May 1920 it became a bestseller. "The Hohenzollern family helped defray the publication costs, and Kaiser Wilhelm II had portions of the book read out aloud to dinner guests". Alfred Rosenberg's 1923 edition "gave a forgery a huge boost".


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Fascist politician Giovanni Preziosi published the first Italian edition of the "Protocols" in 1921. The book however had little impact until the mid-1930s. A new 1937 edition had a much higher impact, and three further editions in the following months sold 60,000 copies total. The fifth edition had an introduction by Julius Evola, which argued around the issue of forgery, stating: "The problem of the authenticity of this document is secondary and has to be replaced by the much more serious and essential problem of its truthfulness".


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Neither governments nor political leaders in most parts of the world have referred to the "Protocols" since World War II. The exception to this is the Middle East, where a large number of Arab and Muslim regimes and leaders have endorsed them as authentic, including endorsements from Presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat of Egypt, President Abdul Salam Arif of Iraq, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, and Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi of Libya. A translation made by an Arab Christian appeared in Cairo in 1927 or 1928, this time as a book. The first translation by an Arab Muslim was also published in Cairo, but only in 1951.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: The 1988 charter of Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist group, stated that the "Protocols" embodies the plan of the Zionists. The reference was removed in the new covenant issued in 2017. Recent endorsements in the 21st century have been made by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Ekrima Sa'id Sabri, the education ministry of Saudi Arabia, and a member of the Greek Parliament, Ilias Kasidiaris. The Palestinian Solidarity Committee of South Africa reportedly distributed copies of the "Protocols" at the World Conference against Racism 2001. The book was sold during the conference in the exhibition tent set up for the distribution of the antiracist literature.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: However, figures within the region have publicly asserted that The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a forgery such as former Grand Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa, who made an official court complaint concerning a publisher who falsely put his name on an introduction to its Arabic translation.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: "The Protocols" is widely considered influential in the development of other conspiracy theories, and reappears repeatedly in contemporary conspiracy literature. Notions derived from the "Protocols" include claims that the "Jews" depicted in the Protocols are a cover for the Illuminati, Freemasons, the Priory of Sion or, in the opinion of David Icke, "extra-dimensional entities". In his book "And the truth shall set you free" (1995), Icke asserted that the "Protocols" are genuine and accurate.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Masami Uno's book "If You Understand Judea You Can Comprehend the World: 1990 Scenario for the 'Final Economic War"' became popular in Japan around 1987 and was based upon the "Protocols".


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: In 2001–2002, Arab Radio and Television produced a 30-part television miniseries entitled "Horseman Without a Horse", starring prominent Egyptian actor Mohamed Sobhi, which contains dramatizations of the "Protocols". The United States and Israel criticized Egypt for airing the program. "Ash-Shatat" (Arabic: الشتات "The Diaspora") is a 29-part Syrian television series produced in 2003 by a private Syrian film company and was based in part on the "Protocols." Syrian national television declined to air the program. "Ash-Shatat" was shown on Lebanon's Al-Manar, before being dropped. The series was shown in Iran in 2004, and in Jordan during October 2005 on Al-Mamnou, a Jordanian satellite network.


title: AirAsia

text: Capital A Berhad, () operating as AirAsia (stylized as airasia) is a Malaysian multinational low-cost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the largest airline in Malaysia by fleet size and destinations. AirAsia operates scheduled domestic and international flights to more than 165 destinations spanning 25 countries. Its main base is klia2, the low-cost carrier terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia. Its affiliate airlines AirAsia Cambodia, Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, Philippines AirAsia have bases in Bangkok–Don Mueang, Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Manila–Ninoy Aquino, Phnom Penh International Airport airports respectively, while its sister airline, AirAsia X, focuses on long-haul routes. AirAsia's registered office and head office is at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.


title: AirAsia

text: In 2007, "The New York Times" described the airline as a "pioneer" of low-cost travel in Asia. AirAsia is the sponsor of Malaysia national football team, Singapore national football team, Jamshedpur FC and Queens Park Rangers. AirAsia is also a former sponsor of Manchester United and Asia Red Tour.


title: AirAsia

text: AirAsia has consistently been named as the world's best low-cost carrier for 13 years by Skytrax in a row in international travel and airline awards, including the latest award for 2022.


title: AirAsia

text: AirAsia was established in 1993 and began operations on 18 November 1996. It was founded by a government-owned conglomerate, DRB-HICOM. On 8 September 2001, the heavily indebted airline was bought by former Time Warner (now known as WarnerMedia) executive Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun's company Tune Air Sdn Bhd for the token sum of one ringgit (about US$0.26 at the time) with US$11 million (MYR 40 million) worth of debts. The partners turned the company around, producing a profit in 2002 and launching new routes from its hub in Kuala Lumpur, undercutting former monopoly operator Malaysia Airlines with promotional fares as low as MYR 1 (US$0.27). In 2003, AirAsia opened a second hub at Senai International Airport in Johor Bahru and launched its first international flight to Bangkok.


title: AirAsia

text: AirAsia subsequently started its Thai AirAsia affiliate and began flights to Singapore and Indonesia. Flights to Macau started in June 2004, and flights to mainland China (Xiamen) and the Philippines (Manila) in April 2005. Flights to Vietnam and Cambodia followed in 2005 and to Brunei and Myanmar in 2006, the latter by Thai AirAsia. In August 2006, AirAsia took over Malaysia Airlines's Rural Air Service routes in Sabah and Sarawak, operating under the FlyAsianXpress brand. The routes were returned to MASwings a year later, citing commercial reasons.


title: AirAsia

text: At the end of 2006, Fernandes unveiled a five-year plan to further enhance AirAsia's presence in Asia. Under the plan, AirAsia proposed enhancing its route network by connecting all of its existing destinations throughout the region and expanding further into Vietnam, Indonesia, Southern China (Kunming, Xiamen, Shenzhen) and India. Through its sister companies, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia, the plan called for a focus on developing its hub in Bangkok and Jakarta. With increased frequency and the addition of new routes, AirAsia increased passenger volume to 13.9 million in its 2007 fiscal year.


title: AirAsia

text: On 27 September 2008, the company announced 106 new routes to be added to its list of 60. The number of old routes discontinued has not been disclosed.


title: AirAsia

text: In August 2011, AirAsia agreed to form an alliance with Malaysia Airlines by means of a share swap. This would have reduce competition and help the Malaysian flag carrier return to profitability. However, the deal was terminated in 2012.


title: AirAsia

text: AirAsia suspended its operations in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It later resumed domestic operations in April 2020, followed by its affiliates soon after. In October 2021, AirAsia restarted international flights after the Malaysian government lifted travel restrictions.


title: AirAsia

text: On 3 January 2022, AirAsia proposed its corporate name change to Capital A, which subject to shareholders' approval. The proposed name has been approved by the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) and reserved by the company on 28 December 2021. On 28 January 2022, the company changed its corporate name from AirAsia Group Bhd to Capital A Bhd to reflect its expansion of business portfolio beyond the core budget airline. However, its airline business continued to use the AirAsia brand.


title: AirAsia

text: The head office is the Red Quarters (RedQ) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Selangor. This facility also serves as the company's registered office.


title: AirAsia

text: The airline has moved its head office to a new , RM140mil facility constructed at klia2 on 7 November 2016. Until the new head office opened, the airline's head office was located in the KLIA LCCT. The new klia2 head office has been scheduled to open at the end of 2015. The former registered office was on level 13 of the Menara Prima Tower B in Petaling Jaya.


title: AirAsia

text: RedQ is scheduled to hold about 2,000 AirAsia and AirAsia X employees. Aireen Omar, the AirAsia Country CEO of Malaysia, stated that the headquarters needed to be redesigned because in the klia2 plans the location of the control tower had been changed. Construction on the facility was scheduled to begin in July 2014. Malaysia Airports Holdings is leasing the land that will be occupied by the headquarters. An AirAsia X flight attendant gave the building the name "RedQuarters" or "RedQ", and its groundbreaking ceremony was held in November 2014.


title: AirAsia

text: In May 2017, AirAsia planned to open a subsidiary company in Cambodia to handle an increase of tourists from Malaysia visiting to the Cambodian cities of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville. On 9 December 2022, AirAsia and Sivilai Asia signed a joint venture agreement to establish AirAsia Cambodia, with AirAsia owning majority of the airline. The airline is planned to commence operations in late 2023.


title: AirAsia

text: In October 2012, AirAsia's management said that they were keen to have more presence in India if the "aviation environment" and tax structure were "conducive and friendly" for low-cost airline operations. With the new Indian Government allowing a foreign direct investment of up to 49% in aviation sector, the airline CEO Tony Fernandes tweeted "Fantastic news that India has opened up investments to foreign airlines." He said that it was now easier for him to set up an airline in India. Tony Fernandes called the joint venture with Tata Sons. He said that the Tatas know India very well and have a good reputation. Fernandes said that he would concentrate mainly on the one million south Indians who travel by rail. AirAsia announced its Indian low-cost affiliate airline on 19 February 2013. The airline would be operated as a joint venture, with AirAsia holding 49% of the airline. Arun Bhatia took up 21% and Tata Sons the remaining 30% stake in the airline. The joint venture would also mark Tata Sons' return to aviation industry after 60 years. AirAsia is the first foreign airline to set up an affiliate airline in India. The airline is headquartered in Chennai and planned to make Chennai International Airport as its hub. Later, the primary hub of the airlines was shifted to Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore. The maiden flight of AirAsia's India venture on Bangalore-Goa route took off on 12 June 2014. The airline announced that Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi will be its hub for North Indian operations.


title: AirAsia

text: In November 2020, AirAsia reviewing its India operations run in partnership with Tata Sons signalling a possible exit from the country. On 29 December 2020, the Tata Group announced it would increase its holdings in the Indian-based joint venture with AirAsia from 51% to 84%. On 2 November 2022, AirAsia sold the remaining 16% stake to Tata Sons.


title: AirAsia

text: In September 2022, it was reported by Tata Group that the airline would be fully intergated into Air India Express by 2024. Following the merger, AirAsia India would cease to exist, and the former shall be operated under the Air India Express brand.


title: AirAsia

text: AirAsia and Japanese network airline All Nippon Airways announced their joint venture at a press conference in Tokyo on 21 July 2011. Following its establishment in August 2011, AirAsia Japan flew its first flight in August 2012. AirAsia Japan was the first low-cost airline to be based at Narita International Airport. Its formation was announced only months after ANA had announced the formation of Peach, a low-cost airline based at Kansai International Airport in Osaka, and alongside a concurrent effort by Japan Airlines to set up a low-cost affiliate. ANA elected to partner with an existing low-cost airline for efficiency and strategic advantage. It was the fifth affiliate airline for AirAsia and the ninth for ANA. The airline was headquartered alongside ANA in Tokyo, with its main operating base at Narita, and served domestic destinations, using the brand and service model of AirAsia.


title: AirAsia

text: AirAsia Japan terminated its operations on 27 October 2013 after announcing the dissolution of its joint venture in June 2013.


title: AirAsia

text: In a press release on 1 July 2014, AirAsia announced a relaunch of the AirAsia Japan brand. AirAsia Japan finally relaunched on 29 October 2017, with its two daily flights from Nagoya to Sapporo.


title: AirAsia

text: On 5 October 2020, the airline ceased operations due to low passenger demand caused by COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, AirAsia Japan filed for bankruptcy proceedings in the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday with about 21.7 billion yen ($208 million) in liabilities, becoming the first airline to fail in the country during the COVID-19 era. This has led to 23,000 flyers without refund and a total liability of 21.7 billion yen.


title: AirAsia

text: AirAsia X is the long-haul operation of AirAsia. The franchise is able to keep costs down by using a universal ticketing system. AirAsia X is also affiliated with Virgin Group and Air Canada. On 17 May 2007, Tony Fernandes announced plans to commence flights from Malaysia to Australia. Fernandes said he would be avoiding Sydney Airport due to its high fees. Instead, the airline would concentrate on cheaper alternatives such as Melbourne's Avalon Airport, Williamtown Airport in Newcastle, and Adelaide Airport. Sustained fares were predicted to be around MYR 800 (A$285) for a return fare, plus taxes. Interest was also expressed in using Gold Coast Airport as another Australian destination. On 14 May 2007, AirAsia confirmed that it had ordered 15 Airbus A330-300 aircraft, five more than initially announced. The aircraft were scheduled for delivery from the fourth quarter of 2008. On 27 March 2008, AirAsia signed a firm contract for another 10 Airbus A330-300s bringing the airline's total order to 25. AirAsia X received its first A330 on 31 October 2008 in Toulouse, France. As of 14 February 2008, 48% of AirAsia X is owned by Aero Ventures; a venture of Tony Fernandes, other prominent Malaysians, and Air Canada's Robert Milton. Virgin Group owns 16%, and a further 16% is owned by AirAsia. Bahrain-based Manara Consortium, and Japan-based Orix Corp have taken a 20% stake in AirAsia X for RM250 million.


title: AirAsia

text: In April 2018, AirAsia X cancelled their 10 A350-900 order that they ordered in 2009 due to higher prices on the aircraft, The airline had previously also expressed an interest in ordering Boeing 787-10 aircraft, with a decision expected in 2018. In March 2018, the decision was made not to proceed with ordering the Boeing aircraft.


title: AirAsia

text: As of June 2019, the fleet consisted of 24 Airbus A330-300 aircraft, and the airline had 78 Airbus A330-900 aircraft on order. However, under a debt restructuring plan in November 2021, the order of A330 aircraft was reduced substantially, from 78 to 15 aircraft.


title: AirAsia

text: Indonesia AirAsia operates scheduled domestic, international services and is an Indonesian associate carrier of Malaysian low-fare airline AirAsia. Its main base is Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta. Until July 2010, Indonesia Air Asia, along with many Indonesian airlines, was banned from flying to the EU due to safety concerns. However, the ban was lifted in July 2010. The airline was established as Awair in 1999 by Abdurrahman Wahid, former chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama Muslim organisation. He had a 40% stake in the airline which he relinquished after being elected president of Indonesia in October 1999. On 1 December 2005, Awair changed its name to Indonesia AirAsia in line with the other AirAsia branded airlines in the region. AirAsia Berhad has a 49% share in the airline with Fersindo Nusaperkasa owning 51%. Indonesia's laws disallow a foreign-majority ownership on domestic civil aviation operations.


title: AirAsia

text: Indonesia AirAsia X is a joint venture of AirAsia X. It serves Indonesia AirAsia's regularly scheduled long haul international flights from Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport. Indonesia AirAsia X launched its first flight to Taipei on 29 January 2015.


title: AirAsia

text: Indonesian low-cost carrier Indonesia AirAsia looks set to cease operations as a standalone carrier and be merged with sister AirAsia subsidiary, Indonesia AirAsia X.


title: AirAsia

text: In October 2020, AirAsia X confirmed they have retrenchment of 10 per cent of their 24,000 employees.


title: AirAsia

text: Philippines AirAsia is a joint venture between Filipino investors and AirAsia. The Filipino group include Antonio Cojuangco, Jr., Yancy Mckhel Mejia, former owner of Associated Broadcasting Company with flagship television station TV5, Michael Romero, a real estate developer and port operator, and Marianne Hontiveros. The airline is 60% owned by the Filipino investors and the remaining 40% is owned by AirAsia.


title: AirAsia

text: Philippines AirAsia was formally launched on 16 December 2010. The airline planned to start operations by 2011, but was delayed. Philippines AirAsia commenced operations on 28 March 2012.


title: AirAsia

text: In 2013, it partnered with Zest Airways, a Philippine low-cost airline. It operates scheduled domestic and international tourist services, mainly feeder services linking Manila and Cebu with 24 domestic destinations in support of the trunk route operations of other airlines. Less than a year after AirAsia and Zest Air's strategic alliance, Zest Airways was rebranded as AirAsia Zest on 21 September 2013. It merged with Philippines AirAsia in 2015.


title: AirAsia

text: Thai AirAsia is a joint venture between AirAsia and Thailand's Asia Aviation. Thai AirAsia launched domestic operations in February 2004. It serves AirAsia's regularly scheduled domestic and international flights from Bangkok and other cities in Thailand. Thai AirAsia was the only low-cost airline operating both domestic and international flights from Suvarnabhumi Airport. The airline shifted all operations from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Don Mueang International Airport effective 1 October 2012.


title: AirAsia

text: Thai AirAsia is 55% owned by Asia Aviation, 45% owned by AirAsia International, 39% owned by King Power The airline sponsors the Thai football teams Buriram United, SCG Muangthong United, Chonburi, Osotspa Saraburi, BEC Tero Sasana, Chiangrai UTD, Esan United, Chainat, Samut Prakan CUTD, Bangkok United, FC Phuket, Krabi, Air Force United, Nakhon Phanom, Loei City, Trang and the referee of Football Association of Thailand.


title: AirAsia

text: Thai AirAsia X is Thailand's first long-haul low-cost airline. It was scheduled to begin operations in June 2014. After putting off the launch that had been planned for the first quarter, Thai AirAsia X was to launch its maiden service from Bangkok to Incheon, South Korea on 17 June and then begin regular flights to Japan's Narita Airport in Tokyo and Osaka around July.


title: AirAsia

text: In May 2022, AirAsia announced the introduction of its ride-hailing service in Thailand, AirAsia Ride. Thailand is the second country AirAsia is expanding the e-hailing services in, directly competing with the dominant player, Grab.


title: AirAsia

text: Previously operating the Boeing 737-300, AirAsia has now completely converted to the Airbus A320 family.


title: AirAsia

text: In June 2011, AirAsia ordered 200 Airbus A320neos at the Paris Air Show. The planes were originally due to become available in 2015, and the deal was one of the largest ever for commercial aircraft in a single order. The deal was worth US$18 billion at list prices, although AirAsia will have obtained a substantial discount from those prices. The deal makes AirAsia Airbus' single biggest customer. On 13 December 2012, AirAsia placed an order for an additional 100 Airbus A320 jets, splitting it between 64 A320neo and 36 A320ceo.<ref name="www.airbus.com/presscentre"></ref>


title: AirAsia

text: At the Farnborough International Air Show in 2016, Air Asia ordered 100 A321neos at an estimated cost of US$12.6 Billion dollars at list prices. Air Asia plans to fly these larger aircraft to airports that have infrastructure constraints. AirAsia received its first A320neo in September 2016. At the 2019 Farnborough Air Show, AirAsia further increased its orders for A320 aircraft, in the process also becoming Airbus' largest customer for the A321neo variant.


title: AirAsia

text: With this, the total number of orders that AirAsia had placed for the Airbus A320 family climbed to 592, reaffirming the carrier's position also as the largest airline customer for the Airbus single aisle product line. However, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation, the orders for the new A320 family of aircraft were reworked by mutual agreement between AirAsia and Airbus in October 2021, with deliveries now scheduled to extend to 2035, among other undisclosed changes in purchase terms.


title: AirAsia

text: In November 2020, AirAsia did not complete the purchase of six already specifically built Airbus A320neo aircraft as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2021, Airbus agreed to cut prices to salvage a ten billion dollars contract with the flight carrier, restarting the relationship between both partners.


title: AirAsia

text: AirAsia offers "Santan" menu, with options to buy on board offering food, drinks, merchandise and duty free for purchase. Pre-purchase of "Santan" meals is available at a lower price than on board, and with additional options AirAsia is accredited by the KL Syariah Index of Bursa Malaysia, and in accordance with Shariah principles, it does not serve alcohol or pork. However, this applies only to the regional AirAsia group flights, and not to the AirAsia X flights, which do sell wine and beer on board.


title: AirAsia

text: AirAsia is taking the first steps towards starting its own frequent-flyer programme. The airline has signed an agreement to start a joint venture with financial services firm Tune Money to launch a programme called "BIG". Under this programme, it will issue loyalty points to AirAsia customers and third-party merchants. Points can then be used to redeem AirAsia flights.


title: AirAsia

text: The 2022 World Airline Awards from Skytrax ranked the airline as the world's best low-cost airline, a record held for 13 years in a row.


title: AirAsia

text: Before the 2018 Malaysian general election, AirAsia received criticism for seemingly backing Najib Razak and his Barisan Nasional coalition, a move seen as politically incorrect by some political commentators. Najib was seen returning from Sabah to Kuala Lumpur after a campaign trip on an AirAsia flight together with AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes. The aeroplane that Najib flew was draped in the blue of BN with the air stewardesses dressed in that same blue, instead of the typical AirAsia red. The words “Hebatkan Negaraku” (English: “Make my country greater”) can also be seen across the fuselage of the aeroplane. After Najib was defeated in the general election, Tony Fernandes issued an apology, claiming that he had buckled under the intense pressure from Najib's government.


title: AirAsia

text: In 2007, passengers from "The Barrier-Free Environment and Accessible Transport Group" protested against the airline over its refusal to fly passengers who were completely immobile. They claimed that people with disabilities were discriminated against when booking tickets online; the CEO of the airline said it did not turn away passengers in wheelchairs.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force ("Armée de l'air"). The Mirage 2000 evolved into a multirole aircraft with several variants developed, with sales to a number of nations. It was later developed into the Mirage 2000N and 2000D strike variants, the improved Mirage 2000-5, and several export variants. Over 600 aircraft were built and it has been in service with nine nations.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The origins of the Mirage 2000 could be traced back to 1965, when France and Britain agreed to develop the "Anglo-French Variable Geometry" (AFVG) swing-wing aircraft. Two years later, France withdrew from the project on grounds of costs, after which Britain would collaborate with West Germany and Italy to ultimately produce the Panavia Tornado. Dassault instead focused on its own variable-geometry aircraft, the Dassault Mirage G experimental prototype. The design was expected to materialise in the Mirage G8, which would serve as the replacement for the popular Mirage III in French Air Force service.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The Mirage 2000 started out as a secondary project tentatively named "Delta 1000" in 1972. Dassault was devoting considerable attention to the Mirage G8A, a fixed-geometry derivative of the Mirage G8 that served as the competitor to the Panavia Tornado. The Mirage G8, which was envisioned as the "Avion de Combat Futur" (ACF or Future Combat Aircraft) of the French Air Force ("Armee de l'Air", "AdA"), did not align with the service's conception of its future aircraft. The "AdA" wanted a Mach 3 fighter, not an interdictor aircraft incapable of dogfighting that was the Mirage G8. As such, Dassault redesigned the Mirage G8 into the two-engine Super Mirage G8A that would prove to be ambitious and expensive, being two and a half times the price of the Mirage F1 and over-engineered, especially compared to the F-16 that had just won orders from a number of European countries. Consequently, during a meeting of the National Defence Council on 18 December 1975, the Super Mirage was cancelled.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The ACF was a strike aircraft first and an interceptor second, while the Delta 2000 was the reverse, but the single-engine Delta 2000 was much more affordable. At the same National Defence Council meeting, a redesignated Mirage 2000 was offered to the "AdA", and three prototypes were ordered. The "AdA" in March 1976 issued a set of official requirements whose parameters matched those of Dassault's performance estimates of the new fighter. The aircraft's primary role was interception with a secondary ground-attack capability; the "AdA" had a commitment for 200 aircraft. The first aircraft was to be delivered in 1982. This was a return to the first-generation Mirages, but with several important innovations that tried to solve their shortcomings.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The production of the Mirage 2000 involved three construction sites, two of which located in Bordeaux, that specialised in different components. The wings were built at Martignas, and the fuselages were fabricated at Argenteuil (NW of Paris), with final assembly taking place at Bordeaux-Merignac. The first prototype, Mirage 2000 No. 01, though, was hand built at St Cloud, before being moved to Dassault's Istres facility for assembly. At the hands of Jean Coureau, No. 01 made its first flight on 10 March 1978, a mere 27 months after the programme go-ahead. During the 65-minute flight, Coureau took the aircraft to Mach 1.02 without afterburner, before climbing to more than 12,000 m and accelerating the aircraft to Mach 1.3. By the end of May, the aircraft had surpassed Mach 2 and an indicated airspeed of . On the other end of the speed spectrum, the Mirage 2000 proved to be a capable low-speed aircraft, as demonstrated at the Farnborough Airshow in September 1978, during which Dassault pilot Guy Mitaux-Maurourd raised the aircraft's nose to 25° angle of attack (AoA) as the aircraft slowed to . Later tests showed that the aircraft could attain 30° AoA while carrying fuel tanks and weapons.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The second prototype, No. 02, made its 50-minute first flight in September 1978 at the controls of Maurourd. The aircraft was to test some of the avionics systems and the carriage of weapons. Due to a flame-out while on a landing approach, the aircraft was lost in May 1984. No. 03 made its first flight in April 1979; equipped with a complete weapons system, it was used for radar and weapons trials. After 400 hours of flight, they were sent to "Centre d'Essais en Vol", flight tests centre. Although three prototypes were ordered in December 1975, Dassault constructed an additional fourth single-seat demonstrator for its own purposes, which embodied lessons on the earlier aircraft, namely the reduction in fin height and an increased fin sweep, redesigned air inlets, and an FBW system. The only dual-seat Mirage 2000B of the test programme first flew on 11 October 1980.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The first production Mirage 2000C (C for "chasseur", "fighter") flew on 20 November 1982. Deliveries to the "AdA" began in 1983. The first 37 Mirage 2000Cs delivered were fitted with the Thomson-CSF Radar Doppler Multifunction (RDM), and were powered by the SNECMA M53-5 turbofan engine. The 38th Mirage 2000C had an upgraded SNECMA M53-P2 turbofan engine. The Radar Doppler à Impulsion (RDI) built by Thales for the Mirage 2000C entered service in 1987. It has a much improved range of about 150 km, and is linked to Matra Super 530D missiles, which are much improved compared to the older Super 530F. Look-down/shoot-down capabilities are much improved, as well, but this radar is not usually used for air-to-surface roles.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The Mirage 2000N is a dedicated nuclear-strike variant, which was intended to carry the Air-Sol Moyenne Portée (ASMP) nuclear stand-off missile. Flight tests of the first of two prototypes, Mirage 2000N 01 (the eighth Mirage 2000) began on 3 February 1983. During the 65-minute flight, the aircraft reached a speed of Mach 1.5. The variant entered operational service in 1988, initially operating from Luxeuil Air Base with the 4 Escadre de Chasse. Closely derived from the Mirage 2000N is a dedicated conventional attack variant designated Mirage 2000D. Initial flight of the Mirage 2000D prototype, a modified Mirage 2000N prototype, was on 19 February 1991. The first flight of a production aircraft occurred 31 March 1993, and service introduction followed in April 1995. Seventy-five and eighty-six Mirage 2000Ns and Mirage 2000Ds were manufactured, respectively.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: By the late 1980s, the Mirage 2000 was beginning to age compared with the latest models of F-16 fighters. In particular, attention was drawn to the aircraft's inability to engage multiple targets simultaneously, and the small load of air-to-air missiles it could carry. Consequently, Dassault in April 1989 announced that with the cooperation of Thomson-CSF, it would be working on a privately funded update of the Mirage 2000C, which was to be named the Mirage 2000-5. A two-seat Mirage 2000B prototype was extensively modified as the first Mirage 2000-5 prototype, and it first flew on 24 October 1990. A Mirage 2000C prototype was also reworked to a similar standard, making its initial flight on 27 April 1991. The first front-line aircraft variant to have been designed specifically in response to the export market, Taiwan was the first country to order the type in 1992, followed by Qatar in 1994. The type was first delivered in 1996 and entered service in 1997.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: Domestically, Dassault needed an order from the "AdA" to help promote foreign sales, and in 1993, the "AdA" decided to upgrade 37 of their existing Mirage 2000s to the 2000-5 specification as a stopgap before the arrival of the Rafale in "AdA" service. The upgraded aircraft were redesignated Mirage 2000-5F, and became operational in 2000. They retained the old countermeasures system with the Serval/Sabre/Spirale units and did not receive the ICMS 2 system. A two-seat version was developed, as well, whose rear seat has a heads-up display, but not an associated head-level display, and lacks a built-in cannon, although cannon pods can be carried.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: At the urging of the United Arab Emirates, Dassault worked on a further modification of the Mirage 2000-5. Initially dubbed Mirage 2000-9, this variant had the upgrade of the radar and the associated avionics, the change of weapons configuration, and the extension of range.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The last Mirage 2000 was delivered on 23 November 2007 to the Hellenic Air Force; afterwards, the production line was shut down.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The aircraft uses retractable Tricycle landing gear by Messier-Dowty, with twin nosewheels and a single wheel on each main gear. A runway tailhook or a fairing for a brake parachute can be fitted under the tail, which can operate in conjunction with the landing gear's carbon brakes to shorten landing distances. A removable refueling probe can be attached in front of the cockpit, offset slightly to the right of centre.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The Mirage 2000 is available as a single-seat or two-seat multirole fighter. The pilot flies the aircraft by means of a centre stick and left-hand throttles, with both incorporating HOTAS controls. The pilot sits on a SEM MB Mk10 zero-zero ejection seat (a license-built version of the British Martin-Baker Mark 10).


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The instrument panel (in the Mirage 2000 C) is dominated by a Sextant VE-130 head-up display which presents data relating to flight control, navigation, target engagement, and weapon firing, and a radar screen located centrally below it.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The SNECMA M53 afterburning turbofan was developed for the ACF, and was available for the Mirage 2000 project. It is a single-shaft engine of modular construction that is relatively light and simple compared to those of the British or American designs. The M53 consists of three low-pressure compressor stages, five high-pressure stages, and two turbine stages. With the development programme consisting of 20 engines, the M53 "sans suffix" was first bench tested in February 1970, and became airborne on a Caravelle testbed in July 1973. Dassault conducted flight tests of the M53-2 version using its Mirage F1E testbeds starting in December 1974; this version produced in afterburner. The Mirage 2000 itself was powered by two versions of the M53—the M53-5, which equipped initial operational aircraft, was rated at of thrust with afterburner. The definitive version of the engine, the M53-P2, which equipped the majority of the type, is rated at in dry thrust and in afterburner.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The Mirage 2000 is equipped with built-in twin DEFA 554 autocannon (now GIAT 30–550 F4) 30 mm revolver-type cannons with 125 rounds each. The cannons have selectable fire rates of 1,200 or 1,800 rounds per minute.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The Mirage 2000-5 is a major advancement over previous variants and embodies a comprehensive electronic, sensor, and cockpit upgrade to expand its combat ability, while reducing pilot workload. The centrepiece of the Mirage 2000-5 overhaul is the Thomson-CSF RDY (radar Doppler multitarget) with look down/shoot down capability. The multifunction radar is capable of air-to-ground, air-to-air, and air-to-sea operations. In the air-to-ground mode, the RDY has navigation and attack functions that give it deep-strike and close-support capabilities. Capable of automatically locking onto multiple targets at first contact, the radar could detect flying targets travelling as low as 200 ft. The introduction of the radar allows the aircraft to use the MICA missile, up to six of which could be fired simultaneously at targets due to the advances within the radar. Despite the increase in offensive capability, pilot workload is compensated for by the introduction of a multidisplay glass cockpit, based on the development of the Rafale. The aircraft has the ICMS Mk2 countermeasures suit, which contains three radar detectors and an infrared sensor that are linked to active jammers and chaff/flare dispensers.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: Enhancements to offensive systems included a datalink for the targeting of MICA EM missiles, the addition of the Damocles forward-looking infrared (FLIR) targeting pod, and a newer, more stealthy Thales RDY-2 all-weather synthetic aperture radar with moving target indicator capability, which also grants the aircraft improved air-to-ground capability. The avionics were further updated with higher resolution color displays, an optional Topsight helmet-mounted display, and the addition of the modular data-processing unit designed for the Rafale. A new Thales Totem 3000 inertial navigation system with ring laser gyroscope and GPS capability were added, providing much greater accuracy, higher reliability, and shorter alignment time than the older ULISS 52 navigation system it replaced. Other upgrades included the addition of an on-board oxygen generation system for the pilot and an ICMS 3 digital countermeasures suite.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The first aircraft entered service in July 1984. The first operational squadron was formed during the same year, the 50th anniversary of the French Air Force. About 124 Mirage 2000Cs were obtained by the "AdA".


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: French Mirage 2000s were used during the Gulf War, where they flew high-altitude air defence for USAF U-2 spy aircraft, as well as in UN and NATO air operations during the Bosnian War and the Kosovo War. During Operation Deliberate Force, on 30 August 1995, one Mirage 2000D was shot down over Bosnia by a 9K38 Igla shoulder-launched missile fired by air defence units of the Army of Republika Srpska, prompting efforts to obtain improved defensive systems. Both crew members were captured and later released through mediation of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: French Mirage 2000Ds later served with the International Security Assistance Force during the conflict in Afghanistan in 2001–2002, operating in close conjunction with international forces and performing precision attacks with laser-guided bombs. In the summer of 2007, after the Dassault Rafale fighters had been removed from the theater of operations, three French Mirage 2000s were deployed to Afghanistan in support of NATO troops.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The Mirage 2000 is being replaced in French service by the Dassault Rafale, which became operational with the French Air Force in June 2006.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: French Mirage 2000s were committed to enforcing the no-fly zone in Libya as part of Opération Harmattan in 2011.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: On 14 April 2018, four French Mirage 2000-5Fs participated in a joint military operation against the Syrian government with the UK and U.S. during the Syrian Civil War.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: Egypt became the first export customer of the Mirage 2000 when it ordered 20 aircraft in December 1981. The $890 million order encompassed 16 single-seat Mirage 2000EMs and four two-seat Mirage 2000BMs, as well as options for 20 more aircraft. The aircraft were delivered between June 1986 and January 1988. One was lost in a training accident.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: In 1980, the Indian Air Force (IAF) learned of a successful approach by Pakistan to the US that year to purchase F-16A/B fighters, delivery of which was to commence in 1982. By late 1980, the IAF had quickly convinced the Indian government to purchase an equally potent aircraft, as its MiG-21s and MiG-23s were inferior to the F-16. When evaluating the Mirage F1 earlier, it became aware of a high-performance prototype of the Mirage 2000 in the flight-testing phase. No other aircraft of this potential was being offered for export. An internal assessment of the Mirage 2000 was carried out and the Indian government felt that the French plane was more advanced and a superior response to the F-16s that the US was to supply to Pakistan, and approached France for 150 Mirage 2000s. In October 1982, the country placed an order with Dassault for 36 single-seat Mirage 2000Hs and four twin-seat Mirage 2000THs (with "H" standing for "Hindustan") with the possibility of a follow-on purchase of nine aircraft (eight single- and one twin-seater aircraft) as war, maintenance and attrition reserve. The purchase of 150 aircraft, could well have paved the way for joint production with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, but the number of aircraft ordered (40+9) was too small for such an arrangement. India nevertheless had the option to produce a number of Mirage 2000s under license that was later scrapped due to the country's close relationship with the Soviet Union. This led to the induction of the MiG-29 instead, overriding reservations expressed by the IAF.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: With the delivery of the first seven aircraft on 29 June 1985 to No. 7 Squadron, the Battleaxes, the Indian Air Force (IAF) became the first foreign user of the type, which it renamed the "Vajra" (, for Lightning, Thunderbolt). The service's early aircraft were powered by Snecma M53-5 engines (so were designated Mirage 2000H5 and Mirage 2000TH5), which were quickly replaced by more powerful M53-P2 engines. The second unit to convert to the type was No. 1 Squadron (the Tigers), which was formally designated a Mirage 2000 unit in January 1986. Within 12 months of the first delivery, the IAF had received all 40 aircraft ordered. The follow-on order for nine aircraft was signed in 1986. Five aircraft were delivered by 1990, two more in 1992, and the last two aircraft were delivered in 1994. As such, full unit establishment was not achieved until 1990.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The Mirage 2000 fleet encountered other issues during its first decade of service, which were largely operational and maintenance-based. In 1995, the Indian government's comptroller and auditor general reported delays in the construction of overhaul facilities and a shortage of spare parts, which had led to the fleet being unable to meet its required flying hours. India also purchased ATLIS II pods and several Matra Bombe Guidée Laser (BGL) Arcole 1,000 kg laser-guided penetrating bombs for the Mirage. The ATLIS II pods have an inherent limitation in that they are unusable at high altitudes. In its place, the IAF has bought a number of the cheaper US Paveway II laser-guided bomb kits for use with the Israeli Litening laser designator pods (LDPs), but certain parts of the Paveway kit were not available, as they were under US embargo. The aircraft were heavily modified in a short time frame to drop laser-guided bombs as well as conventional unguided bombs. Due to a lack of enemy air action, aircrew quickly became highly proficient in dropping dumb bombs. IAF Mirage 2000s have reportedly only used the Paveway LGB on eight occasions, mainly for the destruction of enemy command bunkers.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: In 1999, when the Kargil War broke out, the IAF was asked to act jointly with ground troops on 25 May. The code name assigned to their role was Operation Safed Sagar and the Mirage 2000 flew its first sortie on 30 May. This multi-role aircraft, the most advanced in the IAF, performed remarkably well during the whole conflict in the high Himalayas, and was considered the game changer in the two-month war. During Operation Safed Sagar from May to July 1999, the two Mirage squadrons flew a total of 514 sorties with only three drop outs. No. 1 Squadron flew 274 air defence and strike escort missions, while No. 7 Squadron conducted 240 strike missions during which it dropped of ordnance.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: During the 2001–02 India–Pakistan standoff, IAF Mirage 2000s were used to destroy Pakistani bunkers with precision-guided bombs.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The morale-boosting service of the Mirage 2000 in 1999 prompted the IAF to consider the acquisition of a further 126 aircraft. Instead, the Mirage 2000-5 became a contender for the IAF's Indian MRCA competition in competition with the Mikoyan MiG-35, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and JAS 39 Gripen. In 2004, the Indian government approved purchase of 10 Mirage 2000Hs, featuring improved avionics, particularly an upgraded RDM 7 radar; they were delivered in 2007 for a total of 50 aircraft. Dassault replaced the Mirage 2000 with the newer Rafale as its contender due to the impending closure of the Mirage 2000 production line.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: As India placed its third Mirage 2000 order, the government announced its intention to upgrade the existing fleet, as well. A period of protracted negotiations followed for the next several years, during which India and Dassault came close to signing a contract several times.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: In July 2011, India approved a $2.2 billion upgrade package for its Mirage 2000s. Valued at $43 million per aircraft, it upgrades the fleet to Mirage 2000-5 Mk. 2 standards, with provisions made for the use of a night vision-capable glass cockpit, upgraded navigation and IFF systems, an advanced multimode multilayered radar, and a fully integrated electronic warfare suite, among other updates. In addition, the inventory of Super 530D and R.550 Magic II missiles would be replaced by MICAs, an order for which was placed in 2012. The first of the two IAF Mirages sent to France to be upgraded made its first flight in October 2013, marking the start of a test campaign that would encompass 250 flights, culminating in the handover of the first aircraft in March 2015. The single-seat version was redesignated "Mirage 2000I" and the twin-seat version "Mirage 2000TI".


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: On 26 February 2019, 12 Mirage 2000s were used to strike an alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Balakot, Pakistan. This engagement was the first time since the 1971 war that IAF fighters had entered Pakistani airspace. All aircraft were armed with one Israeli Spice 2000 (one-tonne) bomb.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The next day, IAF Mirage 2000Is, Su-30MKIs, and MiG-21s were used against Pakistan Air Force JF-17s, Mirage IIIs, and F-16s, whose aim was to target Indian Army ammunition dumps and other infrastructure near Srinagar, Poonch and Jammu area, according to Indian government officials. However, Pakistani officials say that air strikes in India by Pakistan Air Force jets were meant to demonstrate Pakistan's capability and Pakistani jets were ordered to drop their bombs in open space to avoid any human or collateral damage. This led to a dogfight and a confirmed shootdown of an IAF MiG-21. Pakistan also claims that an additional IAF Su-30MKI was also shot down in this dogfight. However, India denies the loss of any of its Su-30MKIs and instead claims that a PAF F-16 was shot down in the dogfight. Pakistan also denies the loss of any of its F-16 in the battle. The only confirmed losses of the engagement were that of the MiG-21 and an IAF Mil Mi-17 helicopter shot down by friendly fire.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: During the 2020 China-India standoff, India deployed Mirage 2000Is along the line of actual control, particularly after the Galwan Valley skirmish near Pangong Tso in the Ladakh region.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: In September 2021, France agreed to sell some of its retired Mirage 2000 airframes to India, at a price of €1 million per plane. Out of the 24 fighters to be bought, 13 are in complete condition with intact engines and airframes, and eight of these shall fly after servicing. The remaining 11 fighters are partially complete but with fuel tanks and ejection seats, which will be scavenged to secure parts for the IAF’s two existing Mirage squadrons.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: In December 1982, Peru placed an $800 million order for 14 single-seat Mirage 2000Ps and two two-seat Mirage 2000DP trainers, with an option for eight and two more aircraft, respectively. Although the contract was signed in 1985, the Peruvian government, due to the country's financial issues, renegotiated the number of aircraft to be reduced to 10 single-seaters and two two-seaters. Handover of the first aircraft occurred in June 1985, although the first deliveries to Peru were not made until December 1986, after the initial training of pilots in France had been completed.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The Peruvian Air Force ordered a set of munitions similar to that ordered by Egypt, along with ATLIS II targeting pods. The Peruvian Mirages flew combat air patrol missions in 1995 during the Cenepa War.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: Peru's Mirage 2000s underwent an inspection and partial electronic modernisation programme following a $140 million deal in 2009 that involved Dassault, Snecma, and Thales. The aircraft are expected to be retired by 2025.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: In May 1983, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) placed an order for 36 Mirage 2000 aircraft. The order consisted of 22 single-seat Mirage 2000AED, eight unique single-seat reconnaissance variants designated Mirage 2000RAD, and six Mirage 2000DAD trainers, which collectively are known as SAD-8 (Standard Abu Dhabi). The order specified an Italian-made defensive avionics suite that delayed delivery of the first of these aircraft until 1989.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: In November 1998, the UAE signed a $3.2 billion contract that consisted of an order for 30 Mirage 2000-9s, as well as the deal to upgrade 33 of the surviving SAD-8 aircraft up the new standard. The contract was later amended so it would encompass 32 new-built aircraft—20 single-seater Mirage 2000-9s and 12 two-seater 2000-9Ds—and 30 upgrade kits for original aircraft. The aircraft were equipped with a classified countermeasures system designated IMEWS. Although deliveries were scheduled for 2001, the first aircraft arrived in the spring of 2003.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The UAE's Mirage 2000-9s are equipped for the strike mission, with the Shehab laser targeting pod (a variant of the Damocles) and the Nahar navigation pod, complementing the air-to-ground modes of the RDY-2 radar. They are also equipped with a classified countermeasures system designated IMEWS, which is comparable to the ICMS 3. Emirati Mirage 2000s are armed with weapons such as the PGM 500 guided bomb and the "Black Shaheen" cruise missile, which is basically a variant of the MBDA Apache cruise missile. All 30 survivors of this first batch have been extensively refurbished and upgraded, bringing them to the same standard as the Mirage 2000-9.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: UAE Mirage 2000s flew in the Gulf War of 1991, but had little action. Six Mirage 2000s were to participate in the enforcement of the no-fly zone over Libya.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: As part of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen on 14 March 2016, a United Arab Emirates Mirage 2000-9D crashed in the southern Yemeni city of Aden during a combat operation in the early morning hours, killing its two pilots. The Arab coalition claims the Mirage crashed due to a technical fault. Other sources reported that the Mirage 2000-9D was shot down by Yemeni Al-Qaeda militants using a Strela-2 MANPADS while flying low.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: On 2 July 2019, during the 2019–20 Western Libya campaign, an airstrike hit the Tajoura Detention Center outside Tripoli, Libya, which was being used as a holding facility for migrants and refugees trying to reach Europe, was struck from the air. A storage hangar being used as a residential facility was destroyed by the attack, killing at least 53 people and wounding 130. The Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) initially claimed that the airstrike was conducted by the Libyan National Army (LNA), but later attributed the attack to a UAE aircraft. A January 2020 report by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated that the strike was likely to have been carried out with a guided bomb fired from a non-Libyan aircraft, again suggesting that a foreign Mirage 2000 had been used.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: In July 1985, Greece signed a contract for 40 Mirage 2000s comprising 36 single-seat aircraft and 4 two-seat trainers. The order came as part of a larger defence acquisition programme that saw the country, for political reasons, proceed with an order for the F-16. The $1.38 billion Mirage contract also consisted of weapons and equipment, as well as industrial offsets that permitted HAI to produce the M53-P2 engines. The first aircraft were delivered in June 1988 and the last, by the end of 1989. They featured an "ICMS Mk. 1" defensive countermeasures suite (DCS), an updated version of the standard Mirage 2000C DCS, characterised by two small antennas near the top of the tailfin. Initially armed with R.550 Matra Magic-2 missiles. During the "Talos" modernisation project of the 1990s, carried out by Hellenic Aerospace Industry and supervised by Dassault and Thompson-CSF, the aircraft received: a vastly improved RDM-3 radar set; the ICMS 1 DCS; the ability to carry the Super-530D medium-range missile and the AM39 Exocet Block II anti-ship missile. After "Talos", the aircraft were renamed Mirage-2000EGM/BGM.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: In August 2000, Greece placed a $1.1 billion order for a batch of 15 new Mirage 2000-5 Mk. 2 fighters, and had 10 existing Mirage 2000EGMs upgraded to Mirage 2000-5 Mk. 2 standard. The upgrade meant the addition of the RDY-2 radar and ICMS-3 DCS, and the ability to deploy SCALP cruise missiles and both versions of the MICA instead, an order for which was placed. All Greek machines (Mk 2s and EGMs) feature the TOTEM-3000 INS of the Mk2 instead of the Uliss-52 and have hose-and-drogue aerial refueling capability.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: On 8 October 1996, seven months after the escalation of the dispute with Turkey over the Imia/Kardak islands, a Turkish F-16D jet crashed into the Aegean Sea after interception by Greek Mirages. The Turkish pilot died, while the co-pilot ejected and was rescued by Greek forces. In August 2012, after the downing of a RF-4E on the Syrian coast, Turkish Defence Minister İsmet Yılmaz claimed that the Turkish F-16D was shot down in 1996 by a Greek Mirage 2000 with an R.550 Magic II near Chios island. Greece denies that the F-16 was shot down. Both Mirage 2000 pilots reported that the F-16 caught fire and that they saw one parachute.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: On 12 April 2018, a Greek Mirage 2000-5, part of a two-ship formation, crashed into the Aegean Sea north of the Skyros air base after being scrambled to intercept two Turkish F-16s that were violating Greek airspace. When the Mirage pair arrived in the area, the Turkish jets had already left. The Greek pilot died in the crash, which was attributed to Saharan dust in the air; both Mirage pilots were flying low in poor visibility.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: In response to mainland China's purchase of the Su-27, the Republic of China (Taiwan) began talks with the US and France about the possible purchase of new fighters. While the US opposed Taiwan's acquisition of the Mirage 2000 and instead pressured it to procure the F-16, the Republic of China Air Force became the first customer for the Mirage 2000-5 in November 1992. The order for 48 single-seat Mirage 2000-5EIs and 12 Mirage 2000-5DI trainers was condemned by China. The order also included 480 Magic short-range air-to-air missiles, 960 MICA intermediate-range air-to-air missiles, auxiliary fuel tanks, ground support equipment, and monitoring equipment; total costs amounted to US$4.9 billion, of which $2.6 billion was for the aircraft. The MICA missile provides the Mirage with a degree of BVR capability needed for its role as front-line interceptor. In addition, a set of ASTAC electronic intelligence (ELINT) pods was ordered. A number of centerline twin gun pods with DEFA 554 cannons were also acquired and fitted on the two-seaters, as they do not have an internal gun armament.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: Taiwanese Mirage 2000s were delivered from May 1997 to November 1998, and are based at Hsinchu AB. The RoCAF's Mirages have suffered from low operational readiness and high maintenance costs; the harsh environment and high operational tempo have caused higher than expected wear and tear. After cracks were detected in the blades of the aircraft's engines in 2009, Dassault worked with Taiwanese authorities to successfully rectify the issue and provided compensation for the engine damage. By the following year, normal training hours of 15 per month had resumed and the fleet's operational readiness had been restored, after having reportedly dropped to 6 hours per month because of the engine troubles. In addition, there were considerations of mothballing the entire Mirage fleet because of its high maintenance costs. Although the aircraft's maintenance costs more than that of the AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo and the Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcon, the fleet was reportedly still being maintained adequately because of its popularity. Yet plans to upgrade the fleet have not been carried out, as costs for doing so in France would be very high.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: In 1994, Qatar became the second export customer for the Mirage 2000-5 as it ordered twelve aircraft to replace its Mirage F1EDAs. Designated Mirage 2000-5DAs, the aircraft ordered consisted of nine single-seaters (5EDA) and three two-seaters (5DDA), and the first delivery was made in September 1997. Qatar also purchased the MICA missile and the Apache stand-off cruise missile. The aircraft would be used sparingly, and by the mid-2000s, under pressure from the US to dispose of the aircraft and with most of the aircraft's operational life still intact, Qatar offered to sell the aircraft to Pakistan and later India. Such a deal would not materialise.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: In March 2011, Mirage 2000s were deployed to an airbase on the Greek island of Crete as part of Qatar's commitment to assist in the NATO-enforced no-fly zone over Libya. The aircraft would soon jointly enforce the no-fly zone along with French Mirage 2000-5 aircraft.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: Dassault participated in a competition to replace the Brazilian Air Force's aging Mirage IIIEBR/DBRs with a Brazilian-specific version of the Mirage 2000-9 that would have been developed in collaboration with Embraer designated Mirage 2000BR. However, due to Brazilian fiscal problems, the competition dragged on for years until it was suspended in February 2005. Instead, Brazil in July 2005 purchased 12 ex-French Air Force Mirage 2000 aircraft (ten "C" and two "B" versions), designated F-2000, for $72 million. Deliveries began in September 2006 and concluded on 27 August 2008 with the delivery of the last 2 aircraft. According to Journal of Electronic Defense, the figure was $200 million, which consisted of a significant number of Magic 2 air-to-air missiles, and the "AdA" would provide full conversion training in France and full logistical support. The ten single-seat fighters and two twin-seat combat-trainers were drawn from operational squadrons Escadron de Chasse 1/5 and 2/5, based at Orange AB, respectively. The first delivery was made September 2006 to 1º Grupo de Defesa Aérea (1º GDA – 1st Air Defence Group) based at Annapolis. They were primarily used in the air-defence role and were equipped with Matra Super 530D and Matra Magic 2. Brazil officially retired its fleet in December 2013, just before the maintenance contract with Dassault concluded.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: Indonesia has considered in acquiring used Mirage 2000s for the Indonesian Air Force. 12 Mirage 2000-5s from Qatar is reportedly chosen by Indonesia. In November 2022, the Ministry of Finance of Indonesia has approved foreign loans to fund several Indonesian Air Force procurement programs, including the ex-Qatari Mirage 2000s proposal.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: Upgrades include the addition of the Non-Cooperative Target Recognition (NCTR) mode to the RDI Radar to allow identification of airborne targets not responding on identification friend or foe (IFF), and the ability to carry air-to-ground stores such as rocket pods, iron bombs and cluster bombs. Some variants, especially those equipped with the RDM radar (mainly used in export models) have the capability to use the Exocet anti-ship missile.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The Mirage 2000B is a two-seat operational conversion trainer variant which first flew on 11 October 1980. The French Air Force acquired 30 Mirage 2000Bs, and all three "AdA" fighter wings each obtained several of them for conversion training.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The Mirage 2000N is the nuclear strike variant which was intended to carry the Air-Sol Moyenne Portée nuclear stand-off missile. The variant was retired on 21 June 2018.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: Mirage 2000D Rénovation Mi-Vie (Mid-Life Upgrade). It updates the avionics, integrates a CC422 gun pod, the GBU-48, and the GBU-50, along with allowing use of MICA missiles in the place of Magic missiles.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: First major upgrade over the Mirage 2000C. Replaces most cockpit displays with several large multi-function displays, and upgrading the stores-to-aircraft interface for the use of targeting pods and a wide variety of guided air-to-ground weapons, as well as a radar upgrade to provide guidance information for MICA missiles.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The improved "Mk 2" variant of the Mirage 2000-5 features the more advanced RDY-2 Radar (replacing the RDM Radar), the new multi-data processing unit (MDPU) replacing the old MC1 & MC2 Main-Computers and a new TOTEM 3000 INS using lasers (instead of the mechanical ULISS 52 INS). The mainly analogue Cockpits were replaced by more modern "glass Cockpits". Another Upgrade (at least the Hellenic Air Force's) M2000-5 Mk2 received is a new ICMS "advanced type MK3" System.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: "Mirage 2000E" was a blanket designation for a series of export variants of the Mirage 2000. These aircraft were fitted the M53-P2 engine and an enhanced "RDM+" radar, and all can carry the day-only ATLIS II laser targeting pod.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The Mirage 2000M is the version purchased by Egypt. Two-seat Mirage 2000BM trainers were also ordered.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: Designation of two-seat trainers and single-seat fighters for India. Indian Mirage 2000s have been integrated to carry the Russian R-73AE Archer missile as of 2007. The Mirage 2000TH is a twin-seat trainer version.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: It is an Indian specific version single/twin-seater fighter for the Indian Air Force similar to Mirage 2000-5 Mk2 equipped with Indian French and Israeli avionics and weapon packages. Its contract was signed in 2011 and first upgraded aircraft was delivered in 2015. Dassault aviation will upgrade initial few planes Mirage 2000H, 2000TH to 2000I, 2000TI later by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: Of the 60 Mirage 2000s Taiwan ordered in 1992, the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) would receive 48 single-seat Mirage 2000-5EI interceptors and 12 Mirage 2000-5DI trainers. This version of Mirage 2000-5 had the mid-air refuel ability as well as its ground attack ability deleted.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: In 1994, Qatar ordered nine single-seat Mirage 2000-5EDAs and three Mirage 2000-5DDA trainers, with initial deliveries starting in late 1997.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: In 1983, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) purchased 22 single-seat Mirage 2000EADs, 8 unique single-seat Mirage 2000RAD reconnaissance variants, and 6 Mirage 2000DAD trainers, for a total order of 36 aircraft.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: The Mirage 2000RAD reconnaissance variant does not have any built-in cameras or sensors, and the aircraft can still be operated in air combat or strike roles. The reconnaissance systems are implemented in pods produced by Thales and Dassault. The UAE is the only nation operating such a specialised reconnaissance variant of the Mirage 2000 at this time.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: In March 1985, Greece ordered 30 single-seat Mirage 2000EGs and 10 Mirage 2000BG two-seat trainers, equipped with RDM radars and M53P2 engines, mainly for interception/air defence roles, although the ability to use air-to-ground armaments was retained. After the Talos modernisation project, during which variant aircraft received updated sensors and avionics, as well as new anti-ship and air-to-air weapons, and were redesignated Mirage 2000EGM.


title: Dassault Mirage 2000

text: Mirage 2000-9 is the export variant of Mirage 2000-5 Mk.2. The UAE was the launch customer, ordering 32 new-build aircraft, comprising 20 Mirage 2000-9 single-seaters and 12 Mirage 2000-9D two-seaters. A further 30 of Abu Dhabi's older Mirage 2000s will also be upgraded to Mirage 2000-9 standard.