Dassault Mirage 2000N / 2000D The Dassault Mirage 2000N is a variant of the Mirage 2000 designed for nuclear strike . It forms the core of the French air - based tactical nuclear deterrent . The Mirage 2000D is its conventional attack counterpart . Development . The Mirage 2000N was designed to French requirements for an aircraft to replace the older Mirage IVP . Dassault received a contract to build two prototypes . The aircraft first flew on 3 February 1986 . Seventy four were built up to 1993 . The Mirage 2000N is based on the Mirage 2000B two - seat trainer , but features considerable changes . The airframe was strengthened for low - level flight and fitted with an Antilope 5 radar , which is used for terrain following , navigation and ground mapping , and which can follow terrain at 691 mph ( 1 , 112 km / h ) . Other avionic features are twin INS ' s and moving map displays for both the pilot and weapon systems officer . The Mirage 2000N can carry one ASMP medium - range nuclear missile , and can also carry two MATRA Magic AAM ' s for self - defence . Other protection features include the Sabre jamming system and the Spirale chaff system . Because the extra seat decreases range , a pair of drop tanks are carried . Since the Mirage 2000N ' s standard weapon was the ASMP , which was carried on the centerline pylon , that meant it couldn ' t carry a centerline tank , but a distinctive big 2 , 000 liter ( 530 US gallon ) underwing drop tank with a bulbous nose was developed to more than compensate The first batch of 30 aircraft for the French Air Force had a sole nuclear capability , and these were designated Mirage 2000N - K1 . These did not have the Spirale chaff system , and carried a pair of AN . 52 free - fall nuclear bombs before the ASMP was ready . The later batch of 44 aircraft were designated Mirage 2000N - K2 . These had both a nuclear and conventional capability , and a full defensive fit . The K1 aircraft now have a limited conventional attack capability . Dassault has also developed the Mirage 2000D , which is a development of the Mirage 2000N designed for long - range precision strikes with conventional weapons . This aircraft is exactly the same as the Mirage 2000N , but introduces support for conventional attack missiles such as the Apache and Scalp missiles , as well as the AASM weapons . The first aircraft , converted from the Mirage 2000N prototype , flew on 19 February 1991 , and the French Air Force ordered a total of 86 aircraft . The Mirage 2000N is not licensed for export . The French Air Force has 62 in its inventory . Like the Mirage 2000N , the Mirage 2000D had variants . The Mirage 2000D - R1 does not have the full weapons capability of the Mirage 2000D - R2 , which features the Apache and Scalp missiles , the ATLIS II laser designation system , and the Samir self - protection fit . Variants . Mirage 2000N . The Mirage 2000N is the nuclear strike variant which was intended to carry the Aerospatiale Air - Sol Moyenne Portee ( ASMP ) nuclear stand - off missile . Initial flight tests of two prototypes began on 3 February 1983 , and the Mirage 2000N entered operational service in 1988 . A total of 75 were built . The fighter had strengthened wings for low - altitude operations , as well as low - level precision navigation / attack systems , built around the Dassault / Thales Antilope 5 radar , which was designed for the strike role and featured a terrain - avoidance capability . The ASMP missile is 5 . 38 meters long with a kerosene - powered ramjet that allows it to cruise at Mach 3 to a maximum range of 100 km carrying a nuclear warhead with a yield of 300 kt . Upgrades : Aircraft with the updated countermeasure s system and capable of carrying both the ASMP - A missile and the Pod Reco NG will be redesignated " Mirage 2000N - K3 " . Mirage 2000D . Delays in the Dassault Rafale fourth - generation fighter program led to a development program for an updated Mirage 2000N dedicated to conventional attack , originally designated Mirage 2000N cousin . It was to complement SEPECAT Jaguar daylight strike fighters by providing a night / bad weather attack capability . Formal development began in 1988 . The designation was changed to Mirage 2000D in 1990 , with the " D " standing for " Diversifie / Multirole " . Initial flight of the Mirage 2000D prototype , a modified Mirage 2000N prototype , was on 19 February 1991 . That led to first flight of a production aircraft 31 March 1993 and introduction to service in April 1995 . 86 Mirage 2000Ds were built in all to last delivery in 2001 . The Mirage 2000D featured : Full - specification Mirage 2000D - R1 aircraft could carry stores such as : The Mirage 2000D remains in service , with various improvements such as the MICA IR . A general upgrade designated Mirage 2000D - R2 machine was delivered from 2001 . A second upgrade program was begun in 2009 , with better support for the strike role and improvement of air - to - air capabilities . This provided a multirole capability that compensated for the eventual retirement of the Mirage 2000Cs . Operational history . Operation Deny Flight and Deliberate Force . French Mirage 2000s were prominent participants in UN and NATO air operations over the former Yugoslavia . On 30 August 1995 one Mirage 2000D was shot down over Bosnia by a MANPADS heat - seeking 9K38 Igla missile fired by air defence units of Army of Republika Srpska during operation Deliberate Force , prompting efforts to obtain improved defensive systems . Operation Enduring Freedom and ISAF . AdA Mirage 2000Ds served in the intervention in Afghanistan in 2001 – 2002 , operating in close conjunction with international forces and performing precision attacks with LGB s . The French Air Force deployed the Mirage 2000D to Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan from 2002 to 2004 to support coalition forces in Afghanistan . Then from 2004 to 2007 , they stayed at Dushanbe , Tajikistan . In summer 2007 , after the Rafale fighters have been removed from the theater of operations , 3 French Mirage 2000s were deployed to Afghanistan in support of NATO troops . To shorten the response time to support NATO ISAF troops in southern Afghanistan , the aircraft moved to Kandahar International Airport . Three Rafale F2 and three Mirage 2000Ds operate from Kandahar in 2008 . On 24 May 2011 , a French Air Force Mirage 2000D crashed 100 kilometers west of Farah . Both crew members successfully ejected and were recovered . Opération Harmattan and Unified Protector . French Air Force Mirage 2000D were committed since the beginning to the enforcement of the Libyan no - fly - zone that was approved by the UN in March 2011 . The Mirage 2000Ds were among the first strikers : on 19 March 2011 , a mixed French formation of Mirage 2000s and Rafales hit a Libyan army column that was heading for Benghazi with several vehicles destroyed . The Mirage 2000D remained one of the most used striker for the next months when Opération Harmattan was succeeded by the UN led Operation Unified Protector . On 20 October 2011 , a Mirage 2000D dropped the last NATO munitions of the war , when a mixed formation of a French Air Force Mirage 2000D and a Mirage F1CR was vectored to strike an armed convoy which was trying to break through the rebels ' lines at Sirte . The Mirage 2000D dropped its two laser guided GBU - 12 bombs hitting and stopping Gaddafi ' s convoy , resulting in his capture and death . Operation Serval . French forces became actively involved in the Northern Mali conflict ( 2012 – present ) starting from 11 January 2013 with Operation Serval . The six Mirage 2000D ’ s based in N ' Djamena , Chad for the long lasting French military presence in that country , alongside the two Mirage F . 1CR based there , were among the first forces committed to the conflict , bombing the Islamic militants ’ bases and forces in Northern Mali . The Mirages were flying with a similar configuration to the one used over Libya nearly two years before , with two 500 lbs GBU - 12 ( laser ) or GBU - 49 ( GPS and laser ) guided bombs on the centerline pylon , and two external fuel tanks on the inboard wing pylons . Starting from 17 January 2013 , three of the Mirages were relocated in Bamako , Mali , precedeed by the two simpler Mirage F . 1CR which started operating from Bamako few days before .