As per previous reports, a lot of the Mirages will be going for the strategic role, WMD, that sort of thing.
A big aspect of the role can be surmised by the equipment the IAF orders along side the planes. The Mirages will most likely take over the wild weasel role from the Mig-23s and therefore I expect to see some nifty standoff EW gear being purchased. Probably not for the whole fleet but most likely for a sqdn or two worth.
An interesting part of the MKI M2K-5II combo is that in one mission, one can escort the other, while in another mission the roles can change. Both are good at mud moving, both have the good range of A-G weaps, both have excellent BVR and WVR weaps. So that combo will definitely be an interesting one if the M2K deal goes through, which could just turn out to be a rumor.
But if the deal goes through, the IAF’s orbat will definitely be upgraded. That being said, it’s still not clear to me if the benefits of buying the M2Ks outweigh pumping that money into the local industry. Will have to wait and see.
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