By the 1980s, despite having an extensive air defence network and numerous interceptors, the ROCAF desperately needed new-generation fighter jets. Most of its fleet consisted of ageing F-104 and F-5 series aircraft, which were already obsolete by this decade. The ROCAF's attempts to acquire F-4s and F-16s from the USAF proved unsuccessful, forcing them to seek alternatives from other countries.

Also in the 1980s, competing with the USAF's F-16C in the export market, the French Dassault Aviation introduced a new variant of the Mirage 2000 series: the 5E/F, featuring upgraded avionics and weaponry. Following a Taiwanese visit to France in May 1989, the Chirac government approved the sale of Mirages with removed ground-attack capabilities to the ROCAF in 1992. Delivery commenced in 1997, following the previous year's cross-strait crisis. Not only did this enhance the air defence capabilities of northern Taiwan Island, but the pressure from further sales of the Mirage 2000-5Ei compelled the US government to sell the F-16 Block 20 to the ROCAF starting in 1998.

Introduced in Update "Firebirds", the Mirage 2000-5Ei can be considered a single-seater version of the French -5F with air-to-ground capabilities removed. As a medium-sized jet interceptor and one of the most modern aircraft in the Chinese tech tree, while it lacks the long-range weaponry to effectively engage the F-15E or even its real-world adversary, the PLAAF's J-10A, its overall air interception capabilities are more than sufficient to down enemy jets. If players utilise the Mirage as a late-battle scavenger, its impressive electronics and MICA-EM missiles will prove highly effective against remaining enemy aircraft.