MBDA MICA
Encyclopedia
MBDA
MBDA is a missile developer and manufacturer with operations in France, Britain, Germany, Italy, and the United States. It was formed by a merger of Aérospatiale-Matra Missiles , Finmeccanica and Matra BAe Dynamics in December 2001. In 2003 the company had 10,000 employees...
MICA (Missile d’interception et de combat aérien, “Interception and Aerial Combat Missile”) is an anti-air
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
multi-target, all weather, fire-and-forget
Fire-and-forget
Fire-and-forget is a third-generation method of missile guidance. The military uses the term for a type of missile which does not require further guidance after launch such as illumination of the target or wire guidance , and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the...
short and medium-range missile system. It is intended for use both by air platforms as individual missiles as well as ground units and ships, which can be equipped with the rapid fire MICA Vertical Launch System. It is fitted with a thrust vector
Thrust vectoring
Thrust vectoring, also thrust vector control or TVC, is the ability of an aircraft, rocket or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine or motor in order to control the attitude or angular velocity of the vehicle....
control (TVC) system.
It was developed from 1982 onward by Matra
Matra
Mécanique Aviation Traction or Matra was a French company covering a wide range of activities mainly related to automobile, bicycles, aeronautics and weaponry. In 1994, it became a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group and now operates under that name.Matra was owned by the Floirat family...
. The first trials occurred in 1991, and the missile was commissioned in 1996 to equip the Rafale
Dassault Rafale
The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine delta-wing multi-role jet fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Introduced in 2000, the Rafale is being produced both for land-based use with the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations with the French Navy...
and Mirage 2000
Dassault-Breguet Mirage 2000
The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed as a lightweight fighter based on the Mirage III in the late 1970s for the French Air Force . The Mirage 2000 evolved into a multirole aircraft with several...
. It is a replacement for both Super 530
Super 530
The Matra Super 530 is a French short to medium-range air-to-air missile. The Super 530 series is an improved type of the Matra R530 missile.*Super 530F is carried on the Dassault Mirage F1. It was introduced in 1979....
(interception) and Magic II
R550 Magic
The R.550 Magic is a short-range missile designed in 1968 by French company Matra to compete with the American AIM-9 Sidewinder. On 11 January 1972, a Gloster Meteor of the centre for in-flight trials fired the R550 Magic and shot down a Nord CT20 target drone .Mass-produced from 1976, the Magic...
(dogfight). Two can be fired in a two-second interval.
Description
There are two MICA variants; MICA RF has an active radar homingActive radar homing
Active radar homing is a missile guidance method in which a guided missile contains a radar transceiver and the electronics necessary for it to find and track its target autonomously...
seeker and MICA IR has an imaging infra-red homing seeker. Both seekers are designed to filter out counter-measures such as chaff and decoy flares. A thrust vector control unit fitted to the rocket motor increases the missile's agility. It is capable of lock-on after launch (LOAL) which means it is capable of engaging targets outside its seeker's acquisition range. Mounted on the Rafale
Dassault Rafale
The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine delta-wing multi-role jet fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Introduced in 2000, the Rafale is being produced both for land-based use with the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations with the French Navy...
, the MICA IR can provide IR imagery to the central data processing system, thus acting as an extra sensor.
MICA can also be employed as a short-range surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
as the VL MICA SHORAD; in this form it is fired from a truck-mounted box launcher. On October 23, 2008, 15:30, at CELM, Biscarosse (Landes), a VL MICA missile successfully performed the last of its 14 test firings meaning it is now ready for mass production. The RPV was flying at low level, on the sea, 12 km away; despite this distance (roughly twice the range of Sea Wolf
Sea Wolf missile
Sea Wolf is a naval guided missile system designed and built by BAC, later to become British Aerospace Dynamics . It is an automated point-defence weapon system designed as a final line of defence against both sea-skimming and high angle anti-ship missiles and aircraft...
), MICA (with an active radar seeker) locked on the target and shot it down. Corvettes too small to have the costly Aster missile systems will be the best customer for this weapon, that basically is an Aster without its booster and PIF-PAF vectorial control (as example, the diameter and radar are roughly the same in both Mica and Aster).
The Armée de l'Air received its first MICA batch in the 1990s with its 37 Mirage 2000-5. The French Air Force and Navy have ordered a total of 1110 MICAs, divided equally between RF and IR versions; 1000 missiles had been delivered by November 2010. MICA is also offered for export, the first sale was made to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
in 1992 when the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF)
Republic of China Air Force
The Republic of China Air Force is the aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The ROCAF's primary mission is the defense of the airspace over and around Taiwan...
ordered some 960 missiles in both RF and IR versions to arm its new Dassault Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft.
Operators
- French Air ForceFrench Air ForceThe French Air Force , literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1933...
- French NavyFrench NavyThe French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
- Hellenic Air ForceHellenic Air ForceThe Hellenic Air Force, abbreviated to HAF is the air force of Greece. The mission of the Hellenic Air Force is to guard and protect Greek airspace, provide air assistance and support to the Hellenic Army and the Hellenic Navy, as well as the provision of humanitarian aid in Greece and around the...
- Royal Moroccan Air ForceRoyal Moroccan Air ForceThe Royal Moroccan Air Force is the air force branch of the Moroccan Armed Forces.-History:...
Sultanate of Oman
- Royal Navy of OmanRoyal Navy of OmanThe Royal Navy of Oman was formed in the early 1950s-Ships:* Qahir class corvettes built by Vosper Thornycroft ** Q31 Qahir Al Amwaj** Q32 Al Mua'zzar...
- VL MICA to be installed on three ocean patrol vessels
- Qatar Emiri Air Force
- Republic of China Air ForceRepublic of China Air ForceThe Republic of China Air Force is the aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The ROCAF's primary mission is the defense of the airspace over and around Taiwan...
- United Arab Emirates Air ForceUnited Arab Emirates Air ForceThe United Arab Emirates Air Force is the air force of the United Arab Emirates . Its predecessor was established in 1968, when the Emirates were still under British rule. Since then, it has undergone a continual reorganization and expansion in terms of both capability and numbers of aircraft...
- Indian Air ForceIndian Air ForceThe Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
See also
- Air-to-air missileAir-to-air missileAn air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...
Similar missiles
- Derby (missile)
- R-Darter (missile)R-Darter (missile)The R-Darter is an beyond visual range air-to-air missile guided by an active radar homing seeker. It was designed and manufactured by the South African firm Kentron, now known as Denel Dynamics....
- A-darter
- AIM-132 ASRAAMAIM-132 ASRAAMThe AIM-132 Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile is an infrared homing air-to-air missile, produced by MBDA. It is currently in service in the Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force , replacing the AIM-9 Sidewinder...
- IRIS-TIRIS-TThe IRIS-T is a German-led program to develop a short-range air-to-air missile to replace the venerable AIM-9 Sidewinder found in some of the NATO member countries...
- AIM-9X Sidewinder
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