India Test-fires French MICA Missile from Su-30MKI Jet
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has reportedly covertly test-fired two rounds of French MICA missiles from a Su-30MKI fighter on August 17 and 18, ahead of the missile’s integration with the Rafale.
Defence sources told TNIE that the anti-air multi-target MICA missile fired from Sukhoi-30 MKI destroyed expendable aerial targets (EATs), demonstrating its stealth capabilities.
The jet, armed with Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile MICA took off from Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal and fired the missile, successfully neutralising the aerial target drone mimicking enemy aircraft at low altitude.
“The IAF is in the process of upgrading its squadrons. It is also in process of procuring Meteor missile from the European weapon maker MBDA. Rafale will be equipped with MICA and Meteor,” the official added.
MBDA MICA air-to-air missile system
The MICA is an all-weather missile system available in both short and medium ranges. The fire-and-forget missile can be used both by air platforms as well as ground units and ships.
The 3.1 metre long missile having a diameter of 0.16 m weighs around 112 kg. It can neutralise targets within a range of 500 metre to 60 km. Of its two variants guided by radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR), MICA-RF has an active radar homing seeker and MICA-IR has an imaging infra-red homing seeker. Both seekers are designed to filter out counter-measures.
As Rafale Jets Arrive, China Conducts Live-fire Tests of Tor Air Defence...
Indian Rafales Start Night Flying, Staying Away From LAC
IAF Rafale Jets Land at Ambala Air Base
Days Before India Receives Rafale Jets, Pakistan holds Exercise with JF-17s
Poland to Buy 72 South Korean HOMAR-K MLRS Systems
Kongsberg's HUGIN Endurance Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Completes Factory Acceptance Tests
Czech Firm, RSBC Group Acquires Austrian STEYR ARMS
Saab Gets $50M for Gripen Future Development
Have Iran-Israel Missile Attacks Enabled Mutual Deterrence?
Iran's April 13-14 missile strike against Israel marks a paradigm shift in Tehran's approach to Israel; from previously relying on...
Free Flight to Russian Hypersonic Missiles as America's Own Hypersonics Program Delayed to 2027
As Russian Aerospace Forces pummeled Ukrainian positions in mid-March 2024 with hypersonic missiles, the Pentagon's own hypersonics program faces delays,...
Counter-trade, Undisclosed Deals May be Masking Russia’s Arms Export Numbers
A Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SPIRI) report last week reported a steep fall in Russias arms exports- pushed to...
China’s “Moderate” 2024 Defense Budget Hides Frenetic Military Build-up
China on Tuesday revealed a draft defense budget draft for 2024 amounting to 1
Battle of Counter-Drone SAMs- Raytheon's Coyote Vs. Russian Pantsir-S1
The spectacular success of drones on the battlefield in Ukraine has prompted Russia and the United States to develop counter-measures...
Grounding of U.S. Military’s V-22 Osprey Fleet Enters Third Month
The grounding of around 400-strong fleet of Osprey V-22 Tilt-rotor aircraft is in its third month with no update on...