France orders air-to-air MICA NG missiles to MBDA.

During the weekly press briefing on March 18, the spokesperson for the French Ministry of the Armed Forces highlighted the order for 367 New Generation Combat and Self-Defense Interception Missiles (MICA NG).

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The MICA NG are intended to renew the medium-range interception, close combat and self-protection capabilities of the Air and Space Army Rafales and the French Navy (Picture source: DGA)

Welcomed by the Minister of the Armed Forces and notified on March 5 to the company MBDA by the General Directorate of Armaments (DGA), the order provides for the delivery of the 367 MICA NG between 2028 and 2031.

Launched under the 2019-2025 military programming law, the program provides for a total of 567 MICA NG, of which 200 have already been ordered by the DGA from MBDA at the end of 2018 for deliveries from 2026. The MICA NG are intended to renew the medium-range interception, close combat and self-protection capabilities of the Air and Space Army Rafales and the French Navy.

This order contributes to the consolidation of the French defense industrial and technological base by ensuring the employment of 200 to 300 people over a period of five years at MBDA and its subcontractors; in total, the MICA NG program represents an investment of around 1.8 billion euros.

MICA is the multi-mission air-to-air missile system for the Rafale and the latest versions of Mirage 2000-5 combat aircraft. It has a high level of tactical flexibility in order to meet the most demanding operational requirements:

· Beyond Visual Range (BVR) multi-target / multi-shoot
· Enhanced Short Range (SR) performance
· Maximum flexibility for multi-role / swing-role aircraft

 MICA has a totally dual role. It is able to cope with both BVR and SR combat situations and exhibits very high performance in both situations. The weapon covers Beyond Visual Range situations and in addition offers 2 guidance systems with its 2 interoperable seekers:

· RF MICA with radar seeker providing all weather shoot-up / shoot down capability
· R MICA with dual waveband imaging infrared seeker surpassing latest generation AAM missiles.