Development of the Missile d'Interception et de Combat Aйrien ( MICA) began in 1982 as a private venture by Matra (later Matra BAe Dynamics) as a universal weapon with interchangeable guidance system to replace both the medium-range Super 530 and the R550 Magic air-to-air missiles. A requirement was agreed with both the French Air Force and the French Navy and interim development began in 1985 followed by full-scale development two years later of both radar and Imaging Infra-Red (IIR) versions.
A modified version of MICA, SAMAT (Sol-Air MATra), was proposed as an alternative to the Aerospatiale Aster 15/30 (qv) systems to meet the surface-to-air missile requirements of the French Navy and its allies but this was rejected, although the MICA radar seeker was selected for Aster. The SAMAT family included the SAMAT 2 short-range weapon which would have been based on the radar-guided MICA EM and SAMAT 3 medium-range version with Matra-ONERA ramjet and booster.
The first ground tests of the air-launched missile were conducted in January 1989 with flight testing of the radar-guided weapon (MICA EM) in 1991 and the IIR version (MICA IR) in 1995 while by June 1999 some 100 MICA missiles had been tested. The weapon has been purchased by France, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates. At the Asian Air Show in February 2000, Matra BAe Dynamics revealed plans for a vertically launched version for both land and sea use as Vertical Launch MICA. Company officials stated that the system could be deployed within three years of receiving project go-ahead. By the Spring of 2001, the manufacturers had conducted ballistic launch and turn-over trials with VL MICA.
Description
Externally, MICA is a slim-bodied missile with pointed (MICA EM) or rounded (MICA IR) nose, long narrow-chord wings and clipped-rectangle tail in cruciform configuration. Internally it is divided into a seeker/guidance, warhead and propulsion/control sections. The seeker is in the nose with the existing weapons having different seekers. In MICA EM it consists of a Dassault Electronique (now Thomson-CSF Airsys)/GEC-Marconi Dynamics (now Alenia Marconi Systems) AD4A J-band (10 to 20 GHz) active pulse-Doppler radar in a pointed ceramic radome. In the MICA IR it consists of a small glass dome behind which is the SAT dual-band IIR seeker with closed-cycle cooling. Behind is the guidance compartment with strap-down inertial reference unit. Behind the seeker is the TDA 12 kg blast/fragmentation warhead with impact and radar proximity fuzes, although some sources have suggested the presence of a focused warhead of some kind. In the middle of the missile is a Protac (a joint venture of Thomson and Bayern-Chemie) butalite solid propellant booster/sustainer behind which is the actuation system for the efflux deflection vanes which provide thrust vector control, this being part of the air-launched as well as sea-launched weapon.
In the air-to-air role the missile has a minimum range of 500 m and a maximum range of 32 n miles (60 km) and at minimum ranges either seeker may be locked onto the target before launch, the IIR sensor having an all-aspect engagement capability. Both sensors have been developed to be resistant to counter-measures and in aircraft with track-while-scan radars the missiles may be used to engage several targets.
The naval version of Vertical Launch MICA is claimed to offer a short-range, all-weather, multi-target, short-reaction-time air defence capability between that of Mistral (qv) and Aster with a launcher system which will not compromise any stealth characteristics of the ship. The system will consist of 'hot launch' missile handling-launching system based on that used in Seawolf VL (qv) which may be individually or collectively distributed in modules of four cells, a power supply and processing unit as well as a control console which will be part of the combat management system.
At Euronaval 2000 the company also displays a mock-up of a dedicated VL MICA launcher with rectangular cross-section similar in appearance to the Mark 48 (qv).
Status
Volume production of air-launched MICA is already under way and it is scheduled to enter service from 2002. VL MICA is an advanced study.
Specifications
(Air-launched Missiles)
Length: 3.10 m
Diameter: 16.5 cm
Wing span: 0.56 m
Launch weight: 112 kg
Speed: M3
Range: 5.5-8 n miles (10-15 km) (VL MICA)
Altitude: 10,060 m
Guidance: Command, inertial and active radar/IIR
Contractor
Matra BAe Dynamics.
Matra BAE Dynamics (MBDA) Vertical Launch Mica (VL Mica) Short-Range Air Defence (SHORAD) system
Development/Description
The VL Mica SHORAD system was first unveiled at the Asian Aerospace 2000 Show, held in Singapore. It is designed for both ground defence and naval use and has now been offered in two land-based variants, one is truck mounted on 5-ton class vehicles, while the other is static with the missiles being fired from remotely controlled silos. The system can be produced without any development risks at a cost that is affordable for the defence budgets of most countries.
Both versions use a Tactical Operations Centre (TOC) and up to four multiround launchers with the missiles in clusters of four or eight rounds. The truck mounted system typically has an elevatable eight round launch assembly mounted on its rear decking while the static version is associated with a 16-round launch container (with the missiles in two sets of eight separated by a missile status monitoring room). The system uses a distributed architecture and is capable of processing information collected by various sensors. This allows for easy integration into a larger air defence network and a greater inherent degree of survivability. The mass-produced Matra BAE Systems VL Seawolf modular launch container is fully compatible with the Mica missile, whose vertical launch capability has already been verified during the course of several test firings.
The VL Mica is able to simultaneously engage multiple targets (up to six targets in less than 12 seconds) regardless of weather or electronic warfare environment and can provide 360є coverage against aircraft, helicopters and air-to-ground missile threats.
An off-the-shelf radar or optronic surveillance device can be used for pre-launch designation of a target - the only information that the missile must have before it is launched.
The Mica missile itself uses a thrust vector control (TVC) system that allows for the vertical launch capability and a very short reaction time. A launch rate of less than 2 seconds between two firings is attainable. The rounds are completely autonomous after launch, flying initially under inertial control and then homing in on the target by means of the fitted seeker system.
The 112 kg VL Mica missile is available in two versions which are identical to the original air-to-air Mica variants: the active radar Mica EM, which is fitted with the same programmable J-band (10-20 GHz) pulse-Doppler AD4A radar seeker design that was developed for the Aster missile family; and the passive imaging infra-red Mica IR, which is fitted with a dual band passive IR seeker head. The missiles' aerodynamic configuration combines four long narrow-chord fixed fins on the missile main body with four movable L-shaped guidance fins at the rear end. These combine with the TVC, which uses four slotted vanes on a circular plate that covers the exhaust area to direct the exhaust flux, to produce an extremely manoeuvrable weapon (reportedly capable of up to 50 g). Both versions use the same active radar proximity and contact fuzing assembly to detonate a 12 kg directed splinter fragmentation HE blast warhead. The launchers can be loaded with any combination of the two missile types.
Specifications
Mica missile
Length: 3.1 m
Diameter: 0.16 m
Wing span: 0.48 m
Launch weight: 112 kg
Propulsion: solid propellant rocket motor
Guidance: Mica EM - programmable strap-down inertial mid-course with active monopulse-Doppler J-band radar terminal homing
Mica IR - programmable strap-down inertial mid-course with passive imaging IR terminal homing
Warhead: 12 kg directed fragmentation splinter blast HE with active radar proximity and contact fuzing
Max speed: M3
Max effective range: >10,000 m (against manoeuvring target)
Max effective altitude: >10,000 m
