IAF To Integrate MICA Missile on SU-30MKI
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has recently released the latest images of its Rafale fighter jets conducting sorties armed with wingtip-mounted MICA short/medium-range air-to-air missiles in Ladakh.
This comes almost two months after the de-escalation of the border standoff with China.
Developed by the French company MBDA, the MICA (abbreviated for Missile d’interception, de combat et d’autodéfense) is one of the most advanced short to medium range air-to-air missiles in the world.
The Rafale and latest versions of the Mirage 2000 aircraft are equipped with MICA missiles. The Indian Air Force is also looking forward to integrating the missile with its Su-30MKI air superiority fighter jets. In August last year, the service secretly test-fired two rounds of MICA missiles from its Flankers, successfully destroying the expendable aerial targets.
MICA missile offers a unique engagement capability, which can be used as a both short-range and beyond visual range missile. The weapon is offered with two interoperable seekers, in two versions namely:
– RF MICA with radar seeker providing all-weather shoot-up/shoot-down capability
– IR MICA with dual waveband imaging infrared seeker surpassing latest generation AAM missiles.
According to the company, MICA outperforms other BVR missiles with its unique stealthy interception capability provided by its silent seeker.
Source: EurAsian Times
