The European Missile Association MBDA, in a press release distributed on December 4, 2012, for the first time officially announced that the Royal Guard of Oman became the first customer and operator of the ground-based version of the VL MICA (Ground Based Air Defense - GBAD) anti-aircraft missile system developed by MBDA. A press release informs about the combat training of the VL MICA air defense system, produced by the Royal Guard of Oman at the Abir training ground in the central part of this country from the received standard system on September 24, 2012. The launched MICA missile with an active radar homing head successfully hit an air target at a distance of more than 14 km from the launcher.
The VL MICA air defense missile system uses modified MICA air-to-air medium-range missiles with active radar or infrared homing heads produced by MBDA France. The maximum effective firing range of the VL MICA air defense system is declared at 20 km.
MBDA officially announced the conclusion of the first contract for the sale of the VL MICA air defense system in June 2009, but to date has not disclosed Oman as a launch customer. The parameters of the contract were also not disclosed. In delivery for Oman, the complex is mounted on the chassis of Rheinmetall MAN vehicles with wheel configurations 8x8 and 6x6, including four-container self-propelled vertical launch launchers and Cassidian TRML-3D detection radar.
Oman was also the starting customer of the shipborne version of the VL MICA air defense system, which is installed on three corvettes of the Khareef project, built in the UK by BAE Systems under a contract signed in January 2007. However, due to the delay in the construction of these ships and a number of shortcomings revealed on the corvettes during the tests, which required numerous modifications and alterations, all three built ships still remain in Great Britain and have not been transferred to the Omani fleet.
The VL MICA (Vertical Launch MICA) short-range anti-aircraft missile system of various designs is used as a means of air defense for ground forces, air bases, command posts and surface ships from attacks of cruise missiles, guided aerial bombs, aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles day and night in any weather conditions. The VL MICA air defense system was developed by MBDA on the basis of the MICA air-to-air guided missile. The complex is distinguished by its compactness, high efficiency and, in terms of its combat capabilities, occupies an intermediate position between the Mistral short-range air defense system and the PAAMS long-range air defense system.
MICA aircraft missile
The modular design of the MICA missile makes it possible to have weapons with various homing systems in the ammunition of the complex and to use their advantages depending on the combat situation. The MICA missile can be equipped with an active pulse-Doppler radar seeker (MICA-EM) or thermal imaging (MICA-IR). The radar seeker ensures the all-weather capability of the complex and is effectively used against enemy combat assets with a low IR signature (for example, guided aerial bombs). The thermal imaging option is preferred when used to engage targets with a small effective dispersion surface, incl. small high-speed surface targets.
The ground-based version of the complex was first presented in February 2000. in Singapore at the Asian Aerospace exhibition. The tests of the complex began at the CELM test center (Center d'Essai de Lancement des Missiles - France) in 2001. In February 2005.a demonstration of the capabilities of the new complex was successfully carried out using a standard serial MICA-IR missile, while a target was hit at a distance of about 10 km. By January 2006. 11 VL MICA missiles were launched in various configurations.
MBDA began work on the ship's air defense system based on the VL MICA vertical launch missile in 2000. The naval version of the VL MICA complex is positioned, first of all, as a means of air defense for surface ships of small displacement, for which the weight and size limitations of the placed weapons are significant, as well as for strengthening the air defense of large ships at short distances. In April 2006. at the CELM test center, the VL MICA air defense system was successfully tested from a marine launcher. During the tests, the VL Mica hit a target with a direct hit, simulating a low-flying anti-ship missile at a range of 10 km. During test launches in October 2008, a direct hit hit a target (UAV Banshee) at a distance of 12 km.
In 2007. The Omani Navy and MBDA signed an agreement on the supply of VL MICA air defense systems for three ocean zone patrol ships (OPV) of the Khareef project (displacement - 2500 tons, length - 99 m). The construction of the first ship of this project began in October 2007. at the VT Shipbuilding shipyard in Portsmouth. The term of handover to the customer is 2010, the rest - with a six-month interval. The VL MICA complex is supposed to be installed on missile corvettes of the Sigma project, being built at the Dutch shipyard Schelde Naval Shipbuilding by order of the Moroccan Navy. The delivery of three corvettes of this project should be completed by 2012. Polish corvettes of the "Gawron" type, project 621 (planned series - 7 units) will presumably be armed with two modules for 16 VL MICA missiles, located in front of the superstructure. The first ship of the "Slazak" series was laid down in 2001, completion date - 2010-2011.
In December 2005. The Armaments Directorate DGA (Delegation Generale pour l'Armement) of the French Ministry of Defense signed a two-year contract with MBDA for the supply of VL MICA anti-aircraft guided missiles for all branches of the armed forces. Under the contract, MBDA performs work on the integration of VL MICA missiles with the CETAT and Martha command and control systems of the French air and ground forces.
July 8, 2009 at the CELM test center, a MICA-IR rocket launched from a ground launcher successfully intercepted a low-flying target at a range of 15 km and an altitude of 10 m above the sea surface. The missile was controlled from a command post located at a distance of 6 km from the launcher. The purpose of the tests, organized by the MBDA, DGA and the French Air Force, was to demonstrate the prospects for using the VL MICA complex for coastal defense purposes. This was the last in a series of 15 successful test launches of the VL MICA air defense system.
Composition
A typical ground-based VL MICA air defense system consists of four launchers, a complex command post and a detection radar. The launchers of the complex can be placed on various off-road vehicle chassis with a carrying capacity of 5 tons.
The MICA rocket is made according to the normal aerodynamic configuration and is equipped with a cruciform wide-chord wing of low aspect ratio. Destabilizer planes are installed in the forward part of the body, having a rectangular shape in plan. In the middle of the rocket there is a solid propellant engine of the firm "Protac", equipped with a charge of low-smoke composite propellant. The engine provides the maximum flight speed of the VL MICA M = 3 rocket. In the tail section, there are aerodynamic rudders, an engine thrust vector control unit (SUVT) and a data line receiver. SUVT together with aerodynamic rudders provides rocket maneuvering with an overload of up to 50g at a range of up to 7 km and with an overload of up to 30g at a range of 10 km. The warhead is a high-explosive fragmentation directional action weighing 12 kg, the fuse is an active Doppler radar.
The MICA EM rocket is equipped with an active pulse-Doppler seeker AD4A (12-18 GHz) developed by Dassault Electronique and GEC-Marconi. The GOS AD4A is capable of independently locking onto a target on a trajectory and ensures the destruction of targets from any direction, at all angles, day and night, in simple and difficult weather conditions, in conditions of intense electronic countermeasures, against the background of the earth and water surface. GOS AD4A is located in the nose section of the rocket under a radio-transparent ceramic fairing. A modified version of the AD4A is also used in the SAMP-T and PAAMS Aster anti-aircraft missiles.
SAMP-T anti-aircraft missile system
Anti-aircraft missile system PAAMS
The bispectral thermal homing head (TGSN) of the MICA-IR missile, operating in the 3-5 and 8-12 µm ranges, was developed by Sagem Defense Segurite. The TGSN contains a matrix of sensitive elements installed in the focal plane, an electronic unit for digital signal processing, and a built-in cryogenic system for cooling the matrix of a closed type. The TGSN cooling system provides autonomous operation of the receiver for 10 hours. High resolution and complex algorithms allow the TGSN to effectively track targets at long distances and eliminate heat traps.
The rocket is launched vertically with subsequent declination towards the target using the SUVT. SAM VL MICA is used in the target acquisition mode of the seeker after launch and has a maximum range of more than 10 km (according to a number of sources up to 20 km). Before the target is captured by the homing head, the missile is controlled by the inertial control system until the primary target designation data is transmitted to the missile. The data line is used to transmit correction commands to the missile in the middle section of the trajectory before the target is captured by the homing head. The use of the "fire and forget" principle makes it possible to effectively counteract the saturation of the air defense system of an object during massive attacks of enemy air attack weapons. The rate of fire is two seconds. Missiles are launched directly from transport and launch containers (TPK), which are used for their transportation and storage. Each container has a length of 3.7 m and a mass of 400 kg in running order.
To detect air targets and issue target designation, optoelectronic means, general ship detection systems (for the sea version) or any three-coordinate radars of the "Giraffe-100" type by "Ericsson", RAC 3-D from "Thales Raytheon Systems" and TRML- 3D by EADS (for the land version). Evaluation of the threat (enemy combat means) is carried out by the combat information and control system (BIUS) of the carrier ship or the command post of the complex, which then transmits the results of target allocation to the missile interface unit.
The VL MICA air defense system in the ground version can be used autonomously or integrated into a single air defense system of an object using fiber-optic information exchange lines.
To accommodate the VL MICA air defense system on surface ships, original launchers, vertical launchers of the VL Seawolf air defense system and the SYLVER vertical launch system (SYSteme de Lancement VERtical), developed by DCNS, can be used. The SYLVER system is designed to launch missiles of various types: anti-aircraft (Mica, VT1, Aster-15, Aster-30), missile defense (Standard-II Block IV), shock (SCALP Naval, Tactical Tomahawk). The system is available in four sizes: A-35, A-43, A-50 and A-70. To accommodate VL MICA missiles, modules of 8 A-43 cells or 4 A-35 cells can be used. Each module has its own gas outlet. Deck plate, cell hatches and gas vent hatch are armored and sealed. The A-43 module is 5.4m long and weighs 7.5t. The VL MICA air defense missile system is interfaced with the CIUS of the carrier vehicle via a digital channel of the local network using a special electronic interface unit. 8 launch cells require the installation of one interface unit and 4 antennas of the "ship-to-rocket" data transmission line.
Tactical and technical characteristics
Maximum firing range, km 10 (20)
Maximum flight speed, M 3
Combat ceiling, m 9000
Rocket dimensions, mm:
- length 3100
- diameter 160
- wingspan 480
Launch weight, kg 112
Warhead weight, kg 12
Rate of fire, rds / s 2
