France has issued a request for information (RFI) on infrared-guided (IR), short-range air-to-air missiles to equip the Dassault Mirage 2000and Rafale.
Industry sources say the request is for a "few hundred missiles" and has been issued to BGT for the multi-national IRIS-T, Matra BAe Dynamics (MBD) for ASRAAM, Rafael for the Python 4 and to Raytheon for the AIM-9X. The latter is understood to have passed the RFI to the US Government as any sale would fall under its foreign military sale system. Previously France had been committed to the MBD Mica IR, an in-service radar-guided missile with an imaging IR seeker.
Mica IR has the same 60km (32nm) range as the radar-guided version, leaving the French air force and navy without a direct replacement for the 20km range Matra Magic 2 dogfight missile.
Integrating a dedicated short-range, IR-guided weapon with Rafale could also make the fighter more attractive to potential export customers wary of relying on a single missile type for beyond-visual- range and dogfight engagements.
Industry sources suggest the move is an effort to force French industry to reduce the price of Mica IR. Alternatively, it could mark a fundamental shift in France's belief that it can rely on a single weapon for all of its air-to-air engagements.
France's arms procurement agency, the DGA, confirms it has issued the RFI but declines to explain the reasons.
Source: Flight International
