Matra BAe Dynamics has launched a short-range air-defence (SHORAD) system based on its Mica air-to-air missile.
Pitched as a cheap, low-risk system, the vertical launch (VL) Mica uses a Seawolf missile launcher, in service with the UK's Royal Navy. Launchers can be supplied in eight or 16 round blocks.
The weapon, announced at the show, will be offered in ship- and land-based systems and does not require a dedicated control system or sensor, relying instead on equipment available on board or within an army air-defence formation. Land-based systems can operate from fixed silos or can be vehicle mounted. The European company does not yet have a customer for the weapon.
The SHORAD missiles will be the same as the air-to-air versions, allowing the VL Mica to be guided with radar or imaging infrared seekers. This allows the system to be used in all weathers and in either command line-of-sight or fire-and-forget modes. Mica uses thrust-vectoring control, which allows vertical-launch firing as the control system can manoeuvre the missile from a vertical trajectory on to an intercept path.
Source: Flight International