A MICA IR missile departs its launch aircraft during tests geared at Franceʼs ‘very-high-altitudeʼ strategy. (MBDA)
France has demonstrated the utility of its MBDA MICA passive infrared (IR) air-to-air missile against very-high-altitude targets during tests announced on 7 July.
The missile manufacturer said trials conducted on 23 June by the French defence procurement agency (Direction Générale de lʼArmement: DGA) and the French Air and Space Force had seen MICA IR missiles launched from Dassault Rafale and Mirage 2000 combat aircraft successfully engage target balloons at more than 65,600 ft.
“These unprecedented tests, carried out from Cazaux Air Base, with the support of French space agency (Centre National dʼÉtudes Spatiales: CNES), Dassault Aviation, and MBDA, demonstrated the feasibility of neutralising this new type of threat in an increasingly contested area of conflict,” MBDA said.
As noted in the announcement, these tests were conducted in the context of the French government's very-high-altitude strategy, presented by Franceʼs Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu at the Paris Air Show 2025 in June.
Very high altitude is defined as the area between the sky and space at distances of between 20 and 100 km (65,600 and 328,000 ft) above the Earth, MBDA said.
For more information on very-high-altitude air defence, please see Special Report: MBDA ups production volumes as European countries pursue rearmament .
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