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Mistral
54RA-IMG 9142
Mistral mounted on a truck platform of the 54th Artillery Regiment
Type Manportable surface-to-air missile
Place of origin France France
Service history
In service 1988 – Present
Used by See Operators
Production history
Designer MBDA
Manufacturer MBDA
Specifications
Length 1.86 m
Diameter 90 mm
Crew 1

Effective firing range up to 6 km
Warhead High Explosive with high density Tungsten balls
Warhead weight 2.95 kg
Detonation
mechanism
Laser proximity or impact triggered

Engine Solid Rocket Motor
Maximum speed 800 m/s, approx. Mach 2.6 (high supersonic)
Guidance
system
Infrared homing

Mistral is an infrared homing surface-to-air missile manufactured by the European multinational company MBDA missile systems (formerly by Matra BAe Dynamics). Based on the French SATCP (Sol-Air À Très Courte Portée), the portable missile later to become the Mistral began development in 1974. It was initially deployed in 1988 for the first version (S1) and 1997 for the second version (M2).

Weapon platforms[]

The basic Mistral missile is used with a man-portable launch unit. There are also launch units that allow the missile to be fired from armoured vehicles, ships or helicopters (such as the Aérospatiale Gazelle, Denel Rooivalk, or Eurocopter Tiger). To reject the flares ejected from the rear of the targeted aircraft, proportional navigation using a gyro as a reference is adopted for Mistral, instead of the pursuit method in earlier IR-guided MANPADs. To further enhance the ECCM capability, the seeker of Mistral has a very narrow field of view to reject decoys and interference, but the seeker can title in the range of +/- 38 degrees. On the launcher, the missile runs up the gyro in 2 seconds, and total reaction time is 5 seconds. The all-aspect two-color (2-4 and 3-5 µm) cooled IR-seeker of Mistral is developed by SAT, and the missile adopts both laser proximity and impact fuzes.

A close-in weapon system based on Mistral is a six-missile version called Sadral, with a stabilized rapid-reload launcher that is fully automated. A CSEE developed fire control director is integrated to the launcher, consisted of TV camera and FLIR. Image produced by both directors appear on the screen in the operator console below deck, and the missiles are locked onto the target before being launched. A fully loaded Sadral launcher weighs 1080 kg, and the operator console weighs 280 kg. A two-missile unit installed on ships is called Simbad, and a newly launched four-missile version is called Tetral. An evolution of the Simbad is now proposed: Simbad RC. Both Tetral and Simbad RC are remote controlled from the ship's deck while the original Simbad is manually operated with a simple optical sight.

Inventory[]

Mistral entered series production in 1989 and is now deployed by 37 armed forces of 25 countries (eight countries in Europe, eight in the Asia-Pacific, five in South America, three in the Middle East), including Austria, Belgium, the Brazilian Marine Corps, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Indonesia, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, South Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, and Venezuela.

Combat performance[]

The Mistral's operational use encompasses the firing of more than 2,000 missiles, with a success rate of 95% during training [1]

Mistral missiles used by the Rwandan forces in the Second Congo War shot down a Zimbabwean Air Force BA Hawk fighter on March 23, 1999.[2]

Submarine Air Defence Weapon[]

On 26 September 2012 DCNS at the company's Le Mourillon plant announced plans to design and build a submarine canister-based air defence weapon based on the Mistral. The concept is based on the British Submarine Launched Airflight Missile developed by Vickers in the 1970s and tested on HMS Aeneas.[3]

Operators[]

Lansarea unei rachete MISTRAL

Mistral missile launch during a joint French-Romanian military exercise. (Capu Midia firing range).

Flag of Austria Austria
Flag of Belgium (civil) Belgium
Flag of Brazil Brazil
Flag of Brunei Brunei
Flag of Chile Chile
Flag of Colombia Colombia
Flag of Ecuador Ecuador
Flag of Estonia Estonia [4]
Flag of Finland Finland
Flag of France France
Flag of Hungary Hungary
Flag of Indonesia Indonesia
Flag of Iran Iran
Flag of Israel Israel
Flag of Kenya Kenya
Flag of Morocco Morocco
Flag of New Zealand New Zealand
Flag of Norway Norway
Flag of Oman Oman
Flag of Pakistan Pakistan
Flag of Singapore Singapore
Flag of Spain Spain
Flag of Thailand Thailand
Flag of Venezuela Venezuela

Images[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/MBDA_Mistral
  2. Cooper, Tom. "Zaire/DR.Congo 1980-2001". ACIG.org. http://www.acig.info/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=246&Itemid=47. Retrieved 22 January 2013. 
  3. Janes International Defence Review Vol 45 France revives hard-kill submarine defences, page XIV
  4. http://www.mil.ee/?menu=tehnika1&sisu=mistral

External links[]

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