Denmark has ordered Mistral 3 man-portable air defense systems from France to strengthen the air defense of the ground forces.

The country’s Ministry of Defense reported on this.

A framework agreement was signed in Paris, which covers “the supply of 250 to 1,000 Mistral 3 missiles,” the Elysee Palace said.

The missile manufacturer is MBDA France. No details on the value of the contract were disclosed.

At the same time, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecorne, after meeting with his Danish counterpart Troels Lund Poulsen, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that Denmark had formalized the purchase of 250 Mistral missiles as part of a joint acquisition initiated during the European Air and Missile Defense Conference on June 19, 2023, in Paris.

This order will receive European funding from the EDIRPA program, which aims to strengthen the dynamics of the European defense industry. The deal is another important step in the development of Danish air defense.

Based on official reports, 16 Skyranger 30 air defense systems ordered in September last year are likely to be equipped with Mistral 3 missiles. They will be based on the chassis of the Piranha V wheeled armored personnel carrier, which is the primary vehicle in the Danish army.

The German company Rheinmetall, which is the manufacturer of the Skyranger 30, envisages the possibility of integrating a twin Mistral 3 missile launcher into the system.

The Skyranger 30 is a combat module whose main weapon is a 30×173 mm KCE gun with a range of about 3000 meters and a rate of fire of 1200 rounds per minute. Optionally, a launcher for two FIM-92 Stinger or Mistral anti-aircraft missiles can be installed.

The gun’s ammunition includes a wide range of ammunition, which also includes radio-fuzed shells. The ammunition consists of 252 thirty-millimeter shells.

Mistral

Mistral is a short-range air defense system designed to engage air targets of various types at low altitudes. The system’s anti-aircraft guided missiles are equipped with an infrared homing head.

The most modern version of the Mistral 3 system provides interception of a wide range of air targets at distances from 0.5 to 7.5 km and altitudes up to 3 km in difficult weather conditions and at any time of the day.