MBDA to Establish MICA Missile Maintenance Center in India

The French company MBDA has signed an agreement with the Indian Air Force to establish a maintenance and modernization center for MICA missiles in the country.

This was reported by OPEXNews.

The new agreement provides for the deployment of local capabilities for the repair and medium-scale modernization of MICA missiles used by Indian Dassault Rafale fighters and modernized Mirage 2000s.

MBDA stated that this center will reduce the time required to restore the missile inventory and significantly increase the combat readiness of the air force. The French side will provide the necessary equipment and technical documentation and will train local personnel.

The decision to establish the facility was made following Operation Sindoor, during which India actively employed long-range air-to-air weapons and air defense systems.

According to Indian media reports, this operation was one of the largest air campaigns in the region in recent years, involving the widespread use of precision-guided munitions, drones, and networked command-and-control systems.

India began receiving MICA missiles in the early 2000s alongside the modernization of the Mirage 2000.

We also recommend reading the exclusive article by Militarnyi “The MICA Missile — is it French AIM-120, or Not Quite?”

Following the 1999 Kargil War, the country launched a large-scale modernization of its air fleet, requesting MBDA versions of the missiles equipped with infrared (MICA IR) and radar (MICA RF) homing heads.

In 2011, the parties signed a contract to upgrade 50 Mirage 2000 fighters to the Mirage 2000I/TI standard, which included the integration of updated versions of these missiles.

A new phase of deliveries began following the purchase of 36 Dassault Rafale fighters in 2016. Along with the aircraft, the first of which arrived in India in 2020, the country received the most advanced MICA variants for close-range air combat.

The establishment of a service center in India is part of the country’s strategy to reduce dependence on direct imports from abroad and develop its own defense industry.

Earlier, Militarnyi reported that the French Air and Space Force conducted successful test firings of the upgraded MICA NG missile for Rafale fighter jets.