Morocco, a country in North Africa, is arguably quite loyal to MBDA Systems' alert products. After the Moroccan Navy adopted the Mica M VL (Vertical Launch) missile system on the SIGMA – RMNS Tarik Ben Ziad F613 frigate, the Moroccan Army also adopted the VL Mica missile system in a ground based variant. For the record, the Indonesian Navy is also a user of the VL Mica missile, which is installed on the Martadinata Class frigate.
Quoted from military.africa (28/6/2022), the Moroccan Army has received the first two VL MICA Ground Based Air Defense (GBAD) systems ordered from the French MBDA in 2020. Along with several other weapons systems, the VL Mica system was ordered in 2020 with a value of 192 million euros.
The GBAD VL Mica system consists of a series of elements mounted on the truck platform, consisting of a single Tactical Operations Center unit, a Sagem SIGMA 30 radar, and a launch vehicle that can carry between three and six multi round launchers. VL Mica was acquired by the Moroccan Army to strengthen the country's air defense structure, particularly in the Moroccan capital, Rabat.
To support the capital's armored protection system, in June last year, the Moroccan military established an air defense base at Sidi Yahya El-Gharb, which is located northeast of Rabat. Sidi Yahia el-Gharb's hanud base area is located in the middle of Morocco's major cities, a site that has several sensitive and strategic areas.
Rabat is known to have been reinforced with a very powerful mixed air defense system, including the US-made MIM-104 Patriot air-to-air missile system, the Chinese Norinco Sky Dragon 50 medium-range missile (in operation since 2017), and most recently the French-made VL Mica.
The VL Mica is a land-based short/medium-range missile system that uses Mica missiles launched by a fire-and-forget mechanism. MBDA claims currently the Mica is the only missile in the world equipped with a heatseeking homing head (VL Mica Infared) or with an active radar (VL Mica RF). This capability is provided to guarantee a high kill probability, even in severe IRCM-ECM (jamming) environments.
The VL Mica battery is based on the vehicle-mounted Tactical Operations Center (TOC) – also known as the Platoon Command Post (PCP).
TOC is capable of performing all Command, Control and Coordination functions, including real-time engagement, mission planning, system monitoring, and connection with higher-level commands. TOC remotely controls tri-dimensional radar mounted on separate vehicles and three to six vertical launch units are also mounted on the vehicle.
Speaking of range, the VL Mica can ambush targets as far as 20,000 – 25,000 meters with an altitude of 30,000 feet (9,144 meters). If you are stuck, Mica can be fired with a minimum target distance of 1 km.
Speaking of launch speed, Mica can go up to Mach 3. This missile has a total weight of 112 kg with a warhead weight of 12 kg. Warhead activation is based on proximity radar fuze. Meanwhile, the missile's length is 3.1 meters with a diameter of 0.16 meters.
What should be applauded, Mica is able to face targets that have high maneuverability. Such as dealing with fighter jets, this missile is capable of serving G-force up to 50G at a distance of 7 km, and 30G at a distance of 12 km.
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