Tanya Polyakovskaya18:17, 14.10.25
The French Ministry of Defense believes that this demonstrates “the superior performance of this weapon, which exceeds its initial technical capabilities.”
In France, a test was conducted in which an air defense frigate intercepted a MICA-EM air-to-air missile using an Aster 30 surface-to-air missile. This hit is at the limits of this missile’s capabilities, if not exceeding them.
As the military portal Defense Express notes , the exercise concerns the FREMM-class frigate Alsace. The goal of these exercises is to prepare the crew for high-intensity situations they may encounter in modern combat.
The target for interception was launched from a Rafale fighter jet.
“But the most interesting thing is the target itself that they intercepted. Judging by the published footage from the fighter jet, this target was a MICA-EM air-to-air missile,” the analysts noted.
They explained that this missile is capable of reaching speeds of Mach 4 (approximately 4,900 km/h), while the anti-aircraft missile used to intercept it, the Aster 30, has a maximum speed of Mach 4.5 (approximately 5,500 km/h). These are the peak speeds of solid-fuel missiles, although their average speed is still extremely high.
“The interception occurred at opposite speeds. Therefore, the fact that the MICA-EM was intercepted by the Aster 30 truly represents something at the very limits of this missile’s capabilities,” the authors noted.
Furthermore, the MICA-EM is compact: just 3.1 meters long, 160 millimeters in diameter, and weighing 112 kilograms. It is a radar-guided version of the MICA missile. It has a maximum strike range of up to 50 km.
“It needs to be accurately detected and tracked from a sufficient distance, and then it needs to be hit, and at such head-on speeds, this is a truly difficult task that requires incredible speed and coordination of the crew, because there are only a few seconds to do everything,” Defense Express explained.
That is why these exercises, in addition to increasing coherence and speed, “actually prepare the crew to defend the ship from supersonic anti-ship missiles or intercept other high-speed missiles moving past the ship.”
Furthermore, attention is drawn to a fragment from a press release from the French Ministry of Defense, which notes that the exercises “demonstrate the superior performance of this weapon, which exceeds the initial technical specifications.” This appears to be a reference to the Aster 30, although the specific characteristics are unclear.
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