Ukrainian Mirage 2000 Fighters Deployed with French MICA Missiles

Ukrainian Mirage 2000 fighters have been armed with French-made MICA air-to-air missiles, according to images released by a Ukrainian charity supporting military aviators.

Photographs published by the Volyn SOS Medical charity foundation show a Mirage 2000 carrying MICA missiles, providing the first public evidence that Ukraine has received the medium-range weapons announced by France in March 2025. Until now, Ukraine had only publicly acknowledged the use of short-range Magic 2 missiles on these aircraft.

MICA is a dual-purpose air-to-air missile designed to intercept manned aircraft, drones, and cruise missiles. It exists in two variants: the MICA EM with an active radar seeker and the MICA IR with an infrared seeker. Both versions are 3.1m long, weigh 112kg, and carry a 13-kg warhead. The missile is around 30% lighter than the U.S.-made AIM-120 AMRAAM.

The radar-guided MICA EM has a stated maximum range of up to 80km, while the infrared-guided MICA IR reaches up to 60km. These ranges are shorter than those of newer medium-range missiles such as the U.S. AIM-120D, Europe’s Meteor, Russia’s R-77, and Japan’s Type 99.

Cost remains a major limitation. Each MICA missile is estimated to cost about €2 million, making it significantly more expensive than typical short-range infrared-guided missiles and comparable in price to some longer-range systems.

Operationally, MICA can engage targets from any direction, including from behind the launch aircraft, if targeting data is provided by another platform via the Link 16 data network. By 2020, an estimated 5,000 MICA missiles had been produced, with around 3,500 exported.

France is developing an upgraded version known as MICA NG. The new missile retains the same size and weight but uses improved internal components to increase engine size, extending range by roughly 40%. The French armed forces are expected to begin receiving MICA NG from 2026, with about 600 missiles already on order.