Ukraine is getting Mistral anti-aircraft missile systems from Norway.
According to Aftenposten, Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram on April 20, stated,
"The Mistral air defense system is an effective weapon that was used in the navy and will
be very useful for Ukraine"
According to him, the weapons have already been sent.
Virtually the entire stock of Norwegian Mistrals is transferred to Ukraine - about a hundred
missiles.
Viewers may note that on February 28, the Norwegian government decided to transfer weapons
to Ukraine despite a policy in place since the 1950s to withhold arms from countries
at war.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes how Norway supplied Mistral system could complicate
Russian operations in Ukraine ? Let's get started.
Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, shared the news in his Telegram
channel.
Yermak said, “Good news in the morning.
Norway has decided to transfer approximately 100 Mistral anti-aircraft missile systems
to Ukraine, as per the country’s Ministry of Defense.
Also, there are fighter jets coming from the allies,”
Earlier, Norway transferred 4,000 anti-tank missiles, protective equipment and more to
Ukraine.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an address to the Norwegian parliament
on March 30, called for weapons to be provided so that Ukrainians could defend themselves.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store then said that the government was considering providing
more assistance.
Norwegian Defense Minister Gram said , "These missiles are gradually being withdrawn from
service with the Norwegian Armed Forces, but they are still modern and effective weapons...
Other countries have also provided similar systems"
The Mistral air defense system is being used on Norway's Navy minesweepers and corvettes.
Since the system was slated to be phased out within a few years, the impact of Norway’s
readiness will not be significantly reduced by the transfer.
Mistral is a infrared homing MANPADS manufactured by the European multinational company.
Based on the French SATCP , the Mistral began development in 1974.
It was initially deployed in 1988 for the first version (S1), 1997 for the second version
(M2), and 2019 for the third version (M3).
It is a short-range air defence (SHORAD) missile system that can be used from vehicles, surface
ships, and helicopters, as well as in a portable configuration.
When used in the MANPADS role the "Mistral" missile is transported in a transport and
launch container (MPC) together with "friend or foe" interrogator, power source and tripod
with its sighting devices.
They are then to be operated by a pair of crew as commander and the shooter.
However, if the mission is carried out in a simple tactical environment, it can be operated
by one single soldier.
There are also launch units that allow the missile to be fired from armoured vehicles,
ships or helicopters.
A telescopic sight is used for target acquisition.
The system can also be fitted with a thermal imaging night sight.
Mistral MANPADS is suitable for 'hit and run' operations.
The Mistral missile is a fire-and-forget type weapon with a high technology infrared homing
seeker, which is fully autonomous after firing.
The missile is lightweight and is very accurate.
The homing head has high sensitivity due to the incorporation of matrix multiplier unit
picking up infrared radiation in the 3-5 micron range.
It uses a laser proximity detonation mechanism that reduces the chance of premature detonation.
The missile also has a gyro-based proportional navigation that rejects flares.
The seeker of Mistral also incorporates a narrow field of view, thereby rejecting decoys
interference.
This air defense system also boasts increased flexibility during day and night and is deployable
in standalone or in coordinated mode.
The Mistral is operable in severe weather conditions.
On firing the booster motor accelerates the missile to a speed of 40m/s and burns out
before the missile leaves the launch tube.
In less than 0.4s, with the missile at a distance of about 15 m from the gunner, the sustainer
motor ignites and accelerates the missile towards the target at Mach 2.5.
The range of the missile is up to 6 km or 3.7 miles , which it reaches in 9 seconds.
The Mistral missile is fitted with a 3 kg or 6.6 lbs HE (High Explosive) warhead with
high-density tungsten balls for increased damage.
The Mistral MANPADS has a high kill probability.
After firing more than 3 700 missiles of all variants during training it has a success
rate of 92-95%.
This missile also has increased maneuverability (30G) at extreme speed.
The Norwegian opposition also called for more active support for Ukraine - the Liberal Party
said that Norway was helping "too little and too slowly"; the Conservative Party also said
that they expressed their full support to the government in order to transfer the Mistrals
to Ukraine.
As Russia has started the second second phase of the offensive with 'Battle of Donbass'
, weapon systems will be critical for Ukrainian defenders.
Mistral MANPADS will be a deadly foe to Russian helicopters and low altitude drones.
Also, Russian forces appear to have limited precision-guided armaments that Russian attack
aircraft such as the SU-34 were designed to carry and deploy from high altitudes.
Hence, they are forced to use dumb bombs which have no guidance and requires aircraft to
fly in low.
Given this scenario playing out, Mistral MANPADS could be effective even against frontline
fighters and attack aircraft.