Zelenskyy "begged" for only MICA air-to-air missiles with too short a range: why is this important
Ukrainian planes cannot operate freely against Russian aircraft due to a whole complex of problems on the front line, Zelenskyy explained during a meeting with the media on October 28. Media LB published a fragment of the speech of the head of state. The President explained how the problems with missiles for the aircraft of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the devastating strikes of the air defense systems of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are related.
According to him, it was possible to get MISA missiles for 80 kilometers from the partners: Ukraine seems to have weapons, but "they are not yet all such as to ensure the destruction of the enemy. " Zelensky clarified that the use of weapons is a "complex story. " First of all, in order for Ukrainian planes to be able to work at the front, it is necessary that the Russian air defense equipment does not work.
In order to cope with the air defense of the Russian Federation, "appropriate things" should have been supplied, but they are not available due to the constant strikes of the KAB. In order to drive away planes that launch anti-aircraft missiles, Ukraine would like to have its own air defense systems, and then "their plane could not rise and shoot at us from 100+ kilometers away.
" In order to somehow solve this problem, if there is no air defense, then air-to-air missiles with the appropriate range would be useful, but the partners have not yet provided the necessary weapons, the president said. "The most I can ask from the plane - I am working on this with the French - is a MISA for 80 kilometers so that we can use it. It is difficult to agree on such things. That is, we have weapons, but not all of them are enough to ensure the defeat of the enemy," Zelenskyy emphasized.
It should be noted that Focus wrote about the MICA missiles, which were written about by specialized media at the beginning of 2025. MICA (abbr. Missile d'Interception, de Combat et d'Auto-défense) is a French air-to-air missile of medium and short range (60-80 km), designed to destroy aircraft and cruise missiles. A feature of the weapon is active radar and infrared homing heads.
The "Military" portal noted that the missiles are launched from French Mirage aircraft, are somewhat similar to the AIM-120 and can be attached to the F-16 after certain modernization. The estimated cost of MICA is from 0. 8 to 1. 2 million euros, the manufacturer is the Franco-European company MBDA, the Norsk Luftvern portal said.
In the spring of 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Ukraine would receive, among other things, MICA missiles in a new military aid package: the quantity and delivery time were not specified. Meanwhile, a military expert on the air of the "Espresso" TV channel explained what Ukraine needs to protect against modified anti-aircraft missiles that fly at a distance of 100-200-500 km.