Estonia Sends Another Batch of Mistrals to Ukraine

The Estonian Ministry of Defense confirmed on July 6 a shipment of French-made Mistral short-range anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine

“Mistral short-range air defense systems and missiles provided by Estonia have been delivered to Ukraine. Let’s keep supporting freedom fighters,” the X/Twitter post reads.

The first Mistrals were dispatched to Ukraine two months after the start of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion. In April 2022, Norway transferred 100 Mistral MANPADS to Ukraine.

Development of the Mistral short-range air defense system by the French defense company MDBA began in 1980. It underwent testing in the French army between 1986 and 1988 and was put into service in 1988.

In 2000, the system was upgraded and called Mistral 2. In 2018, MDBA began testing the most modern version of the system, Mistral 3. Over 16,000 such systems have been produced and are in service with the ground forces and navies of 25 countries, including Belgium, Chile, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Bulgaria, Indonesia, New Zealand, Oman, Singapore, UAE, and others. The main objective during development was the maximum unification of the complex with all types of weapons and minimal maintenance of missiles and launchers. As such, Mistral turned out to be the most versatile missile system. It can be installed on a wheeled mobile chassis, a helicopter, or a stationary ground position. These units are also actively used on military frigates, in particular, on Philippine warships of the Jose Rizal type, where they are included in the standard set of weapons.

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The Mistral is capable of destroying targets at a distance of up to eight kilometers and at an altitude of up to six kilometers in the Mistral 3 version. The previous modification, the Mistral 2, boasts slightly lower figures: six kilometers in range and three kilometers in altitude. The system is highly effective for protecting troops in a specific area. The missile’s speed is 900–950 meters per second (around Mach 2.7), allowing it to effectively target helicopters, UAVs, attack aircraft, and cruise missiles. It can engage air targets from both head-on and trailing trajectories. The developer reports that the Mistral 3 has a 90 percent probability of destroying an air target. From target detection to launch, the Mistral takes approximately five seconds on average, and about three seconds if target data was received earlier. Reloading one launcher takes about 30 seconds.

With the first transfers of Mistral to Ukraine, special mobile groups have been formed to protect Ukrainian cities and troops from cruise missiles. In Ukraine, the Mistral systems are primarily installed on light pickup trucks that can quickly change deployment and destroy missiles in the marching part of their flight, long before they get close to the target. The French MANPADS can also be placed stationary in a certain position by being mounted on a special tripod.

The Mistral missile warhead weighs 3 kilograms and contains 1,800 spherical tungsten striking elements. Upon detonation, the debris can penetrate the target even if the missile does not directly hit it. The missile’s thermal homing head can track and lock onto a target, even if it changes direction, with a maximum deviation of up to one meter. Test launches have demonstrated that the target can still be destroyed even with the maximum deviation. The missile is equipped with a contact and laser detonator, ensuring the target is almost always destroyed upon direct hit or at an optimal distance. The guidance system’s electronics can independently distinguish necessary thermal radiation signals from false ones.

These features are helpful when combat occurs on a sunny day or when the target deploys decoy flares, which Soviet MANPADS systems are more likely to react to. For instance, the Soviet Igla-1 MANPADS have trouble with guidance if the target is within 20 degrees in azimuth from the sun. If this happens, the Igla either doesn’t receive the permission to launch at all, or the missile mistakes the heat radiation of the sun for radiation from the target, thus taking a wrong trajectory. The upgraded Mistral 3 can effectively hit targets even with low thermal visibility. The missile of this unit has good maneuverability and can endure an overload of 8G. The Mistral is equipped with a “friend-or-foe” system that prevents accidental fire on friendly aircraft. A MATIS thermal imager can be fitted to the system for nighttime operations.

The Mistral creators tried to reduce the system’s weight by utilizing composite materials in the rocket engines. The anti-aircraft missile has two engines: a starting and a marching one. The launch motor fires the rocket from the launcher at a speed of 40 m/s, while rotating it at about 10 rpm to stabilize it in the air. Once the anti-aircraft missile has reached a safe distance for the operator (approximately 15-20 meters), the main thruster is activated. This propels the rocket toward the target at Mach 2.7. The high speed allows the missile to hit a helicopter four kilometers away in only six seconds. Although this time may be enough for the helicopter crew to fire thermal traps (which in the case of the Mistral do not guarantee prevention of a hit), it is certainly not enough to perform an anti-missile maneuver.

Some military units armed with the Mistral have special command posts for scanning the terrain and transmitting data for launching missiles to launchers.

The version of the Mistral that Estonia sent to Ukraine is unknown. In any case, the Mistrals will be very helpful for Ukraine because of their versatility. Rocket launch containers can be installed on almost any platform, enabling operations in both active combat zones and in the rear, providing protection for Ukrainian cities against missile attacks.