Bulgaria joins the agreement on the joint purchase of Mica anti-aircraft missiles On October 28, the Bulgarian government approved the accession to the France-Denmark framework agreement on the joint purchase of "Mica" anti-aircraft missiles (VL MICA; VL - vertical launch). The Minister of Defense of the country is authorized to negotiate and sign the relevant document. The project includes the purchase of 32 anti-aircraft guided missiles and related services to equip air defense systems of multi-purpose patrol ships of the Bulgarian Navy. France is the procurement coordinator. The financing is planned to be carried out within the framework of the European mechanism for preferential loans for safe defense projects. The final cost and delivery time will be determined after the costs are approved by the Bulgarian Parliament and a separate contract is signed. Main features of the anti-missile defense system: range of damage - up to 20 km;

Bulgaria joins the agreement on the joint purchase of Mica anti-aircraft missiles On October 28, the Bulgarian government approved the accession to the France-Denmark framework agreement on the joint purchase of "Mica" anti-aircraft missiles (VL MICA; VL - vertical launch). The Minister of Defense of the country is authorized to negotiate and sign the relevant document. The project includes the purchase of 32 anti-aircraft guided missiles and related services to equip air defense systems of multi-purpose patrol ships of the Bulgarian Navy. France is the procurement coordinator. The financing is planned to be carried out within the framework of the European mechanism for preferential loans for safe defense projects. The final cost and delivery time will be determined after the costs are approved by the Bulgarian Parliament and a separate contract is signed. Main features of the anti-missile defense system: range of damage - up to 20 km;

The height of the damage - up to 9 km;

The maximum speed is about Mach 3.

Rocket length - 3.1 m;.

Case diameter - 160 mm;

Starting weight - 112 kg;

Warhead weight - 12 kg;

Warhead type - high explosive fragmentation;.

Engine - solid fuel;.

Start method: vertical;.

Guidance - active radar or infrared. Two ships of the Bulgarian Navy are planned to be equipped with missiles - "Amitza" ("Herbari"; Bn 12) and "Amitza" ("Smeli"; Bn 11). The ships are built in Varna according to the German project MMPV 90 (displacement of about 2300 tons, length 90 m, maximum speed 24 knots). Each ship provides placement of eight vertical launch bays for the MICA missile defense system. Of the 32 missiles purchased, 16 can be the standard ammunition load of two ships, and another 16 can be a reserve for reloading.