#mistral3

The Jose Rizal-class Guided Missile Frigates of the Philippine Navy (PN) made History again when the BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) fired two of its Mistral 3 Surface to Air Missiles (SAM) off the Coast of Zambales recently.

MY THOUGHTS: As far as I know and remember, this is the very first time that the PN has shown a live-firing of the Mistral 3 in Public, and also the very first time a PN Vessel is shown firing a SAM. Both Missiles reportedly hit their Targets successfully.

As per their latest Brochure, the Manufacturer of the Missile, MBDA, the Mistral 3 has a range of up to 8 km. The Jose Rizal Frigates each have two SIMBAD-RC Launchers to fire these Missiles, one on each Side, and each Launcher has two Missiles installed and ready to fire.

Notice also that during firing, the Missile was ejected from the Launcher first with a low powered charge, after which the Missile ignited its main Motor when it was some distance already from the Launcher. So congratulations to the PN for this Historic Event.

SOURCES:

Mistral 3: One Generation Ahead {Archived Link}

Five European Countries, namely France, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia and Hungary, recently signed an Agreement to jointly acquire the Mistral 3 Surface to Air Missile (SAM) System. The Mistral 3 is also being used by the Simbad-RC SAM System onboard the two Jose Rizal class Guided Missile Frigates of the Philippine Navy (PN).

The Mistral 3 uses an Imaging Infra-Red (IIR) Guidance System allowing it to be only aimed initially by the Operator and once it is launched, it will home in by itself towards the Target. It has a Range of up to 8 km, and can maneuver up to 30Gs. Each Jose Rizal Frigate has two Simbad-RC Launchers, and each Launcher has two Missiles that are ready to fire.