Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS or MPADS) are portable shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles. They are guided weapons and are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters and also used against low-flying cruise missiles. These short-range missiles can also be fired from vehicles, tripods, weapon platforms, and warships.
MANPADS were developed in the 1950s to provide military ground forces with protection from jet aircraft. They have received a great deal of attention, partly because armed terrorist groups have used them against commercial airliners. These missiles, affordable and widely available through a variety of sources, have been used successfully over the past three decades, both in military conflicts, by militant groups, and by terrorist organizations. [1]
Twenty-five countries, including the China, Iran, Poland, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States produce man-portable air defense systems. [2] [3] Possession, export, and trafficking of such weapons is tightly controlled, due to the threat they pose to civil aviation, although such efforts have not always been successful. [4] [5]
The missiles are about 1.5 to 1.8 m (5 to 6 ft) in length and weigh about 17 to 18 kg (37 to 40 lb), depending on the model. MANPADS generally have a target detection range of about 10 km (6 mi) and an engagement range of about 6 km (4 mi), so aircraft flying at 6,100 metres (20,000 ft) or higher are relatively safe. [6]
Infrared homing missiles are designed to home-in on a heat source on an aircraft, typically the engine exhaust plume, and detonate a warhead in or near the heat source to disable the aircraft or to simply burst it into flames. These missiles use passive guidance, meaning that they do not emit heat signatures, making them difficult to detect by aircraft employing countermeasure systems. [7]
The first missiles deployed in the 1960s were infrared missiles. First generation MANPADS, such as the US Redeye, early versions of the Soviet 9K32 Strela-2, and the Chinese HN-5 (A copy of the Soviet Strela-2), are considered "tail-chase weapons" as their uncooled spin-scan seekers can only discern the superheated interior of the target's jet engine from background noise. This means they are only capable of accurately tracking the aircraft from the rear when the engines are fully exposed to the missile's seeker and provide a sufficient thermal signature for engagement. First generation IR missiles are also highly susceptible to interfering thermal signatures from background sources, including the sun, which many experts feel makes them somewhat unreliable, and they are prone to erratic behaviour in the terminal phase of engagement. [8] While less effective than more modern weapons, they remain common in irregular forces as they are not limited by the short shelf-life of gas coolant cartridges used by later systems.
Second generation infrared missiles, such as early versions of the U.S. Stinger, the Soviet Strela-3, and the Chinese FN-6, use gas-cooled seeker heads and a conical scanning technique, which enables the seeker to filter out most interfering background IR sources as well as permitting head-on and side engagement profiles. Later versions of the FIM-43 Redeye are regarded as straddling the first and second generations as they are gas-cooled but still use a spin-scan seeker.[ citation needed ]
Third generation infrared MANPADS, such as the French Mistral, the Soviet 9K38 Igla, and the US Stinger B, use rosette scanning detectors to produce a quasi-image of the target. Their seeker compares input from multiple detections bands, either two widely separated IR bands or IR and UV, giving them much greater ability to discern and reject countermeasures deployed by the target aircraft. [6] [8]
Fourth generation missiles, such as the canceled American FIM-92 Stinger Block 2, Russian Verba, Chinese QW-4, Indian VSHORAD and Japanese Type 91 surface-to-air missile use imaging infrared focal plane array guidance systems and other advanced sensor systems, which permit engagement at greater ranges. [9]
Command guidance (CLOS) missiles do not home in on a particular aspect (heat source or radio or radar transmissions) of the targeted aircraft. Instead, the missile operator or gunner visually acquires the target using a magnified optical sight and then uses radio controls to "fly" the missile into the aircraft. One of the benefits of such a missile is that it is virtually immune to flares and other basic countermeasure systems that are designed primarily to defeat IR missiles. The major drawback of CLOS missiles is that they require highly trained and skilled operators. Numerous reports from the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s cite Afghan mujahedin as being disappointed with the British-supplied Blowpipe CLOS missile because it was too difficult to learn to use and highly inaccurate, particularly when employed against fast-moving jet aircraft. [10] Given these considerations, many experts believe that CLOS missiles are not as ideally suited for untrained personnel use as IR missiles, which sometimes are referred to as "fire and forget" missiles. [11]
Later versions of CLOS missiles, such as the British Javelin, use a solid-state television camera in lieu of the optical tracker to make the gunner's task easier. The Javelin's manufacturer, Thales Air Defence, claims that their missile is virtually impervious to countermeasures. [12]
Laser guided MANPADS use beam-riding guidance where a sensor in the missile's tail detects the emissions from a laser on the launcher and attempts to steer the missile to fly at the exact middle of the beam, or between two beams. Missiles such as Sweden's RBS-70 and Britain's Starstreak can engage aircraft from all angles and only require the operator to continuously track the target using a joystick to keep the laser aim point on the target: the latest version of RBS 70 features a tracking engagement mode where fine aim adjustments of the laser emitter are handled by the launcher itself, with the user only having to make coarse aim corrections. Because there are no radio data links from the ground to the missile, the missile cannot be effectively jammed after it is launched. Even though beam-riding missiles require relatively extensive training and skill to operate, many experts consider these missiles particularly menacing due to the missiles' resistance to most conventional countermeasures in use today. [13] [14]
Over fifty MANPADS attacks on civilian aircraft are on record to 2007. Thirty-three aircraft were shot down killing over 800 people in the process. [22]
On 10 October 2022, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian forces were recorded allegedly shooting down a Russian cruise missile using MANPADS. [23] Since then, other instances have been videoed and shared on social media platforms. [24]
Man-portable air defense systems are a popular black market item for insurgent forces. [25] Their proliferation became the subject of the Wassenaar Arrangement's (WA)22 Elements for Export Controls of MANPADS, the G8 Action Plan of 2 June 2003, [26] the October 2003 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, Bangkok Declaration on Partnership for the Future and in July 2003 the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Forum for Security Co-operation, Decision No. 7/03: Man-portable Air Defense Systems. [27]
Understanding the problem in 2003, Colin Powell remarked that there was "no threat more serious to aviation" than the missiles, [28] which can be used to shoot down helicopters and commercial airliners, and are sold illegally for as little as a few hundred dollars. The U.S. has led a global effort to dismantle these weapons, with over 30,000 voluntarily destroyed since 2003, but probably thousands are still in the hands of insurgents, especially in Iraq, where they were looted from the military arsenals of the former dictator Saddam Hussein, [29] [30] and in Afghanistan as well. In August 2010, a report by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) confirmed that "only a handful" of illicit MANPADS were recovered from national resistance caches in Iraq in 2009, according to media reports and interviews with military sources. [31]
With the growing number of MANPADS attacks on civilian airliners, a number of different countermeasure systems have been developed specifically to protect aircraft against the missiles.[ citation needed ]
Although most MANPADS are owned and accounted for by governments, political upheavals and corruption have allowed thousands of them to enter the black market. In the years 1998–2018, at least 72 non-state groups have fielded MANPADS. [38] Civilians in the United States cannot legally own MANPADS. [39]
The FIM-92 Stinger is an American man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles, and from helicopters and drones as the Air-to-Air Stinger (ATAS). It entered service in 1981 and is used by the militaries of the United States and 29 other countries. It is principally manufactured by Raytheon Missiles & Defense and is produced under license by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany and by Roketsan in Turkey.
A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft system; in modern armed forces, missiles have replaced most other forms of dedicated anti-aircraft weapons, with anti-aircraft guns pushed into specialized roles.
The 9K32 Strela-2 is a light-weight, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile or MANPADS system. It is designed to target aircraft at low altitudes with passive infrared-homing guidance and destroy them with a high-explosive warhead.
The Missile Transportable Anti-aérien Léger, commonly called Mistral, is a French infrared homing short range air defense system manufactured by MBDA France. Based on the French SATCP, the development of the portable system later to become the Mistral began in 1974. The first version of the system was introduced in 1988 (S1), the second in 1997, and the third in 2018.
The 9K34 Strela-3 is a man-portable air defense missile system (MANPADS) developed in the Soviet Union as a response to the poor performance of the earlier 9K32 Strela-2 system. The missile was largely based on the earlier Strela 2, and thus development proceeded rapidly. The new weapon was accepted into service in the Soviet Army in January 1974.
The 9K38 Igla is a Soviet/Russian man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. A simplified, earlier version is known as the 9K310 Igla-1, and the latest variant is the 9K338 Igla-S.
The HN-5 is a family of first generation Chinese man-portable air-defense systems (MANPAD) based on Soviet technology. The HN abbreviation is used to avoid confusion with the HY series anti-ship missiles of the Silkworm missile family. The HN-5 series in Chinese hands has been phased out in front-line and first line reserve units by QW series MANPAD, but still being used by militia units.
The Anza is a series of shoulder-fired, man-portable surface-to-air missiles produced by Pakistan. Guided by an infrared homing seeker, the Anza is used for short range air defence.
PZR Grom is a man-portable air-defense system produced in Poland and based on the Soviet man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM) 9K38 Igla. It consists of a 72 mm anti-aircraft missile set with a flight speed of 650 m/s, as well as a single-use launcher, re-usable gripstock and thermal battery coolant assembly electric unit. The full name of the system is Przeciwlotniczy Zestaw Rakietowy Grom.
The KP-SAM Chiron is a South Korean shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile manufactured by LIG Nex1.
The QW-series are man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) developed by the People's Republic of China.
An infrared countermeasure (IRCM) is a device designed to protect aircraft from infrared homing missiles by confusing the missiles' infrared guidance system so that they miss their target. Heat-seeking missiles were responsible for about 80% of air losses in Operation Desert Storm. The most common method of infrared countermeasure is deploying flares, as the heat produced by the flares creates hundreds of targets for the missile.
Short range air defense (SHORAD) is a group of anti-aircraft weapons and tactics that have to do with defense against low-altitude air threats, primarily helicopters and low-flying aircraft such as the A-10 or Sukhoi Su-25. SHORAD and its complements, HIMAD and THAAD divide air defense of the battlespace into domes of responsibility based on altitude and defensive weapon ranges.
Flight Guard is an Elta Systems Ltd's brand name for a family of airborne systems for protecting civilian aircraft against man-portable air-defense systems.
The Northrop Grumman Guardian is a passive anti-missile countermeasure system designed specifically to protect commercial airliners from shoulder-launched missiles, using directed infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) technology.
A missile approach warningsystem (MAW) is part of the avionics package on some military aircraft. A sensor detects attacking missiles. Its automatic warning cues the pilot to make a defensive maneuver and deploy the available countermeasures to disrupt missile tracking.
The 9K333 Verba is a Russian fourth-generation man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM) MANPADS. "9K333" is the Russian GRAU designation of the system. Its NATO reporting name is SA-29 Gizmo.
The Very Short Range Air Defence System, or VSHORADS, is a fourth generation, man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI), a research lab under Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), located in Hyderabad. Multiple DRDO laboratories along with Indian industry partners are participating in the project. It is designed for anti-aircraft warfare and neutralising low altitude aerial threats at short ranges.
Portions of this article were taken from Homeland Security: Protecting Airliners from Terrorist Missiles Archived 5 June 2008 at the Stanford Web Archive , CRS Report for Congress RL31741, February 16, 2006 by the Congressional Research Service, division of The Library of Congress which as a work of the Federal Government exists in the public domain.
