MANPADS
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Context: The US and NATO allies are rushing arms shipments to Ukraine to help Ukrainian troops counter the Russian military’s attacks, which includes US-made Stinger Missiles, which are a type of shoulder-fired Man-Portable Air-Defence Systems (MANPADS).
What are MANPADS?
- Man-Portable Air-Defence Systems are short-range, lightweight and portable surface-to-air missiles that can be fired by individuals or small groups to destroy aircraft or helicopters.
- They help shield troops from aerial attacks and are most effective in targeting low-flying aircrafts.
- MANPADS can be shoulder-fired, launched from atop a ground-vehicle, fired from a tripod or stand, and from a helicopter or boat.
- Weighing anywhere between 10 to 20 kilograms and not being longer than 1.8 metres, they are fairly lightweight, which makes them easy to operate by individual soldiers.
- Operating MANPADS requires substantially less training.
- MANPADS have a maximum range of 8 kilometres and can engage targets at altitudes of 4.5 km.
- Most MANPADS have passive or ‘fire and forget’ guidance systems, meaning the operator is not required to guide the missile to its target, enabling them to run and relocate immediately after firing.
When were MANPADS used in the past?
- The first MANPADS were introduced by the United States and Soviet Union in the 1960s.
- As of 2019, 20 countries had developed the wherewithal to manufacture MANPADS and together made 1 million such systems for defence and export purposes.
- Russia is by far the biggest exporter of MANPADs.
Common variants of MANPADs
- The most common make of MANPADs is the U.S.-made Stinger missiles.
- Stinger’s Russian or Soviet-made counterparts are the Igla MANPADS, which also employ Infrared technology.
- Starstreak, the British army’s equivalent of the Stinger missiles.
- Sweden makes the RBS-70 MANPADS series, which also uses laser beam technology, while China’s version, FN-6, is akin to ther Stinger.
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