Australian Aviation December MAN PORTABLE MISSILES V - PDF document

Australian AviationDecember 200331 MAN PORTABLE MISSILES able Air Defence Systems (MANPADS)or shoulder launched surface-to-airWith hundreds of thousands of roundsMANPADS are among the most commonfrom proliferating. Expectations that bor-fully prevent such weapons from fallingLike narcotics, MANPADS are a compacttiveness of these weapons can be as danger-ous as understating their capabilities.In the airpower debate MANPADS have not been a majorMANPADS are seen as a risk primarily to low flying ‘slowmovers’. Helicopters, tactical transports, observation air-risk. For a high flying or fast moving tactical jet at the edgeof the MANPADS kinematic envelope, these weapons areMANPADS were by far the most successful SAMs em-ployed during the 1991 Gulf War conflict, this success wasfired and the number of aircraft which recov-The game changes very much if the tar-MANPADS shooter. An airliner on takeoffis close to an ideal target for a MANPADS –low, slow, heavily laden with kerosene,the MANPADS threat, as will become obvi-The first MANPADS to enter operationalservice was the US Army’s FIM-43A Redeye,Numerically by far the most important MANPADS to-day is the SA-7 Grail family, which has both evolved,tions. Widely available in the arsenals of developing na-be used by a terrorist targeting a passenger aircraft.intended to seduce the missile away. While highly effective against first generation weapons like the SA-7B which use primitive guidance and simple IR 32Australian AviationDecember 2003The original 9M32 Strela 2 ‘Perenosniy ZenitniyMissile System) had a convoluted development history. Dur-Staff and the Tushino based Toporov OKB, who previouslyvia a 24 pin harness. A set of four removable thermal batter-and 2100m but the relatively primitive reticle seeker wasfor 60 seconds but is reported to often exhaust itself earlier.comes on once the seeker has detected the target’s signa-seeker, and the reticle gyro is spun up in 4 to 6 seconds. Theeffected by a pair of canard surfaces, using a rollingairframe control law.Canal, when one embedded itself in the tail of an Israeli jetin South Vietnam in large numbers accounting for 45 air-evasive manoeuvring and the use of flares. Most kills wereThe 9M32 performed poorly in the 1973 Yom Kippur warwas the final phase of the SE Asian conflict in 1975 wherethe 9M32 took a devastating toll on the South Vietnamesethe Rhodesian civil war where missiles fired by black na-tionalists downed two Vickers Viscount turboprop passen-ger aircraft (registrations VP-WAS, YND).Russians responded by dropping flares and fitting IR sup-pressors to helo exhausts, countering the 9M32’s simpleseeker. The Afghans were subsequently supplied with Sting-proved 9M92M Strela 2M or SA-7B in 1972. The 9M32M sawsec and range to 5500 metres.The 9M32 and especially 9M32M were exported by theWarpac members, allies in the developing world, or evenThe HN-5 was replaced in production by the improvedcloned the Strela 2M as the Ayn Al Sakr and likely exported7B clone, the ANZA MK-1, which is reported to be based onlikely MANPADS to be used by terrorists, but not the onlypossibility.improved rocket motor, improved guidance electronics, The mostly widely deployed MANPADS is the ubiquitous SA-7B Grail,available in Soviet, Chinese HN-5 series and Egyptian Ayn Al Sakr vari-ants, and indigenously upgraded variants operated by other former So-but late models are credited with a limited all aspect capability. Given theSA-7B variant (Author, PLA). Australian AviationDecember 200333detector. The 9P59 gripstockments were in the seeker, whichused a proper proportional naviga-tion guidance algorithm and had fur-with a two colour seeker, making itUS FIM-92 Stinger, and capable ofsubject of the successful FBI stingin August this year. China further developed itsWei 1 (QW-1) missile during thecron band detector, capable of all aspect engagements. Themissile is credited with a 16G manoeuvre capability, and aproved the QW-1 and is now marketing the QW-2 derivative.Other than Soviet and cloned Soviet MANPADS, the pos-sibility of western built weapons being used cannot be dis-counted for. Unlike Soviet and cloned missiles for whichAs even a superficial survey illustrates amply, there isweapons means that they cannot be ignored. This in turnLETHALITY AGAINST PASSENGER AIRCRAFTmuch damage. If the missile is time expired the warhead maylose effectiveness or the fuse may fail. However, reliance onuncooled seeker, and properlytrack the exhaust plumes and asengagement geometry, thethe aircraft’s wing. A newer mis-may track the aircraft’s centroidsecond, if the warhead works asengine fire which may or may not respond to onboardpylon or wing near the engine, not impossible given thepecially of older MANPADS designs. A pylon impactcould produce enough structural damage for the engineto separate as the pylon is under load mechanically, or it A wing impact could cause two principal damage effects.Concorde tragedy.To say that every SAM hitting an airliner is a guaran-teed kill is to misunderstand the complexity of the prob- China has become a major player in the MANPADS exportmarket. The HN-5B MANPADS was supplanted in produc-tion by the QW-1 with a cooled Indium Antimonide all aspectmidwave infrared seeker. The more recent QW-2 incorpo-The QW-1 series are easily recognised by the cylindrical BU/built the HN-5B as the ANZA MK-I and the QW-1 as the 34Australian AviationDecember 2003ever, other combinations of circumstances could see the In principle the bigger the aircraft and the more enginestions, and lowest structural redundancy.DEFEATING TERRORIST SAMSMANPADS and have opportunities to use them against RPTaircraft. To be honest much of what has been said publiclyMANPADS is a little like the idea that drug runners can bedenied access to drugs. While western nations with good bor-larger footprints is simply too hard. An urban slum in aman MANPADS shooter team. Geometry permitting theymight even be able to shoot from a backyard – if rooftopsThe first is to actively defeat the missile’s guidance so itof infrared filters, kinematic filtering in the guidance andThe other alternative is the jamming of the seeker with aers. Older generation IR jammers would flash at one orWarning System (MAWS) or tracking sensor is used tomeasure the angle to the incoming SAM. A turret with amissile to point a narrow pencil beam of infrared jam-ming energy. This approach permits much more jammingpower to be delivered using a smaller jammer, and a lasersystem has the potential to saturate the SAM’s infraredWhether an aircraft is to drop flares or use a jammer,proach Warning Systems remain an area of controversy.Three technologies are used – active Doppler radar, pas- Russia remains a significant manufacturer of MANPADS. The 9M32 se-makes these weapons easy to identify. (Author/Rosoboronexport). over Southern Africa. Incidentally, the crew thought the engine had sim-ger. Note the extensive pattern of missile and engine fragment damageon the fuselage and flaps. Primary and secondary damage effects tostructure, fuel, flight control and hydraulic systems can be more lethalgine loss case studies. Australian AviationDecember 200335active Doppler radar systems would be best suited for air-nations. The cost of fleetwide retrofits of transport air-aircraft this would be a killer for any major airline. Twoeffect proper coverage.cheaper, but also less effective. Fitting engine nacelle cowlingsand pylons with Kevlar or other layered armour could do Given the extensive experience of military operators,there are no issues in introducing such measures other thanMANPADS attack. Unlike emergencies arising from engine orother technical failures in aircraft, a MANPADS hit is likely toproduce wider damage. Standard cockpit procedures may notAnother issue which has not been discussed is that ofreducing MANPADS firing opportunities by changing thesuccessfully in Rhodesia was to fly a ‘corkscrew’ climbheading. This forces MANPADS shooters to get much closerto the runway, making it easier for security forces to inter-dict them. The cost is increased fuel burn as the aircraftIt is clear that the problem of terrorists usingMANPADS against airliners is not one which is easilylay observers. The problem is technically complex andto be resolved issues of legal liability, insurance coverageFrom a strategic perspective, MANPADS will becomeshooters. Not unlike landmines, MANPADS are a rela- or flashlamp to jam the MANPADS reticle seeker. Depicted is the Northrop-radar, infrared or ultraviolet Missile Approach Warning System to cue the AVFACTS QP ADVERTREPEAT NOVEMBER 03 PG:72