Published on 26 June 2008 in ISS Today

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Anti-Aircraft Missiles A Threat To Sub-Saharan Africa

blurb:isstoday:26062008manpads

Published on 26 June 2008 in ISS Today

26 Jun 2008: Anti-Aircraft Missiles A Threat To Sub-Saharan Africa

 

Man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS) are short-range surface-to-air missile (SAMs) systems that are carried and operated by either a single individual or a crew of individuals. They are commonly referred to as shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles.

 

MANPADS pose a specific threat to peace and security in Africa, and other regions, as terrorist groups and non-state actors can use MANPADS to target and destroy civilian aircraft.

 

There are a number of small arms and light weapons control instruments in Africa, however, there are no MANPAD-specific initiatives.

 

MANPADS were developed in the late 1950s to provide land-based military groupings with the ability to damage and destroy enemy aircraft. They proved to be decisive weapon in the Afghan-Soviet war of the 1980s.

 

According to a Jane’s Information Group publication titled Land-Based Air Defense 2006-2007, nine countries are known to have manufactured MANPADS: China, France, Japan, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States. Three types of MANPADS guidance systems exist: infrared homing (missile homes in on a heat source, such as an engine exhaust plume); laser-beam riding (missile travels along the path of laser beam, which points at the target); command line of sight (target is identified through an optical sight by the MANPADS operator). The range of MANPADS devices vary between 4,000m and 8,000m. The Russian Strela (SA-7), a first generation infrared guided MANPADS, which has a range of 4,400m, is arguably been the most commonly used MANPADS.

 

Armed conflicts and weak states throughout sub-Saharan Africa have sustained a market for illicit weapons transfers, including MANPADS. Combined with poor weapons stockpile management by certain governments, this state of affairs results in MANPADS being relatively cheap and easy to acquire. According to an article on MANPADS that appeared in the September 2001 issue of Jane’sIntelligence Review, it was estimated that 27 terrorist organizations possessed MANPADS at the time. Examples included the Somali National Alliance (SNA), Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and Interahamwe militia based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

 

More recently the July 2007 report of the United Nations Monitoring Group on Somalia indicated that Russian Strela (SA-7) units were circulating freely among militia groups in Somalia.

 

Since the mid-1990s, there were a significant number of incidents in sub-Saharan Africa where MANPADS were allegedly used to target and destroy/damage civilian aircraft. These include:

  • Somalia, 23 March 2007: shooting down of an IL-76 cargo plane belonging to Transaviaexport, a Belarusian company.

  • Mombasa, Kenya, November 2002: attempted shooting of an Arkia Airlines Boeing 757- 300.

  • Angola, June 2001: shooting down of the UN World Food Program aircraft in Angola.

  • DRC, October 1998: the shooting of a Boeing 727.

  • Angola, December 1998 and January 1999: the downing of a United Nations-chartered Lockheed C-130 Hercules by UNITA rebels.

  • Kigali, Rwanda, April 1994: the downing of the plane carrying the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi.

 

Global consensus on the control of MANPADS is yet to be achieved, however some international processes are being developed. For instance, in 2003, the Wassenaar Arrangement adopted strengthened guidelines for control over MANPADS transfers. Similar guidelines were adopted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2004. Initiatives to control the trade and transfer of MANPADS have also been pursued in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Organization of American States. In total, over 95 countries have agreed to adopt measures to control the transfer and use of MANPADS.

 

Recently the Regional Centre on Small Arms and Light Weapons (RECSA) has undertaken an evaluation of the proliferation and impact of MANPADS in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa.

 

One hopes that the findings of this study will motivate states in Eastern Africa, and the rest of the African continent to initiate a process that will see Africa states pursue a common approach to the MANPADS problem.

 

Nelson Alusala, Senior Researcher: Arms Management Programme, ISS Tshwane (Pretoria)