Stinger Missiles for sale in Afghanistan

BBC/Yahoo news ^ | December 4, 2002

[spetznaz]

The head of the international security force (Isaf) in Afghanistan has said American-made Stinger missiles and rockets are being offered to them for sale.

After almost each incident we have been receiving proposals to buy some rockets or missiles...

General Akin Zorlu, Isaf Commander General Akin Zorlu said his troops had been offered Stinger missiles for $200,000 and rockets for $5,000 to $10,000.

He said he believed a recent surge in rocket attacks on Kabul could be a tactic by the dealers trying to put pressure on the international peace keepers to buy up the weapons.

General Zorlu who heads the 4,800-strong Isaf is due to step down at the end this month.

He however, said a decision on the takeover of the force by German and Dutch troops had not yet been taken.

Mass weaponry

"After almost each incident we've been receiving proposals to buy some rockets or missiles" General Zorlu told journalists in Kabul.

At least six rockets were fired near a base housing Isaf troops last week although there no casualties.

Karzai's army could help unify Afghanistan

General Zorlu said ridding the civilian population of the enormous quantities of weaponry amassed during two decades of conflict in Afghanistan, was a priority.

"It is ridiculous that everyone has their own weapons in order to protect themselves or to sell them, so this is a really important issue to be solved for the security of this country", General Zorlu said.

"The difficulty is during the wars and ethnic conflicts, people had been provided with weapons including rockets, mines, explosive materials guns and air defence missiles, he said.

In the 1980's the American intelligence agency (CIA) supplied Afghan rebels with Stinger missiles to fight against the former Soviet Union.

An offer by America to repurchase proved unsuccessful as none were reportedly sold.

Nearly 100 of those missiles are still thought to be in Afghanistan.

[spetznaz]

Personally i think this is an issue that may or may not be crucial! This is because many of the Stingers given to the Mujahadeen (when those jehadis were 'freedom fighters' not terrorists) are by now non-functional due to the effects of time, and especially lack of proper maintenance. Hence there is a likelihood the Sa-7 Streylas used ineffectively in last weeks attacks may be more capable than Stingers sold well over a decade ago to Mujahadeens in some Afghan desert dune!

However the problem arises when you consider that the Stinger system is arguably the best 'man-pad' sam system today, and if those systems are still potent then a person using a Stinger would have a much greater chance of bringing down a civilian plane than some kooks firing some streylas!

Hence it is a gambit ....a crap shoot! Are the Stingers given to the Afghans in the 80s still effective, or are have they lost their efficacy? That is the question! And a wrong choice on our part could result in a plane being brought down!

After all there is a good reason they are selling Streylas for 50 grand and selling Stingers for 200 grand! Effectiveness!

I hope the Stingers in their possession are just vestigial weapons that no longer work, because if they are not then their target will most probably come down!

[spetznaz]

Ping!

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Must be some from the batch clinton sold them. They are 7-8 yrs old, time to buy new ones.

[John Valentine]

Going WAAAY back into my memory., I think that the Stingers rely on battery power, and those highly specialized batteries are now way beyond their shelf life. BUT, they may still work.

SA-7 Strela's, if my memory serves me, have a longer shelf life and a certain ruggendness of design, because they don't have a battery per se, but an electric generating cell that is only activated just before launch when an acid vial is broken allowing an electrolyte to flow into a chamber. A the same time another vial with a volatile fluid is also broken releasing an evaporant onto the cadmium sulphide sensor, thus lowering its temperature into the operating range. Launch must immediately follw.

If I had a choice, I'd take four SA-7 over one Stinger for the same price unless I was provided with a demonstration proving that the Stinger battery was still functioning.

[Cicero]

According to news reports, the CIA has already bought back a lot of stingers in Afghanistan. Of course anything you read about the CIA may or may not be true. But when you consider the downside, it would seem worth while buying back any remaining on the market. Even if they're not worried about worried about losing an airliner, they should be worried about egg on George Tenet's face.

[1rudeboy]

when those jehadis were 'freedom fighters' not terrorists

I sense a small logical fallacy here.

[spetznaz]

According to news reports, the CIA has already bought back a lot of stingers in Afghanistan

From the article:An offer by America to repurchase proved unsuccessful as none were reportedly sold

I just hope the battery systems on those Stingers are as dry as a bone.

[Cicero]

Humm. You're probably right. I read the opposite somewhere, but as I said I wasn't sure I believed it. Now I believe it less.

[John Jorsett]

The batteries in the Stingers have to be dead or nearly so by now. They're essentially junk.

[John Jorsett]

By the way, I've heard that the next generation of shoulder-launched weapons have to be reactivated periodically via a satellite signal, and that without it, they simply won't work. Sounds like somebody is learning from the situation.

[js1138]

Even better if they could be armed and detonated by a satellite signal.

[suroc]

Another article about the Stinger missile for sale, this time from AP

Only this time the Associated Press showed how many draft-dodging, non-serving, ignorant-of-the-military editors populate their staff by writing:

"Stinger missiles lock onto their targets using a radar-guided system, making them more effective than heat-seeking missiles, which are easily foiled by decoy flares. "

Radar-guided? Out of a man-portable air defense? What are they smoking?

[spetznaz]

Only this time the Associated Press showed how many draft-dodging, non-serving, ignorant-of-the-military editors populate their staff by writing: "Stinger missiles lock onto their targets using a radar-guided system, making them more effective than heat-seeking missiles, which are easily foiled by decoy flares. " Radar-guided? Out of a man-portable air defense? What are they smoking?

Ssssshhhh! Do not let out the secret .....the man firing the weapon also serves as a radar receiver! It is the latest tech available! (Sarcasm)

Seriously though it is statements like those that make one wonder if the mistake was made by the media, or if there is really a soldier who believes Stingers are radar guided missiles! If it is the media then it is somewhat OK ....however if it was a soldier who said that then all i can say is Oy Vey!

[Leisler]

Whatever battery Stingers have, it shouldn't be too difficult to patch, or remanufacture new ones.

Stingers do have a type of radar, a proximity fuse, which helps in detention near the reflecting mass of the aircraft body structure. Since aircraft don't have extra parts, even if you don't hit an engine, just punching holes through control surfaces, hydraulic lines, whatever is a good start to controlled flight termination.

[Kenton]

So where in hell does your average Afhani get $5000 to $10000 for the RPGs they all seem to carry?

[spetznaz]

The average Afghani just needs a good Kalashnikov with plenty of rounds, and maybe an RPG if he is truly ambitious.

The stingers and streylas are purchased by people who are well heeled (think of it, your average Afghani cannot come up with 200K for a stinger). Hence such weapons are the domain of people who would need them (because the average Afghani does not need an anti-aircraft missile), and also the domain of those who would afford them.

In essence terrorists!

As for your question on RPGs and where the 'average' Afghani gets the money from, remember that Afghanistan was the largest harvest field for Heroin! So much so that before 9-11 the US used to pay the Taliban several million dollars for them to burn up the poppy fields (talk about irony since some of that cash went to Al Queda). Hence an Afghani with a tattered jacket and yellow teeth can actually have a wad of cash in his pocket, maybe not enough to buy a stinger, but enough to get a RPG.

[spectr17]

Going WAAAY back into my memory., I think that the Stingers rely on battery power, and those highly specialized batteries are now way beyond their shelf life. BUT, they may still work. .

Tell me how much voltage and current you require and I'll find you a comparable battery or jerry rig up some that will work. A battery would be the easy piece of the puzzle.

[dinodino]

Exactly what I was thinking. How difficult can it be to provide power for this?

[Man of the Right]

The only saving grace is that the Afghans are too dumb to point the business-end of the weapon at the sky.

[Dialup Llama]

>I just hope the battery systems on those Stingers are as dry as a bone.

I read articles that say new weapons such as Stingers and mines have a limited lifespans programmed into them. Is that true? I hope so.