“We Afghans only needed two things: the Koran and the Stingers.” Ahmad Shah Massoud, heart and brains of the resistance against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, did not yearn for ultra-heavy tanks or long for jet fighters. The warlord knew that his men would do better with these surface-to-air missiles to sow destruction in the skies and make the combat helicopters shudder. Mil Mi-24 of the Kremlin. He was right. According to US calculations, the mujahideen shot down an aircraft a day during the conflict using the ‘stingers’ – a literal and more than accurate translation of their name – sent by the United States.
tomb of three hundred Soviet aircraft, the Stingers have once again made their appearance on the ground. Although in a much closer theater of operations, Ukraine; the country that is resisting Vladimir Putin’s armored war after a month of fighting. “Even though it was designed in the late 1970s, its latest versions are very effective. It is capable of shooting down helicopters and planes at low altitude. Cheap, efficient and easy to usehas become a nightmare for Russia, ”explains to ABC the historical disseminator and researcher Jose Luis Hernandez Garvi.
The difference with the conflict in Afghanistan or the Malvinas war – where the Stinger had its baptism of fire before the helicopters and fighters of the Argentine army – is that the Russian generals have learned from their past mistakes, which were many. «The Kremlin is not using its air weapon en masse precisely because of the fear of counter-aircraft systems. Now the so-called hybrid war prevails, in which one of the key factors is the ability of the infantry to destroy tanks or aircraft. Devices much more expensive than an anti-aircraft missile, ”reveals the expert to this newspaper.
Birth and evolution
But let’s go by parts. The design of what is still the main American fist in the skies began in 1967 by the hand of General Dynamics. The company, the fifth largest manufacturer of military equipment in the world, sought to improve the FIM-43 Redeye and usher in a new era of man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). The program was accepted by the United States Army five years later. This is how the project was born FIM-92, baptized as Stinger in 1972. Its production started in 1978 and, since then, its assembly lines have not had a break. In fact, Germany has acquired the rights to assemble them.
On paper, the Stinger isn’t much taller than a table. A meter and a half in length, 16 kilograms in weight -of which 6 correspond to the missile-, reusable and with a range of 4.8 kilometers, its main advantage is that it does not require the operator to keep his eyes on the target or to modify its trajectory after launching the projectile.
Army engineering officer Gonzalo Echevarria Moreno explains in ‘Air defense systems of the new 8×8 vehicle’ that this weapon has an infrared guidance system that “engages the target by its thermal signature, normally the propulsion gases”. Put succinctly: it chases the heat from aircraft engines. The only problem is that it can be interfered with by adverse weather conditions or countermeasures launched by the enemy. Nobody is perfect…
«The system hosts the modality ‘fire and forget‘, allowing the launcher to forget about guidance once the missile has been fired. Additionally, it implements a friend-foe indicator that emits a signal to the located target. If the response from the ship is not correct, the indicator indicates that the aircraft is not an ally, “explains the military in the dossier. This simple feature reduces the chances of friendly fire and encourages it to be fired by an operator without much military experience. The umpteenth advantage is that –according to its version– it can be used by a single person firing from the shoulder, or on simple platforms for vehicles.
Since those early years, the Stinger has undergone ten evolutions, each one better than the last. “Although it may surprise us, the weapons used these days in Ukraine are between 40 and 50 years old. It is very expensive to invest in new technologies and, therefore, some older, although improved, are used, “adds Garvi to ABC. The latest version of this surface-to-air missile obtained the highest score in a study carried out by the Armed Forces to equip their new vehicles. It received 57 points out of 100 in the following facets: guidance system, explosive charge detonation by proximity, range, height, ‘fire and forget’, proven effectiveness, weight and countries of use. The second classified was Mistralwith 53.
Echevarría, in his report, is clear: “It is one of the most technologically advanced missiles on the market today.” A veteran who has been able to adapt to the new times, who can still give a lot of war and who has been supplied in huge quantities by the United States and Europe to the Ukrainian defense forces. Although the specific numbers are difficult to obtain, the United Kingdom Secretary of Defense, Ben Wallace, pointed out to the BBC that Germany would have delivered half a thousand. On the US side, it is considered that thousands have arrived at the theater of operations. Enough to cause terror in the president’s aircraft Vladimir Putin.
From the Falklands…
The first time the Stingers were deployed was between April and June 1982. According to David Diaz Cabo in ‘Guns and Missiles in the Falklands War’, independent British SAS brigades were equipped with six portable FIM-92 launchers. These were supplied by the United States and came from the famous Delta Force. The good relationship between both units favored allowing them to release them in conflict.
“Three SAS men were giving a counterterrorism course to the FBI when the war broke out. They were sent to Fort Bragg to receive instruction on the use of these missiles », explains the Spanish author in his work.
Among the first casualties it produced is the FMA IA 58A Pucará, a turboprop ground-attack aircraft of the Argentine air force. The tragedy occurred on May 21, 1982. That day, the captain Jorge Benitez took off from the Cóndor Base in Pradera del Ganso under the callsign Tigre with the aim of shooting down naval targets. The adventure did not last long. As she passed SAS D Squad, a Stinger missile hit her square in the tail. “Benítez had left alone to attack the British troops in the Strait of San Carlos,” adds Díaz Cabo. He was able to eject and save his life.
… to Afghanistan
Although it was a few years later, in Afghanistan, when the Stinger demonstrated its versatility. The Red Army invaded the country on December 27, 1979 with its full panoply of weapons and men. From paratroopers and special forces, to the KGB. He did it, according to international relations experts, to prevent the United States from taking the territory from him after the defeat in Vietnam. International political stuff. As always, Russia did not act halfway. In less than a week, 55,000 men had already entered the region, but, once again, it was not enough.
During the following ten years, a confrontation against the Islamic guerrillas took place that gradually bled the Kremlin. “The war became Vietnam of the USSR. There was no end in sight and the morale of the troops was collapsing between drug use and poor performance, ”explains John Swift in ‘The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan’. During that decade, and according to Garvi to ABC, the FBI supplied an infinity of Stinger to the Mujahideen guerrillas. “I don’t know if it will be advertising for the brand, but it has been spread that the victory was thanks to the use of these missiles,” adds the expert.
In Garvi’s words, the USSR’s workhorse in Afghanistan, the Mil Mi 24, suffered from these missiles. “It was a device that was heavily armed, had an armored bottom and could transport a platoon.” He was not exaggerating his nickname: the ‘flying tank’. “At that time, later systems were not used, or had not been developed. Kamov Ka-50 and Mil Mi 28 Havoc, both ground attack”, he reveals. The first casualty of these aircraft occurred on September 25, 1986, when thirty guerrillas fired on two aircraft that were landing at the Jalalabad airport. President Ronald Reagan received a report on the attack. For him, it was first-hand information.
As explained by the doctor in history Eladi Romero In ‘A Brief History of the Cold War’, the arrival of the brand new CIA Stinger forced the Soviets to modify their strategy. To begin with, the pilots were ordered to operate at a high altitude: no less than 5,000 meters. This decreased the accuracy of the attacks. Daytime operations were also prohibited. Any coup de mano or movement of troops by air was carried out at night because the guerrillas lacked night vision goggles. Finally, they had to descend at full speed and in a spiral – something more than dangerous – and always escorted by helicopters that dropped heat flares.
The destruction capacity of the Stingers made them the umpteenth object of desire of the Red Army. Soon, the Kremlin promised to make a Hero of the Soviet Union whoever managed to get one. Months passed before Lt. Vladimir Kovtun he was able to steal one from a group of guerrillas. “When they saw our helicopters they stopped and started shooting at us and launched two missiles. The pilots made a maneuver and descended to the helicopters. The Mi-24s covered us from above and we began to defend ourselves after getting off a helicopter », he declared, shortly after, in a news item collected by ‘Russia Beyond’.