Gunning down choppers

by Pritam S Rana


An army Mi-17 helicopter crashed on Wednesday night near Malangwa while it was on its way to provide air support to the ground troops engaged in combat against the Maoist rebels. Prachanda issued statement saying his warriors had brought down the army chopper using 'modern and domestic' technology. This has raised some hope for the Maoists as army's airpower was a cause of great concern to them since it had so far remained unvanquished.
Army was quick to claim that its preliminary investigation had found out that technical snag was responsible for the crash and ruled out Prachanda's claim. The army added that the helicopter was armor-plated and thus impervious to any known weapon in rebel arsenal.

Despite all this the army may not enjoy air superiority over the rebels in the long run if the conflict persists for a longer time. There are certain types of anti-aircraft weapons available in the international market. There is no reason to assume that these won't fall into the rebel hands. In fact, the rebel high command must already be in the process of acquiring them.

Although anti-aircraft guns have been around since warplanes first appeared during the World War I, their effectiveness was proportional to the number of deployed guns. This means they were highly inaccurate despite advances in technology of improved sights, airbursting shells, and radar cueing and guidance.

Guided missiles began appearing in the 1950s and 60s. By 1967, the United States and the former USSR developed anti-aircraft missiles small enough to be carried and launched by one man. Although these early weapons were largely ineffective, more modern ones like the infra-red (IR) guided FIM-92 Stinger proved effective at the hands of Afghan rebels.

Afghan resistance groups managed to shoot down many Russian planes. US intelligence agencies believe that many Stingers are left in Afghanistan, some possibly in the hands of terrorists. It is not known if they are still usable.

Like the US Stinger missiles, the Russians too had developed Strela (NATO codename: SA-7 Grail) missile, which they exported widely and many of these are operated by international terrorist groups. The latest versions are said to be very effective and are exported widely.

Known collectively as man portable air defense system (MANPADS), these light and portable missiles pose a great threat not only to the royal regime but also to civil aviation. Terrorist groups are believed to have plans to shoot down airliners of target countries with these. The US government is trying to control the export of such weapons in the international market. But it has not been supported well by other countries.

The possession of MANPADS by Nepal's Maoists would give them ability to take down Royal Nepal Army's helicopters with ease. Nepal's open border with India makes it easier for the rebels to import such sophisticated weapons. Besides, international black marketers can simply air drop arms in Nepali territory. Nepal does not have technology to check its air space violation as demonstrated many months back when some foreign planes entered our air space without informing anyone.



Posted on: 2006-04-09 19:23:43 (Server Time)