Air Power, Insurgency and the “War on Terror” - Prof. Joel Hayward's ...

Night of <strong>the</strong> Flying Hooligans
in September 1986. “There are only two things Afghans must have: <strong>the</strong> Koran <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>
Stinger,” Massoud once said, but <strong>the</strong> jury is still deliberating on <strong>the</strong> level of losses that
<strong>the</strong> Stinger <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r MANPADS inflicted on <strong>the</strong> Soviets <strong>and</strong> DRAAF. However, <strong>the</strong>
weapons did cause <strong>the</strong> VVS, AA <strong>and</strong> DRAAF to change some tactics; fighter bombers
flew higher still, helicopters got closer to <strong>the</strong> ground <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> close air support burden
was increasingly absorbed by <strong>the</strong> gunners. The Soviets also fitted ASO-2V chaff/flare
dispensers <strong>and</strong> L-166V-1E IR countermeasures to <strong>the</strong> Hinds which somewhat degraded
<strong>the</strong> Stingers’ effectiveness. 340
The role of <strong>the</strong> Stinger has reached almost legendary proportions with claims that <strong>the</strong>
missiles exacted such a high toll on Soviet aircraft that it became almost impossible to
provide <strong>the</strong> ground forces with close air support. It is difficult to confirm this lethality.
The nature of Afghan terrain <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> hazards of war hardly made it feasible to conduct a
field study on <strong>the</strong> missile’s effectiveness. We will probably never know exactly how many
Soviet <strong>and</strong> DRAAF aircraft <strong>the</strong> missile was responsible for destroying.
Where <strong>the</strong> Mujahideen would excel was in establishing ambushes, opening fire on an
aircraft with one, visible weapon, causing <strong>the</strong> aircraft to fly away, usually into <strong>the</strong> mouth of
o<strong>the</strong>r hidden air defences. 341 Ground ambushes would be mounted on Soviet troops <strong>and</strong>
<strong>the</strong>ir vehicles, <strong>the</strong> troops would call for air support, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> rebels would open fire with
MANPADS or Anti-<strong>Air</strong>craft Artillery (AAA) when <strong>the</strong> aircraft arrived. “SAM-bushes” were
ano<strong>the</strong>r favourite technique. A MANPADS-armed Mujahideen unit would attack aircraft
taking off <strong>and</strong> l<strong>and</strong>ing at an airbase before making <strong>the</strong>ir fast escape on a motorcycle. 342
As Coalition aircrews are finding in present day Afghanistan <strong>and</strong> Iraq, Rocket Propelled
Grenades could also bring down a helicopter.
Losses
In <strong>the</strong> final analysis, <strong>the</strong> total losses from all causes to <strong>the</strong> VVS, AA <strong>and</strong> DRAAF have
been reported as up to 2,675 aircraft, o<strong>the</strong>r estimates put <strong>the</strong> total losses at 451 VVS <strong>and</strong>
AA aircraft <strong>and</strong> an unknown number for <strong>the</strong> DRAAF. After Blowpipe <strong>and</strong> Stinger arrived,
reports circulated that up to 450 aircraft per year were claimed by <strong>the</strong> missiles. Almost
certainly an exaggeration, possibly for propag<strong>and</strong>a purposes to inflate <strong>the</strong> success of <strong>the</strong>
missiles <strong>and</strong> thus secure additional systems from Washington. 343 One thing seems certain,
<strong>the</strong> VVS <strong>and</strong> AA did not lose this war. It was instead lost on <strong>the</strong> home front as <strong>the</strong> dead
<strong>and</strong> wounded returned <strong>and</strong> conscript soldiers became increasingly demoralised against
a well-motivated opposition fighting in <strong>the</strong>ir own backyard to eject an unpopular foreign
invader. The Soviet leadership under Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev had decided in
1986 to seek a withdrawal from <strong>the</strong> country signing <strong>the</strong> Geneva Accords in 1988 with
Afghanistan, Pakistan <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> US to pave <strong>the</strong> way for <strong>the</strong> Soviet withdrawal <strong>the</strong> following
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<strong>Air</strong> <strong>Power</strong>, <strong>Insurgency</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> “War on Terror”