Hi all,
when looking at a diorama made by a friend I noticed an odd looking weapon in the hands of one of the Afghan warriors in this set.



I mean the kneeled guy. To me he is pointing a kind of SAM (Stinger without the "cage") like if it was a RPG launcher.
Is it me or did CMK really mess this?

Olivier

Maybe this guy is just a newbie who doesn't really know how to use it

..or maybe he's aiming at a landed aircraft

Frenchy

it sure looks like a stinger, igla or strela of some sort.
I don't know exactly how these things work, but I guess they could be fired at light vehicles too ? even though it's probably not recommended

It is a Stinger without the IFF antenna since they where not given to the Afghans also the sight is opened incorrectly. You could fire it at a light armored vehicle but I would not recommend it either. Also when fired the missile will drop firing in the kneeling position as shown most likely it will hit dirt unless the gunner is on a cliff.

Hi Rick,
that's exactly what I thougt. I have only seen Stinger gunner in the prone position never in the kneeled position.
As a SAM warhead is roughly speaking a kind of sophisticated "shrapnell charge" and not a hollow one, I don't see any interest in using one against an armored vehicle.
So I can conclude CMK are wrong with this figure.
Thanks to you all for your inputs

Yes, it is a Stinger. You can't fire them from the prone though. They are normally fired from a standing position.



They can be fired from the kneeling position too, but up in the air at an aircraft, like this SA7 gunner is .


Like noted above, it doesn't do well when fired horizontally or at ground vehicles. Since it is a heat-seaking missile, it will not normally lock-on to a ground vehicle since they don't have a large enough heat signature. Also, they have a proximity fuse that explodes close to the target and throws shrapnel out to take out vital systems in it. They have no anti-armor capability.

In conclusion, yup, CMK got it wrong.

This time it's me who "messed" his English, I meant standing position of course

Thanks for the confirmation Gino.
Olivier

Rick is the closest to being correct. Technically they didn't get it wrong. The Muj learned very quickly how to utilize the terrain to their best advantage. Firing upward at Sov helos often ended up as a lesson in futility as the missiles often lost their lock for juicier targets. Like the sun.
The Sov pilots, being no less aware of their surroundings, would approach Muj forces with the sun at their backs if they had an idea where their forces were. This wasn't solely based upon their fear of Stingers, although it played a part. Attacking out of the sun has always given the attacker the advantage.

The Muj also learned that yes, the Stinger could also lock onto hotter targets when firing down in a valley, such as rocks, or BFB's if you will.

Firing horizontally obviates both problems. Whle not always practical or practicable, it was used.
As the ceiling of the Hip and Hind were roughly equal at about 14K (I remember this because I've climbed a lot of what we call 14'ers in Colorado, thinking as hypoxia set in "At least I'm out of helo range up here!") the Muj often stayed at or above that elevation.
This would end up biting us in the asses as well. Ever check Tora Bora's elevation?

In short, use the figure as is if you like.