Chancellor Scholz's Stinger may play its last chords in Germany instead of Ukraine

When German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that "we are supplying 1,000 anti-tank guns and 500 Stinger missiles to our friends in Ukraine”, it made many military experts shudder.

The Americans created the portable anti-aircraft missile system (MANPADS) "Stinger" (FIM-92 Stinger). In Germany, it is produced under license by Airbus Group, which has one of its two headquarters in the German city of Ottobrunn (Munich district, Bavaria). This group is the sole shareholder of Airbus S.A.S., which produces aircraft for various purposes, including passenger Airbus.

The system is designed to down low-flying aerial targets. It can also be used for ground targets. The firing range is from 200 to 4500 meters, the maximum target height is 3800 meters. The combat fragmentation part weighs three kilograms. With a length of just over one and a half meters, the MANPADS, ready for use, weighs about 15.5 kg. It is easily handled by one operator. In its name, according to the generally accepted international classification, this feature is emphasised especially and is designated as man portable.

What is the danger of this system? It is its mass-dimensional characteristics that make the complex highly mobile and extremely secretive means of air defence.

There was a time when MANPADS showed quite high efficiency in defeating military aircraft. The Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the mid-1980s began to suffer significant losses of aviation equipment after the Americans organised the supply of “Stingers” to the Mujahideen. Then, of course, we learned how to counteract this weapon.

The military was able to adapt quickly, but the vast majority of civil aviation is still not protected in any way from MANPADS attacks. Some developments in this area exist, there are technical means of protection implemented "in metal", but they are few and do not have mass application.

According to various estimates, about 40 civilian vessels have been hit worldwide with the help of MANPADS. Approximately 30 of them were destroyed. About 1,000 people died. This is provided that not all cases are taken into account.

Therefore, the world's leading states began to show serious concern about the uncontrolled spread of MANPADS. After that, or at the same time, if you like, the problem was recognised by the UN. The peak of discussion and decision-making on the problem of uncontrolled proliferation of MANPADS fell on 2003-2005.

Here are the main stories concerning the topic of MANPADS control:

1998 (May 15 – 17) - a summit of the "Group of Eight" ("G8": Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, Russia, USA, France, Japan. Since 2008 – the "Big Eight"). It was held in Birmingham (Great Britain). The existence of a threat to civil aviation from MANPADS was recognised.

2003 (June 1-3) - a summit of the Group of Eight. The summit was held in the commune of Evian-les-Bains (France). The Group of Eight Action Plan was adopted: to strengthen transport security and control over man-portable air defence missile systems (MANPADS). The plan was adopted to "intensify joint efforts to combat terrorist threats against mass transportation”. A "Counter-Terrorism Action Group (CTAG) was established to assist interested states in building up their capacity to counter the terrorist threat."

2004 (June 8-10) - a Group of Eight summit was held on Sea Island (Georgia, USA). As a result of the summit, the Group of Eight Secure and Facilitated International Travel Initiative (SAFTI) was adopted (June 11). The purpose of the measures taken is to counter the terrorist threat. The Action Plan "Group of Eight Secure and Facilitated International Travel Initiative" was adopted. The plan provides, among other things, basic measures for the international exchange of information, as well as to reduce the threat of MANPADS. With regard to MANPADS, provisions have been adopted concerning the destruction of surplus and/or obsolete MANPADS, as well as to strengthen international control measures over the export of such weapons.

2005 (February 24) - in Bratislava, representatives of the governments of Russia and the United States signed an international agreement "Joint United States-Russian Federation Statement on the U.S.-Russia MANPADS Arrangement on Cooperation in Enhancing Control of Man-Portable Air Defense Systems”. The document detailed mutual measures to strengthen control over MANPADS.

During 2004-2005, the UN General Assembly adopted at least three resolutions (59/90, 60/77, 60/288), which explicitly mentioned MANPADS and what should be done for their non-proliferation.

Of course, there is a category of people who do not perceive the concerns of the world community, UN resolutions and decisions, and even international agreements and plans officially adopted and signed by the heads of state. But there are other people who follow the decisions made at high levels, understanding their importance and necessity.

Now the question arises: which category of people does Olaf Scholz belong to? The previous leaders of Germany participated in these events, put their signatures under documents of international level and of the same importance.

Questions again: who will get the MANPADS that Germany wants to send to Ukraine? Maybe they will just be distributed to random people there, as was already the case with the distribution of Kalashnikovs? Can they get to criminal groups?

Easily. For example, drug lords all over the world really want to get MANPADS, especially where governments are actually struggling with the production and non-proliferation of drugs. And can these MANPADS get to terrorists?

And most importantly: who can guarantee that these "tubes" will not give out their last chords in precisely Germany?