lets call these enemy air craft "crop dusters"...
i was reading this newspaper article (Situation Report: SundayTimes - 06 May 2007) by iqbal athas
this blog entry has no social or urban cultural relevance... because bitching about this issue is getting boring... instead i'd like to understand why the planes were not shot down...
This is the fourth successive LTTE air raid just over a month. The first, on March 26 was an attack on the SLAF air base at Katunayake that left three airmen dead and 16 wounded. The second came on an Army Engineers Unit in the High Security Zone at Palaly on April 23 where six soldiers were killed and 13 more wounded. A third attempt to bomb the Katunayake air base was made on April 26. In all these attacks, Air Force officials say, the Czech built Zlin Z-143 aircraft were used. Though it is known that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) possessed five light aircraft, intelligence sources were investigating reliable reports this week that the number was ten. They believe all the units had been smuggled in knocked down condition and assembled in the Wanni. [Source:SundayTimes]
Zlin Z-143
The name of Czechoslovakian aircraft manufacturer Zlin has been associated with excellence in aerobatic aircraft since the firm was founded in 1934. The first airplane to win a modern World Aerobatic championship was the two seat Zlin 226T Trener, at the hands of Ladislav Bezák, who flew one in the 1960 World Championships at Bratislava, Czechoslovakia in 1960. [Source: www.pilotfriend.com]
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standard we were able to extend the aircraft's fatigue life (for example
to 11.000 hours at one of the leading flight schools in CANADA). [Source: Product Brochure]
so the crop duster can pull 6gs! not bad at all (for a crop duster)!
SA-16
Maximum Speed: 2+ Mach
Effective Altitude: 3,500 m
Effective Range: 500-5,000 m
Altitude: 10-3,500 m
Warhead: HE 2kg
Guidance: passive 2-color IR and UV homing
Fuze: Contact and graze
Kill Radius: Unknown
Air Force officials were disappointed they were unable to shoot down the aircraft over Kolonnawa oil installations with an SA 16 missile. Staff armed with these missiles had been positioned there fearing air attacks. On the night of the attack, the Air Defence and Control Centre had been on regular radio contact with an airman trained to handle the Surface to Air (SAM) missile. The missile had not locked on to the target, the incoming aircraft, though he could clearly hear the sound of the engine. The battery had knocked off after 15 seconds. He had thereafter loaded another missile and gone through the same process. It was dark and hence he could not lock the SAM mechanism on target to hit the aircraft. [Source: SundayTimes]
the SA-16 GIMLET is a shoulder launched SAM... the military term is MANPADS.... MAN Portable Air Defense System... (and if women are using it, like in afganistan... its called WOMANPADS)... the LTTE got busted by the FBI trying to acquire similar Igla class SAMs several months back...
Note: there is nothing preventing women can firing MANPADs! anyone with proper training can fire a MANPAD!
the SA-16 is a early cold war relic... which explains why the first missile didnt lock...
the crop duster has a 4-stroke petrol engine with a silencer... which means that the exhaust of the crop duster is much cooler than the exhaust a gas turbine powered air craft (like a helicopter or a turbo-prop which the SA-16 was build to intercept!)
which explains why the airman couldnt lock on to the crop duster the second time...
read about the SA-16 shoulder launched SAM...
crop duster Ordnance
By then, the second aircraft had come from over the sea at Modera and headed towards the CPC's oil storage complex at Kolonnawa. One bomb fell near a diesel storage tank. It caused leaks to the tanks but CPC workers were able to plug it. The second bomb fell but did not explode and gave the authorities an idea of its components. It was one metre long and weighed approximately 35 kilograms. Air Force officials found the locally turned out bomb held a mixture of C-4 explosives and steel razor balls. They believe a third bomb fell into a tank storing furnace oil but are unable to still confirm this. This is because the bomb did not explode. They suspect it may have gone to the bottom of the tank since there were signs at the centre of a foreign object entering. [Source: SundayTimes]
why didnt the tank blow up or ignite? because it didnt fall close enough... :)
a 35kg ordnance with steel bearings... how much of C-4 was in it? may be less than 10kg... also C-4 is not an incendiary explosive... as in... it explodes and releases heat and all that but after the explosion the fuel is expended and there is nothing to a fire like napalm... firebombs or incendiary explosives were the primary weapon of choice in WWII air campaigns... why? because bombers could not accurately drop a bomb... so the best chance of destroying an enemy target was to set it on fire... hmmm...
so unless the bomb hits really close to the tank... it cant cause much damage... C-4 is a high explosive... which creates a massive shockwave (a supersonic pressure wave) on detonation... the shockwave accelerates the ball bearings... so ball bearings against a thick metal sheet can drill a few holes...
fuel storage solos usually have a concrete wall surrounding it... because if there is a leak... the wall surrounding it should be able to hold the entire capacity of the silo... so the wall would have offered some protection against low angle shrapnel...
Thereafter the aircraft that dropped bombs over Kolonnawa had proceeded over Borella, Nugegoda and was headed for Ratmalana. However, the intense firing into the sky that lit up the air space over the air base prompted the aircraft to change course. How the two aircraft returned to their hideout in guerrilla held Wanni is still not clear. However, confirmation they were on their way back came from ground troops in Mannar who had seen them overhead. They were flying northwards. That was how the blackout was relaxed and the firing frenzy ground to a halt. [Source: SundayTimes]
NUGEGODA!!!! WHAT!!! not cool... ground radar is blind to low flying air craft 'cos of obstacles (trees, buildings, etc) in the horizon...
MiG-29s
With these unprecedented measures, Defence Ministry officials were busy this week examining measures to counter air threats posed by Tiger guerrillas. One such move is to ascertain the possibility of acquiring state-of-the art MiG-29 aircraft. A three member team from the Air Force headed by Air Vice Marshal Prashantha de Silva has been appointed for this purpose. The MiG-29s are not only equipped for night flying but also are fitted for air to air combat. Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Udayanga Weeratunga, has worked out a programme for the team to not only visit Russia but also to Ukraine. In the latter country, the team is to discuss matters relating to the overhaul of some SLAF aircraft. Mr. Weeratunga is concurrently accredited to Ukraine as well. [Source: SundayTimes]
MiG-29's to intercept crop dusters? isnt that an over-kill? well what do i know...
the SA-16 sees only hear (IR radiation) so it doesnt care if its dark... just that the person handling the MANPADS must see the target...
how about some FIM-92 stingers? well its def more effective than the SA-16!
Mi-24 Hind Gunships
A Sri Lanka Air Force document on the need for immediate precautionary measures to counter potential Tiger guerrilla air threats, presented to the Ministry of Defence in 2005, noted that:
"Even if the radar coverage proposed is achieved, there can be no guarantee that a successful interception can be made owing to the absence of radar directed guns on ground and guided weapons on board Mi-24s. While early warning can be expected, being able to "shoot down" the enemy aircraft before it can accomplish its mission is another consideration. [Source: SundayTimes]
Spike ER
WHAT?? thats an anti-armor missile... check the global security article... well may be its cheap... Stingers are expensive... Rs 3.5 mil per missile!
"The SLAF has been attempting to procure the 'Spike ER' Guided missile system to enhance the combat effectiveness of the Mi-24 fleet. This weapons system is a guided weapon, where once it is initially aimed and fired, the missile can be guided to the "designated" target by the pilot. The weapon can also be used as a 'fire and forget' system where once fired it will automatically guide itself to the selected target.
"Expeditious procurement of this weapon for deployment on the Mi-24s will greatly increase the probability of these aircraft being able to secure a hit on an enemy aircraft and destroying it. Equipping the Mi-24 fleet with such 'guided weapons' will also enable the SLAF to engage other LTTE targets on land and sea as well, thereby giving the security forces a significant edge over the enemy. [Source: SundayTimes]
The reach of the Dandy is of 6-10km and the head of thermal search of high performance allows to use long-range engagement. The operator can make correction of trajectory with link of fiber-optics. The system of link for fiber optics allows that the launching aircraft to observe and to track the target through the on-board system and can dive and to look to covering after the launching in the way "goes off and brings up to date" while it continues guiding the missile from an occult position. [Source: GlobalSecurity.org]
Politics
This SLAF report went to the Ministry of Defence when President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was in office. Initially she had dismissed reports of the LTTE construction of an airstrip and acquisition of aircraft as attempts by the media to promote arms dealers to sell weapons that are more sophisticated. Hence, she did not show the same enthusiasm towards air defence as she did in attempting to procure large vessels for the Sri Lanka Navy. It is only after the United States helped identify one of the photographs obtained by a UAV of an aircraft on the ground as a Czech built Zlin Z-143 aircraft that she wrote to several heads of Governments but failed to heed the Air Force request for the guided missile system.
Air Force spokesman Wing Commander Ajantha de Silva also took part in a talk show of a private TV channel where he placed the blame on the media that led to the four successive air attacks by Tiger guerrillas in just one month. He dropped a bombshell when he declared men or women in his organization were corrupt for they sold information to the media for money. Now the loud mouthed spokesman, The Sunday Times learns is to face an inquiry that may lead to some action against him for bringing his own organization to ridicule and disrepute. [Source: SundayTimes]
