"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (4 Viewers)

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Two pictures that speak to the urgency of mine clearance needed in Ukraine.
One benefit of this war may be in the advancement of mine clearing tech and capabilities. Such advancement would be welcomed from Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan and Angola to the Falklands, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Detection methods under development
 
for MANPADS IFF is impractical from tactical standpoint - you have to spread your MODE4 and 5 daily codes through every soldier using it - how to keep it secret and effective than?
 
for MANPADS IFF is impractical from tactical standpoint - you have to spread your MODE4 and 5 daily codes through every soldier using it - how to keep it secret and effective than?
Which makes me ask why the UAF operator can't wait to verify his target before firing at just about anything flying past. Do the Ukranian infantry know that their side also has an Air Force?
 
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for MANPADS IFF is impractical from tactical standpoint - you have to spread your MODE4 and 5 daily codes through every soldier using it - how to keep it secret and effective than?

MANPADS were our biggest threat when we were in Iraq. We quickly learned that our countermeasures were ineffective against the IR missiles. We found our best defense was to fly fast and low. Blend in with the background, and change up our routes often.

As far as IFF is concerned We still changed our transponder codes every day, or if they were compromised, but this was mostly to ensure we were not shot down by our aircraft. Especially when flying near the Iranian border.
 
Depends on the altitude they are flying at. It may be hard to identify before its too late.
Then the lads with the MANPADS need a SOP/ROE that demands visual confirmation before shooting. If "too late" means a possible Russian fighter at HA has safely left the area, that's not bad day for the UAF. Killing a friendly though… not so much.

Something like step one below.



 
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What if its on its way to the target?
 

I'm well aware of how a MANPAD is supposed to be fired. I have had a suspected one fired at my aircraft, and others in my unit had confirmed ones. The point was that often these target aircraft are flying at high speed and high altitude where visual identification may not be so easy.
 
If "what if" combined with neglect of target identification is the Ukrainian army SOP/ROE for MANPADS, the Ukrainian Air Force had better not leave the tarmac.

If the Ukrainian air force is not flying, then requiring positive ID only slows down the missileer.

Another thought that occurs to me: when --not if, when -- the Russians learn this RoE, they can adjust tactics to provide the defenders even less time for visual IFF. 350 kts doesn't sound fast but at 200' AGL the defenders will have much less time to track and ID the incoming.
 

Most MANPADS are IR weapons anyhow and require visual identification.
 

If the aircraft is hugging the ground then you may well have under ten seconds from first indication that it it coming until it has passed you.
 

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