Thursday, April 30, 2009

Anti Aircraft in Afghanistan

Over at the Captain Journal Taliban AA capabilities are being discussed. The SA-7 is not a very effective weapon but was used against trucks during the Soviet Afghan War. The SA-14 is better but has been replaced in Russian service.
The KPV 14.5mm MG is a formidable piece of hardware effective against helicopters, light armor, and low flying aircraft. According to the strategy page the U.S. recently destroyed some trucks carrying 14.5 mm MG.
I would get very worried if we start seeing 23mm cannons pop up. These are not great for insurgency warfare as they are heavy but for guarding bases and training camps these would be very handy and would chew up helicoptors, most light armored vehicles, and were hell on low flying aircraft in the ZSU-4 radar guided form in Vietnam and during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. something to keep an eye on.

No comments: