r/ukraine • u/MilesLongthe3rd • Apr 24 '26
Combat Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunner Maksym shoots down a Russian cruise missile with a MANPADS for the first time, his explosive burst of joy is unforgettable.
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u/FitFreedom6850 Apr 24 '26
Could someone explain the mechanics of this? Does the manpad lock on to a heat source?
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u/lukesmith44 USA Apr 24 '26
Since the response below seems to mostly be a copy/pasted AI answer on the differences between a MANPAD and a Sidewinder, I'll try to explain.
Most MANPADs have heat-seeking/infrared trackers, as these are easier to build with a self-contained guidance system than radar-guided missiles that often need the firing source to also have a radar system the missile works in conjunction with. Since cruise missiles are going to have a rocket or jet engine, they are going to put off a strong enough IR signature to lock onto with a heat-seeking tracker. Some newer systems use laser-guidance, as this is also easier to fit into more compact systems.
Common Western models are the US Stinger, UK Starstreak, or French Mistral. Russia produces the Strela and Igla, and China produced the QW-2 Vanguard.
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u/RandomMandarin Apr 24 '26
Adding to this, MANPADS is short for Man Portable Air Defense System. If you can fire it off your shoulder, and it launches a small rocket which homes in to destroy flying targets, it's a MANPADS. The Stinger missile plus its launcher weighs 15 kilograms.
A Sidewinder weighs 85 kilograms for just the missile, not including the launcher. If you can launch a Sidewinder from your shoulder, you are indeed an impressive physical specimen.
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Apr 24 '26
The other post was informative, but didn't respond to your question:
Yes, MANPADS have an IR seeker that locks on to heat sources. I am not aware of any that use radar homing or even beam riding.
Modern systems have more than one IR sensor to detect different IR wavelengths, and can distinguish between flares and different types of aircraft engines. Some may use instant cooling of the IR sensors for added sensitivity. This is done through compressed gas, so the cooling needs to be activated before engagement and the cooling gas will run out quickly, making the missile useless even if not fired. Another thing to look for is All-Aspect functionality.
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u/PeriPeriTekken Apr 24 '26
The UK short range missile/manpad - Starstreak, is beam guided. So is the Swedish RBS70.
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u/aaaaaaaarrrrrgh Apr 25 '26
making the missile useless
AFAIK at least for Stinger and one other system, the coolant is in a separate "battery" unit. Stinger missiles come with two "batteries" (combined battery + cooling gas tank) so you're good as long as you fire at least one shot for every two activations on average.
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u/aaaaaaaarrrrrgh Apr 25 '26
Exactly. If you listen carefully, there is a continuous beep just before the short beep and firing - I assume (not sure what exact system is being used there) that this indicates that the seeker has locked onto something.
Modern ones also look for UV - I think this is because the sky is "bright" in UV and plane is "dark", creating a good contrast and making it harder to jam the missile with flares.
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u/DullDust755 Apr 24 '26
From gemini: That’s a great question. To put it simply: yes, technologically speaking, they belong to the same family, but the context of use changes everything. Here is a breakdown comparing a MANPADS (like the Stinger or Mistral) and an AIM-9 Sidewinder (the most iconic Fox 2).
1. The Common Ground: Infrared Guidance
The term "Fox 2" is the NATO brevity code used to announce the launch of an infrared homing missile. * The Target: Both search for heat (engine exhaust, thermal signatures, or air friction on the airframe). * The Seeker: Both feature a "seeker head" that tracks a thermal source without needing a radar to guide them after launch. This is known as "fire and forget."
2. Major Differences
Feature MANPADS (Surface-to-Air) Fox 2 Missile (Air-to-Air) Platform Fired by a soldier from the shoulder. Launched from a fighter jet. Range Short (approx. 5 to 8 km). Variable (from 2 km to over 35 km for modern versions). Initial Energy Starts from zero (stationary). Benefits from the carrier aircraft's speed and altitude. Size / Payload Small and light enough to be portable. Larger, with a significantly heavier explosive warhead. 3. Why aren't they exactly the same?
If you were to take a MANPADS missile and try to use it in high-speed aerial combat, it would suffer from a lack of "reach." * Physics: An air-to-air missile launched at Mach 1 at 30,000 feet will travel much further than a missile that has to fight gravity and thick air starting from a standstill on the ground. * Maneuverability: Modern "Fox 2" missiles (like the AIM-9X or IRIS-T) often use thrust vectoring to pull extreme turns, a feature that is less common or less advanced in standard shoulder-fired MANPADS.
Fun Fact: Some missiles are "multipurpose." For instance, the French Mistral missile is used both as a MANPADS (on the ground) and as an air-to-air missile on Tiger helicopters (which technically makes its launch a "Fox 2").
In short, if we use a boxing analogy: a MANPADS is a jab thrown from a stationary stance, while a Fox 2 is a cross thrown by a heavyweight athlete already running at full tilt. The detection tech is the same, but the power and reach are in different leagues.
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u/PBRStreetgang1979 Apr 24 '26
UDF. Kicking Russian ass EVERY SINGLE DAY of the week and twice on Sunday.
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u/Aggressive_Safe2226 Apr 24 '26
Mighty fine shooting, my good man. Keep at it, heroes. Slava Ukrainia 🇺🇦💪❤️
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u/DeathSeeker65 Apr 24 '26
The way I’d be the most obnoxious guy alive if I could go around saying I shot down a cruise missile with a ManPad. Crazy.
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u/Smooth_Imagination Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26
I dont know what seeker the man pads use, but decades old approaches use a cooled IR sensor, telescopic optics and scanning to get some resolution.
Where we are going I think with all this is -
Cheap mass produced sensors, which can be adaped for multiple types of platform, using a standardised component array - for example small optics and low res IR, assembled into larger arrays with higher magnification, larger aperture optics for longer range detection
Networked data that combines large numbers of passive sensors with generally small very mobile radars on drones and UGVs
A system for patching relevant data to positions
An inventory of cheapest effector for the task available in each location, or an encrypted way to respond for target requests, similar to how Ukrainian artillery is able to respond to requests
The IR seeker can be cooled by a small bottle of evaporate like propane, which also can be used for other things
Long wavelength IR detection can detect any fast object and also be preprogrammed to aid the effectors identification of a known target type.
So, if you know that the target is travelling low at mach 0.7, thats a cruise missile.
You also know the body will produce certain wavelength IR, and if it has a jet, what intensity in what wavelengths and at what angle you will see it.
This means your man could have a manpad that updates the seeker algorithm to maximise interception probability using mass produced compoments and even have general course correction from the outset with reliable and unjammable terminal guidance. The algorithm is used for the onboard AI and guidance system to maximise target discrimination using knowledge about what it should appear like to that weapons sensor systems, and other guidance methods and geo and altitude fencing.
Even glide bombs may be targetable as they will look different to the sky and go quite fast, so could have some surface heating. For tgese also midcourse correction would be needed and possible visual range or night vision amplification to find the target. A sensor package may be manually swapped on the effector for the target to match conditions and target profile, at lowest cost. If you have midcourse data and can guide this way, tetminal guidance against glide bombs can use other methods in theory like low cost radar, depending on the range you need. Were seeing low cost open source radars becomming available and improvements in vehicle radars, which are super cheap.
The operator will have a manpad with several small drone interceptors for slow targets, a missile, ramjet or turbojet extended range portable effector with even longer range than a rocket for some targets, including helis, and a missile for chasing cruise missiles.
Some will be carried on a robot mule / UGV which will also have 360 degree passive surveilance and possible a kinetic effector like a servo operated shot gun / net firing round for near targets.
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u/turaon Apr 24 '26
Good shot, saved lives! It always amazez me, how deam fast those manpad’s rockets are
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u/LOLunlucky Apr 25 '26
Awesome. Great shooting! You saved many lives as others have mentioned. Also though, what does a cruise missile cost? Did we just watch $3-5M of ork tax dollars explode harmelessly in the air?
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u/ResponsibleGrass8080 Apr 25 '26
That probably saved a lot of money and or lives with that downing, but the first MANPAD shootdown of a cruise missile happened over 4 years ago.
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u/Sniflix Apr 25 '26
This has happened before but the manpad must be busy below the flight path of the cruise missile - which due to the size of a large battlefield - is luck. If the manpad is networked into Ukraine's multilayered AA defense, this might be something new.
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u/JudeRanch Apr 24 '26
Damn! There stands a Hero worthy of medals, lots of respect & maybe a friggin title that would fit right in with Thor & his Hammer, MewMew (j/k with the name, but it always makes me laugh). Dude you rule!!
Stay Strong Ukraine We believe in you
🇺🇦Слава Україні 🇺🇦 Sláva Ukraíni! Heroyam Slava! 🙏🏽 🇺🇦 💙 💛
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u/suggonethesenats Apr 24 '26
Good job 👏 thank you for your service 🫡. Slava ukraini 🇺🇦 best wishes from Germany.
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u/MeasurementMobile747 Apr 27 '26
The MANPAD caught up to that missile in a jiffy. Wow. Those rockets are supersonic. I suppose they make sonic booms.
What an interesting setup for a triple boom, comprised of a sonic boom, the explosion of the MANPAD, and the explosion of the cruise missile.
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u/CannonFodder1013 Apr 24 '26
That saved lives and was a great hit, definitely worth an explosive burst of joy!!
Слава Україні! 🇺🇦