Tigers acquire SAMS - Jane's

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 April 1999, 09:07 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers have "substantially boosted" their anti aircraft capability by acquiring Russian-made portable missiles according to Jane's Defence Weekly, citing "Asian-based intelligence" sources.

A Russian soldier with SA-16

"The LTTE ...has acquired a quantity of Igla manportable air-defence systems," said JDW in the issue dated 7 April 1999.

The 'Igla' ('Needle' in Russian) is a shoulder-launched, surface to air missile (SAM) that uses infrared (IR) homing technology.

It is believed to have a ceiling of 3.5kms, and a range of 5kms. It is officially designated as the SA-16.

The Sri Lankan military has said in the past that the LTTE had acquired missiles, but said these were US-made Stingers.