Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov signed the United States - Russia
Arrangement on Cooperation in Enhancing Control of Man-Portable Air
Defense Systems (MANPADS) in Bratislava, Slovakia today. This Arrangement
provides a bilateral framework for cooperation in the control of
shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles that can threaten global aviation if
obtained by criminals, terrorists and other non-state actors. One goal of
this Arrangement is to facilitate the destruction of MANPADS that are
obsolete or otherwise in excess of legitimate defense requirements. This
Arrangement also will allow the two countries to share information about
MANPADS sales and transfers to third countries.
Key elements of this Arrangement include:
• Mutual assistance in destroying excess and
obsolete MANPADS through an exchange of information on the methods and
means of destroying them as well as through the provision of technical and
financial assistance in carrying out their destruction.
• The exchange of information on controlling
MANPADS, including improving measures to enhance physical security and the
taking of inventory, and control during the production, safeguarding,
transfer, and destruction of MANPADS and individual components thereof.
• Further mutual coordination on preventing the
global proliferation of MANPADS.
This Arrangement represents a significant step
forward in our strategy to coordinate efforts in countering the global
proliferation of MANPADS. It serves as an example of what the United
States and Russia can accomplish by working together on such vital issues.
What are MANPADS?
Man-portable
air defense systems (MANPADS), commonly described as shoulder-fired
anti-aircraft missiles, are surface-to-air missile systems designed to be
man-portable and fired by a single individual; and other surface-to-air
missile systems designed to be operated and fired by more than one
individual acting as a crew and portable by several individuals (as
defined in the Wassenaar Arrangement.)
What threat do MANPADS pose?
The possession of MANPADS in the hands of criminals, terrorists, and
other non-state actors poses a serious threat to passenger air travel, the
global commercial aviation industry and military aircraft. The United
States recognized the emergence of this threat beginning in the 1980s and
has been working with other countries and international organizations to
mitigate it.
How many MANPADS are available in the
world?
We believe that approximately one million may have been
produced worldwide, with a much smaller amount (numbering in the
thousands) currently in the hands of non-state actors.
What is the U.S. doing against the
threat of MANPADS?
Preventing the proliferation of MANPADS and
their availability to criminals and terrorists is a top national security
priority of the United States.
The U.S. Government provides assistance to
other countries to either destroy the stocks of MANPADS that are not
needed for their defense, or to better secure their stockpiles. To date we
have destroyed or disabled over 10,500 MANPADS in 12 countries.
The U.S. Government also works within
multilateral fora to strengthen controls on the import and export of
MANPADS needed for legitimate defense. Mechanisms include the U.S.
participation in the Wassenaar Arrangement, a nonproliferation regime that
promotes transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of
conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, and our support for
United Nations, NATO, and OSCE initiatives to control arms and munitions.
This new Arrangement will complement our ongoing efforts under those
initiatives.
The U.S Government has also initiated a program
that could lead to the installation of countermeasures on commercial
aircraft.
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