When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the world last month, \u201cI need ammunition, not a ride,\u201d the ammo he especially wanted was anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles. Since then, countries around the world have energetically responded, sending shipments that include Javelin anti-tank missiles and Strela anti-aircraft missiles.<\/p>\n
Brock University Associate Professor of Operations Research Michael Armstrong says Zelenskyy\u2019s request, and the international response, reflect how these missiles are particularly effective for defensive fighting and \u201casymmetric\u201d warfare.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe missiles are primarily defensive because the technology works best when used by stationary infantry against targets moving nearby,\u201d says Armstrong, a faculty member with Brock\u2019s Goodman School of Business whose research has examined naval missile warfare and Israel\u2019s Iron Dome rocket interceptor systems.<\/p>\n
He says some of the smaller versions resemble Second World War bazookas. Soldiers might fire the anti-tank missiles at vehicles driving past them along a road, and the anti-aircraft missiles at jet fighters flying overhead.<\/p>\n
Armstrong says this feature makes it more politically acceptable for governments to send the weapons to Ukraine, which is receiving shipments from NATO members such as Canada<\/a>, Germany and the U.S., as well as traditionally neutral countries such as Sweden.<\/p>\n \u201cThese small missiles are also well-suited to asymmetric situations, where one side is much weaker than their opponent,\u201d he says. \u201cThey are relatively cheap but can destroy tanks and aircraft costing millions of dollars more.\u201d<\/p>\n This allows Ukraine to counter Russia’s large military hardware advantage and make the odds slightly less uneven. Reports suggest Ukraine is using the weapons very effectively.<\/p>\n