Black Market Prices for Man-portable Air Defense Systems

1 Black Market Prices for Man-portable Air Defense Systems June 2010. Matt Schroeder, Federation of American Scientists Matt Buongiorno, Scoville Fellow Prices of Black Market MANPADS. 1990-2010. Time Missile Price Location Source Notes Frame Missiles were reportedly stolen from Peruvian military arsenals from May 2008 through an unspecified date in 2009 and sold to an Miami Herald, Ecuadorean accused of buying weapons for 2008-2009 Strelas and Iglas $45,000/ unit Peru/Colombia 1. 2/16/2010. Colombian rebels. Media summaries of court documents do not identify the specific models of the diverted missiles or indicate whether the traffickers paid more for Iglas than Strelas.

2 Small Wars Unspecified $15,000- Unspecified Unspecified Journal, Source of price data not identified. MANPADS $20,000/ unit 2. 7/19/ 2007. Price range for SA series missiles provided by Peyotr Litavrin, Department for Security Affairs Russian Russian $2,000-$3,000 and Disarmament, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Unspecified Unspecified Government, MANPADS to $25,000/ unit 3 Russia, at an OAS conference in Washington, DC. 3/8/2007. The $25,000 estimate was for the most sophisticated, modern type of Iglas.. Estimate for a first generation Russian-made Australian SA-7 on the Black Market provided in a speech by Unspecified SA-7 $5,000/ unit Unspecified Government, 4 Alexander Downer, Australia's Minister for Foreign 1/18/2007.

3 Affairs. Alleged Toronto arms trafficker reportedly told Canadian interrogators that someone offered to sell him Russian-made Igla anti-aircraft missiles . for $1,000 apiece. According to a media summary National Post, Unspecified Igla $5,000/ unit Unspecified 5 of the interrogation transcript, the alleged 11/2/2006. trafficker replied If you bring them for a thousand dollars, I will sell them for five and give you two and a half thousand. He reportedly said that he would sell them to al Qaeda. During a recorded conversation between US Court undercover US agents and three LTTE.

4 6. 2006 SA-7 $10,000/ unit Sri Lanka document, sympathizers, one of the sympathizers claimed 7. 8/19/2006 that the LTTE pays ten grand or something for its SA-7 missiles. 1. During a recorded conversation between undercover US agents and three LTTE. sympathizers, one of the sympathizers identifies US Court 8 $60,000 as the Market price for SA-18. 2006 SA-18 $60,000/ unit Unspecified document, 9 MANPADS. While it is unclear whether the 8/19/2006. reference was to legal or Black Market sales, the context suggests he was referring to Black Market sales. During an undercover operation in 2006, three LTTE sympathizers and undercover agents eventually settled on a price of $800,000 for 10.

5 $80,000 US Court SA-18 launchers and 20 missiles, and $25,000 for 2006 SA-18 (launcher and 2 US/Sri Lanka document, 10 two weeks of training in Sri Lanka. According to missiles) 8/19/2006. US court documents, the sympathizers were working directly with high-level LTTE officials and had been authorized to make the deal. San Gabriel According to media reports, Chao Tung Wu 11 China/United Valley offered to sell 200 QW-2 missiles with ground 2005 QW-2 $91,500/ unit States Tribune, energy unit , firing unit \optical aiming devices to 12. 4/20/2006 undercover agents for $ million.

6 Unspecified as little as Cato Institute, Appears to be taken from a 2004 Report by the Unspecified Unspecified 13. MANPADS $5,000 / unit 4/19/2005 RAND Corporation First as little as generation SA- $ as CREATE, General reference. Source of price data not Unspecified Unspecified 14. 7/ advanced much as 4/14/2005 identified. SA-18 $125,000 / unit Price reportedly paid for an SA-7 by air- conditioner repairman, who was later arrested Associated and convicted. The seller of the missile reportedly 2005 SA-7 $45,000/ unit Nicaragua Press, 15 made $38,000 on the deal, which, if accurate, 2/25/2005.

7 Would mean that the seller paid $7,000 for the 16. missile. Government Less than $1000. Unspecified Accountability General reference. Source of price data not Unspecified to Unspecified MANPADS Office, identified. $100,000/ unit 17. 5/2004. [T]ypical Black Market cost of MANPADS , US. Unspecified $5000 to according to a US delegate to the Fifth Regular Unspecified Unspecified Government, MANPADS $30,000/ unit 18 Session of the Inter-American Committee Against 2/16/2005. Terrorism. US government agents reportedly paid former The 19 Somali official Hussein Aideed $500,000 for 41.

8 2003 Strela-2 ~$12,000/ unit Somalia Economist, 21. 20 Strela-2 missiles provided to him by Eritrea in 4/3/2004. 1998. Yemen, Syria, Washington as much as Unspecified SA-7 Northern Times, Source of price data not identified. $5,000 22. Pakistan 10/13/2003. Jane's Missiles Unspecified As little as General reference. Source of price data not Unspecified Unspecified & Rockets, MANPADS $2000/ unit 23 identified. 9/1/2003. Price for an Igla, current production or a few years old, provided by an unidentified Eastern European arms broker to a retired American Los Angeles US/Eastern intelligence officer during a media interview.

9 The 2003 Igla $62,000/ unit Times, Europe 24 broker knew that the intelligence officer was not a 3/6/2003. terrorist but, according to the officer, this guy would sell his mother, suggesting that he would sell the same missile on the Black Market . 2. Price is based on a 1996 quote from Elmet Engineering in Bulgaria reportedly obtained by the Los Angeles Los Angeles Times. The price for the older 2003 (1996) older Strela $10,800/ unit Bulgaria Times, Russian-made Stela missile was $7,400 and the 25. 3/6/2003 price for the launcher was $3,400. The broker who provided the quote claimed that the estimate is still roughly accurate for covert deals in 2003.

10 Price is based on a 1996 quote from Elmet Engineering in Bulgaria reportedly obtained by the Los Angeles Los Angeles Times. The price for the newer- newer-model . 2003 (1996) $31,850/ unit Bulgaria Times, model Strela missile was $22,700 and the price Strela 26. 3/6/2003 for the launcher was $9,150. The broker who provided the quote claimed that the estimate is still roughly accurate for covert deals in 2003. Money transferred to Hemant Lakhani by government agents as part of an undercover operation in 2002-2003. Given Lakhani's apparent US Court 27 lack of experience in arms trafficking and that 2002-2003 Igla-S $86,500/ unit Russia/US documents, 28 nearly the entire operation was orchestrated by 8/11/2003.