Blowpipe ( missile ) The Shorts Blowpipe is a man - portable surface - to - air missile ( MANPADS ) which was in use with the British Army and Royal Marines from 1975 . It was superseded by an interim design , Javelin , and later the greatly improved Starstreak missile . Description . The missile is shipped as a single round in a storage cylinder / firing tube . The aiming unit is clipped to the launch tube and fired from the operator ' s shoulder . To reduce the overall size of the container , the rear fins of the missile are stored in the larger diameter cylinder at the front of the tube ( this also contains the Yagi antenna for transmitting guidance signals ) ; during firing the fins slip onto the rear of the missile as it flies through and are held there by heat - activated adhesive tapes . This gives the launch container a unique shape , seemingly oversized at the front and extremely thin at the rear . The missile is powered by a short duration solid rocket for launch , then by a main sustainer rocket once it is well clear of the launch tube . Guidance of the Blowpipe is initially semi - automatic with the missile gathered to the centre of the sight ' s crosshairs by the infrared optic atop the aiming unit . Two to three seconds after launch , missile guidance is switched to fully MCLOS mode , and the operator regains full control of the missile . The operator has to steer the missile all the way to its target manually via a small thumb joystick . The operator can opt not to use autogathering when engaging low flying targets such as helicopters , but then has to super - elevate the launcher to ensure the missile does not hit the ground . Four flares in the tail of the missile make it visible in flight , first to the infrared optic , then to the operator . Detonation is either by proximity or contact fuse . In emergencies , the operator can end an engagement by the operator shutting off the power to the transmitter with the system switch , after which the missile will immediately self - destruct . The aiming unit can then be removed from the empty missile container and fitted to a new round . Blowpipe was developed as a SAM for submarine s , fitted as a cluster of four missiles into a mast that could be raised from the submarine ' s conning tower under the name Submarine Launched Airflight Missile ( SLAM ) trialled on HMS " Aeneas " ( P427 ) in 1972 . These were for a time installed on Israeli " Gal " class submarines . Combat performance . Blowpipe was used by both sides during the Falklands War in 1982 . With the targets being fast flying aircraft , flying low and using the ground to hide their approach the Blowpipe operator had about 20 seconds to spot the target , align the unit and fire . Brigadier Julian Thompson compared using the weapon to " trying to shoot pheasants with a drainpipe . " The official report stated that of the 95 missiles fired by the British , only 9 managed to destroy their targets and all of these were slow flying planes and helicopters . A later report determined that only two kills could be attributed to Blowpipe : A British Harrier GR3 ( XZ972 ) attacked by Argentine Army special forces ( Commandos Company ) , and an Argentine Aermacchi MB - 339 ( 0766 ( 4 - A - 114 ) ) during the Battle of Goose Green . Blowpipe was found to be particularly ineffective when used to engage a crossing target or to chase a target moving rapidly away from the operator . The poor performance led to it being withdrawn from UK service . In 1986 some of the mothballed units were sent clandestinely to equip the Mujahideen fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan . The system again proved ineffective , and was eventually supplanted by the US Stinger missile . While Blowpipe was available on the international arms market and therefore its origins were open to speculation , the Stinger was restricted , which at the time indicated a more open acknowledgment of Western support for the Mujahideen . Blowpipe missile systems are still being found in weapon caches as recently as May 2012 in Afghanistan . The Canadian military took Blowpipe from storage to give some protection to their naval contribution to the 1991 Gulf war , although sheer age had degraded the weapons , and nine out of 27 missiles tested misfired in some way . Blowpipe saw more effective use in the Cenepa War of 1995 between Ecuador and Peru , where it was deployed mainly against Mil Mi - 17 and Mil Mi - 18 Peruvian helicopters . Replacement . Blowpipe was replaced by the Javelin surface - to - air missile , which was of a generally similar design but improved in performance and with a semi - automatic guidance system ( SACLOS ) – the operator now controls the missile by keeping the target in his sight , and the aiming unit steers the missile to remain centered in the sight . The basic Javelin missile body was retained in the Starburst surface - to - air missile , but the guidance system was further improved to a self - contained system in the missile itself . Unlike the Javelin where the guidance is calculated in the controller unit and sent to the missile via radio , in Starburst a laser in the control unit " paints " the target , and the missile passively guides itself to intercept the laser . This renders it largely immune to any possible jamming . Starburst was used only briefly , before being replaced by Starstreak . Starstreak uses the same beam - riding concept of Starburst , but dramatically improves the missile and warhead . In Starstreak the missile quickly accelerates to Mach 3 . 5 , then separates to release three dart - like interceptors . Each dart is independently guided by riding the laser beam , thus improving the chances of a hit . The darts are also effective against armour .