Boundless Possibilities

After Russian forces entered Afghanistan in December 1979, a constant war broke out between them and the Afghan Mujahideen. The Mujahideen only had ground forces, while the Russians used helicopters to fly over and bomb their positions. This was a very difficult situation. The Mujahideen tried to shoot down the planes with guns, but bullets travel in a straight line. Hitting something moving so fast in the air was nearly impossible. Despite their efforts, the Mujahideen could not bring down many Russian bombers. At that point, America supplied the Mujahideen with a modern anti-aircraft missile known as the Stinger. With it, the Mujahideen gained clear superiority over Russian bombers. Whenever they spotted a Russian plane, they would fire a Stinger. The missile would chase and eventually strike the aircraft, because unlike a bullet, the Stinger doesn’t fly straight. It changes direction in pursuit of the plane until it hits its target. Earlier, the Mujahideen were on the defensive, but now the Russian air force was forced into defense. Yet this world is full of possibilities— no invention rules out the chance of a bigger one. Soon the Russians discovered a way to counter the Stinger, which they called flare fishing. They found out that the Stinger works by chasing heat. Since the hottest part of a plane is its engine, the missile locks on to it and destroys the aircraft.