S. Korean Unit Off Somalia Gets New Guidelines

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) has ordered its naval unit operating in Somali littoral waters not to conduct close-range helicopter operations against pirates' boats until missile countermeasure devices are attached to the unit's Lynx helicopter, JCS officials said Sunday.The move comes as procedures to arm the helicopter with anti-aircraft missile protection equipment and sensors have been delayed, they said.``New operational guidelines for the Cheonghae unit have been drawn up and have been distributed,'' a JCS official said, asking not to be named.Concerns have grown over the unit's operational safety since The Korea Times reported last month that the Combined Forces Command in Seoul had notified South Korea's Ministry of National Defense and JCS of intelligence that Somali pirates were presumed to have obtained U.S.-made Stinger surface-to-air missile systems from al-Qaida.The Stinger is a personal portable infrared homing missile that entered into service in 1981. The shoulder-launched weapon has to date been responsible for downing 270 aircraft. The missile can hit targets flying as high as 4.8 kilometers above ground and travels at a speed of around Mach 2.The unit's only Lynx helicopter, however, is vulnerable to any anti-aircraft guided missile attacks because it has no missile protection systems, such as flare dispensers and radar warning receivers...more..http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/06/205_46823.html