Libya under Moammar Gadhafi had more man-portable air-defense systems (Manpads) than any other country, excluding those that produce the missiles. The collapse of the regime has Western officials scrambling to figure out what to do with potentially tens of thousands of surface-to-air missiles, including Manpads, which in many cases are unguarded and unsecured, and could pose a threat to civil aviation if they fall into the wrong hands. The biggest concern is the Russian SA-7B Grail. Human Rights Watch says its employees have viewed unsecured arms caches, including one with at least 20 SA-7s and over two dozen SA-24s, advanced Russian Manpads missiles. In Libya there is good data on the types and origins of the Manpads, says Matthew Schroeder, director of the Arms Sales Monitoring Project at the Federation of American Scientists in Washington. "We've got photos with markings on the missiles and crates," which have emerged from Libya in recent weeks. "It's easy to tell what model they are." The U.S. State Department has allocated $30 million to help secure Libya's arsenal and dedicated 15 personnel to track down the missing weapons.
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