the infrared optic, then to the operator. Detonation is either by proximity or contact fuse. In emergencies, the operator can end an engagement by 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. 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". During the conflict, British forces fired 95 missiles, of which approximately half suffered failures of various kinds, and only nine managed to destroy their targets and all of these were slow flying planes and helicopters. A later report determined that only one kill could be attributed with certainty to Blowpipe, that of an Argentine Navy Aermacchi MB-339 (0766 (4-A-114)) during the Battle of Goose Green on May 28. Blowpipe was also used on the Argentine side, with one British Harrier GR3 (XZ972) being claimed by Argentine Army 601 Commando Company, though the pilot believed he was hit by anti-aircraft guns. 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. Its poor performance led to it being withdrawn from British service. In 1986, some of the mothballed units were sent clandestinely to equip the Mujahideen whom Britain was supporting, 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 acknowledgement of Western support for the Mujahideen. Blowpipe missile systems were still being found in weapon caches as recently as May 2012 in Afghanistan. The Canadian military took Blowpipe from storage to provide protection for their naval contribution to the 1991 Gulf War, although age had degraded the weapons, and nine out of 27 missiles tested misfired. The Javelin GL, which was backward compatible to the Blowpipe, was then hastily purchased as a replacement. Blowpipe saw use