The two surface-to-surface missiles sheathed in a casing were designed for being activated through electronic devices and were of a first-generation vintage. However, the launcher to fire the missile was not recovered from the arms dump unearthed in the Jakharnaka jungles of the Machil LoC sector in Kupwara by the Army on Monday.

However, while the Army here has taken the missile recovery seriously, it has not pressed the alarm buttons. Says Brig (General Staff) A K Chopra, "The missiles could be meant for use against vehicles but it is to be seen as to how effective they would prove. For one, they are of probably Afghan war vintage and may have outlived their life,especially since have not been stored in required conditions. Also, only two launchers have been recovered and to fire off these missiles, special training is required."

Adds Brig Chopra, "No missile has yet been fired by militants in Kashmir."

"The missiles were very closely modelled on the Russian-made Fagot anti-tank missiles and had a range of between 2,000-2,500 m. The missile had a diameter of four inches and a length of 2.5 feet," said an Army officer at the 15 Corps HQs here.

The recovery of missiles assumes a potent threat in view of the Afghan militants operating in the State and the growing evidence of Pakistani Armymen boosting the ranks of the militants and lending militancy a professional touch. Two soldiers of the 8 Baluch were shot recently in the Poonch LoC sector while trying to infiltrate into India wearing civilian clothes.

The recovery on Monday of two anti-tank missiles follows the seizure of a surface-to-air (SAM) missile by the 24 Rashtriya Rifles from the Pandodus forests onthe LoC in Kupwara district in September last. The BSF, too, had recovered an anti-aircraft missile from the LoC sector.

While the SAM missile has an effective range of 1,500 m, the anti-tank missiles can destroy heavy armour at a range of 2,000 m. "However, the person firing the missile has to fire from a minimum range of 1,500 m. Instead of tanks, the concrete structures of the security forces like HQs, ammunition dumps, fuel stores could be targetted by the missiles," an Army officer deployed in the Kupwara sector said.

Tuesday's recovery of two anti-tank missiles is of the same vintage and origin of the three anti-tank missiles recovered by the 8 Mountain Division from the jungles of Handibehak in the Gurrez sector in April, 1998. That time the Army had also recovered a launcher to fire the missiles.

Anti-tank missiles have, however, been put to innovative use by both the armies in the warfare on the LoC and the Siachen Glacier. Laser-guided anti-tank missiles were sent zooming onto bunkers andCompany Commander posts on the LoC. The Pakistanis used third-generation US-made TOW and Green Arrow missiles to pierce through Indian fortifications.

In the Siachen glacier, Indian Army soldiers made tunnels through ice-ridges overlooking Pakistani positions. Fagot and Conqueror anti-tank missiles were fired from these tunnels to knock out Pakistani bunkers on the Northern Glacier while the missiles fired by the Pakistanis caused two Indian casualties on the Souther Glacier.

Besides the recovery of missiles and 82 mm, the Army and the police have recovered anti-aircraft guns from the Kupwara sector.