h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

right, so basicly, you are a sub-saharan dictator, who has kept his population in the stone-age for the last couple of decades.
But due to hyper-inflation, some dodgy dealings and a small spat with the USA. you find you are at war with the greatst military power the world has seen.
You need to give the outward impression of being able to defennd your country against the imperialist mite of the western satan, but you cant afford the military hardware. What DO you do?
the answer is roaming in front of you, and some basic biological knowledge will see you right.
the primary american strike force is there low level carpet bombers, if you take them out, the casualties back home will turn the american media and public in your favour. But... i hear you say, how do we shoot down these aircraft? we have no cash for partiot missiles, we cant afford any missile defence system.

the answer is simple, all those giraffes you have roaming your plains and deserts. they are your defence. It is a little known fact that giraffes have an enormously high blood pressure ( higher than a german buisnessmans after three days of fried food followed by a marathon in a volcanic sauna. it is also little known, that the things which resemble ears on a giraffes head are not actually ears, but a biolo-naturelle quick release system.
this system evolved over many years to facilitate the changing of tounges amungst the sexually imature varieties of then sub saharan africa. but in the modern context, with a slight, painless, modification. the ear/ release machanism can be used to sever the head from the neck of the giraffe. the high blood pressure then results in the firing of giraffes head into the atmosphere. if an american jet is directly in the path of the head, the plane will be forced to land, rendering it unuseable.

as an adendum, it is now possible to buy a linux update to the giraffe, this is simple to install and increases range and reliability.