Honey Bee

Dual-Detector Seeker Missile Honey Bee SAM-81
Origin	United States
Type	Man-portable surface-to-air missile
Production and service
Used by	Mujahideen (Hamid)
Conflicts	Phantom Pain Incident

The Honey Bee, full designation Dual-Detector Seeker Missile Honey Bee SAM-81 was the codename for a top-secret American-made high-tech homing missile launcher that had been supplied to the Pakistani-originated Hamid faction of the Mujahideen rebel group via the CIA supplying it to the ISI as a means to shoot down the HP-48 Krokodils used by the Soviets. The weapon had been used often enough that the Hamid soldiers had successfully managed to wipe out several Soviets in the region with it. The Honey Bee was a cut above regular MANPADs, as its targeting system could detect both various infrared spectrums and even ultraviolet wavelengths as supplementary guidance, hence its codename (since its namesake required UV light for flight), which also made flares useless against the missile. However, after the Hamids, save for one who was mute, were wiped out under mysterious circumstances, the CIA was concerned with the Soviets potentially discovering the weapon system, and thus drastically altering the war in the Soviets' favor. As the CIA could not risk getting the weapon back themselves without exposing American involvement in the war, they instead hired the private force Diamond Dogs to retrieve it for them, also specifically requesting that all of its ammunition remained intact.

The Soviets also heard of the weapon, and attempted to retrieve it for themselves, which the CIA feared when they learned of the Hamid group being wiped out. When finding the Hamid survivor, they brutally interrogated him via beatings and waterboarding via a canteen to find the location of the Honey Bee, with it also being implied that their brutal interrogation had been partially done out of revenge for the losses incurred on their own forces by the Honey Bee, and initially thought he faked being mute, although after interrogating him long enough, they deduced he really was mute, and due to binding his hands earlier and thus leaving him unable to write down the location, they forced him to physically lead them to its location.

The Diamond Dogs barely managed to succeed in their mission due to an unexpected encounter with XOF leader Skull Face, a walking giant, and the Parasite Unit at Da Smasei Laman, and proceeded to return the weapon to the CIA. However, before they did so, the Diamond Dogs' R&D Team illicitly analyzed the weapon, and did so with enough efficiency that after taking it apart and analyzing its components, they then put it back together in such a way that it seemed as though it was never even dismantled to begin with, thus allowing them to technically keep their word about giving it back to them intact. Miller and Ocelot later speculated that part of the reason the CIA wanted it back badly was not just the Soviets, who were the more immediate threat, but also the destabilization of the Middle East as a whole, which would have put American fighter jets at risk in the future even if the Soviets didn't discover the weapon, with Iran being listed as a possible threat. The research made to the weapon was ultimately responsible for the creation of the Killer Bee MANPADs system.

Behind the scenes

The Honey Bee is the central weapon for the mission "Where Do the Bees Sleep" in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. If the player fails to reach the Honey Bee in time, a sequence of events will follow: If the player fails to rescue Silent Basilisk before he leads the Soviets right to the Honey Bee, the Soviet soldiers will find the Honey Bee after smashing a crate, then drag it out, and then interrogate him to find out if it is indeed the Honey Bee. After confirming it, they then have him face away before summarily executing the POW by shooting him in the back before reporting in to base. Miller will also note his death, and upon the Soviets' report being delivered, Miller will warn Snake about the soldiers trying to deliver it to the landing zone. If the player does nothing and/or uses a Phantom Cigar, they will then be treated to a cutscene where the Soviets are seen loading the Honey Bee container into a HP-48 Krokodil that was alluded to earlier with it flying off, as Miller curses under his breath upon Snake seeing it being loaded before changing to the game over screen.

The player can use the Honey Bee during the fight with the Skulls late into the mission, with Ocelot even suggesting that the player do so, although it will result in points being docked from the final mission score afterward. If the player chose to do so, Miller will call in and note in a slightly disappointed tone that they lost their chance at a bonus.

The Honey Bee, due to it only being necessary for the mission, cannot actually be accessed on the Mother Base R&D menu, although a description for the weapon is included while on the field with it during the mission.

It serves as a replacement for the FIM-92 Stinger of the previous games. Apart from the similar shape and performance, the Stinger had an analogous history to the Honey Bee during the Soviet-Afghan War. The name is a double pun, both on the "Stinger" name and the fact that it uses a dual IR and UV seeker, which is a feature added to the FIM-92B variant of the Stinger.