Yuzu wrote:
It's not the reporter that's making those assumptions. It is the director of the Royal United Services Institute, a British defence and security think tank. So he should know what he's talking about.
It's easy to say anything is too hard to use. It'd be harder to employ MANPADs against lower flying aircraft than something like Buk, and the rebels have shown to be able to use them just fine (even at the limits of its flight ceiling; there's a video of them figuring out how much to lead and loft in one of the videos they've released on their second shot after the first fell short, which shows knowledge).
But, with the manual and average intelligence, you can work it out. It'd be no harder than learning something like "SAM SIM".
It might not have even been the Buk system. The older SA-6 Gainful [and SA-8 Gecko] is very possible too. It all depends on where and how they came into possession of it.
E: If I were to supply rebels, I'd give them the SA-8, as it has its own radar on the vehicle (all in one package is easier for this type of deal where you don't have to worry about HARMs coming your way). And it can hit stuff near 40,000 feet.