Tag Archives: Stinger

Missiles & Guided Weapons, Rocket

Stinger missile production

Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business, was awarded a $624 million U.S. Army contract to produce 1,300 Stinger missiles. The contract includes provisions for engineering support, as well as the test equipment and support needed to address obsolescence, modernize key components, and accelerate production.

Stinger
The Stinger missile’s seeker and guidance system enables the weapon to acquire, track and engage a target with one shot (Photo: U.S. Army)

«We’re aligned with the U.S. Army on a plan that ensures we fulfill our current foreign military sale order, while replenishing Stingers provided to Ukraine and accelerating production», said Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon Missiles & Defense. «The funding will be used to enhance Stinger’s producibility in an effort to meet the urgent need for replenishment».

The combat-proven Stinger missile is a lightweight, self-contained air defense system that can be rapidly deployed by ground troops. Its supersonic speed, agility and highly accurate guidance and control system give the weapon an operational edge against cruise missiles and all classes of aircraft.

The contract is being funded from the Ukraine Supplemental, which contains emergency funding to support Ukrainian defense forces. Raytheon Missiles & Defense continues to work closely with the U.S. Army and its supplier partners to rapidly support the growing demand for Stinger.

Ground Forces

Lithuanian Air Defence

On July 28 President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda was accompanied by Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis, Chief of the Defence Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Maj Gen Gintautas Zenkevičius and Commander of the Lithuanian Air Force Col Dainius Guzas on a visit to the Lithuanian Air Force Base in Šiauliai to familiarise with the air defence capabilities Lithuania has and to meet with the Spanish, British and German airmen conducting the current rotation of the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states, as well as U.S. and Lithuanian soldiers.

Lithuania’s Air Defence Battalion operates Swedish RBS-70 and US-made Stinger short-range anti-aircraft missiles, with Sentinel and Giraffe surveillance radars, and the NASAMS medium-range missile are now being delivered

President was shown the RBS70, Stinger missile air defence systems operated by the Air Defence Battalion, Sentinel and Giraffe surveillance radars, and elements of the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) mid-range air defence system delivered to Lithuania in June earlier this year.

«Arrival of the NASAMS reinforces air defence of Lithuania and NATO’s eastern flank, all the components of the integrated defence system are linked together, and deterrence becomes stronger as a result», Minister of National Defence R. Karoblis says.

Procurement of the ground-to-air mid-range air defence system NASAMS is currently in progress and is expected to be completed in 2021. NASAMS components will undergo the first trial in Lithuania at international Exercise Tobruq Legacy 2020 in September this autumn.

NASAMS is the most widely used mid-range air defence system in NATO member states, and even for guarding the airspace over the White House, Washington. Lithuania has acquired the most recent, third generation, NASAMS 3, its current users are still only the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Norway, the manufacturer.

The guests also viewed fighter aircraft the allies protect the Baltic airspace with: F18 Hornets of the Spanish Air Force, Eurofighter Typhoons of the British Royal Air Force and the German Air Force, and Spartan transport aircraft and Dauphin AS365N3+ helicopters operated by the Lithuanian Air Force.

Ground Forces

Stryker-mounted Stinger

Responding to the U.S. Army’s urgent need for mobile air defense to protect ground troops, Raytheon Company integrated and demonstrated a Stinger air defense missile mounted on a Stryker armored fighting vehicle.

Raytheon offers Stryker-mounted Stinger missile for U.S. Army mobile air defense
Raytheon offers Stryker-mounted Stinger missile for U.S. Army mobile air defense

Raytheon incorporated the Stinger missile into a Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station, or CROWS, and mounted it on a Stryker. During a late September demonstration at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the Army fired Stinger missiles from a Stryker vehicle and successfully intercepted airborne targets.

«With so many airborne threats in the battlespace, our ground forces need the protection of additional mobile air defense systems», said Kim Ernzen, Raytheon Land Warfare Systems vice president. «Combining these two proven systems gives the Army an immediate, low risk, high-value solution».

The Army is now evaluating the Stinger missile/Stryker vehicle solution.

The Stinger weapon system is a lightweight, self-contained air defense system that can be rapidly deployed by ground troops and on military platforms. It’s combat proven in four major conflicts and in use by more than 20 nations as well as all four U.S. military services.