Stinger Missiles

Portable guided surface-to-air missile system. The FIM-92A Stinger Weapons System is effective against low-altitude airborne targets including fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, unmanned drones, and cruise missiles. The Stinger, launched from a portable shoulder mount, is a fire-and-forget weapon that uses passive infrared targeting and an advanced navigation system. The Stinger can be launched from field vehicles, such as the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle or HMMWV (Hum-Vee) Avengers, attached to a helicopter, or by a soldier using a disposable launch tube and reusable stock.

The Stinger missile replaces the Redeye, the first lightweight shoulder fired surface-to-air missile, which was developed in the 1960s and adopted for combat use by the U.S. Marines in 1966. The first Stingers, which featured advanced targeting and navigation systems, were introduced in 1982.

With a range of five miles, the Stinger can hit targets flying as high as 11,500 feet. Stinger are extremely accurate, and once launched, the five-foot long, 22-pound missiles travel at 1,500 mph. Stingers use sensors that look for the infrared light (heat) produced by the target's engine. The missiles carry identification friend or foe (IFF) technology, which enables them to identify the ultraviolet shadow of the target and use that information to distinguish the target from other heat-producing objects in the area.

The missile operator (typically a two-man detail, though a single person can operate the system) simply centers the target in a digital display. While the missile is flying, the on-board guidance system will keep the target centered and make necessary course corrections.

Stinger missiles are manufactured by Prime-Hughes Missile System Company and have a replacement cost of $38,000. U.S. forces currently have an inventory of about 13,400 Stingers, primarily for use in protecting combat soldiers in the field from airborne enemies. [Page 679]The terrorists who shot down Pan Am Flight 800 off Long Island in 1996 were believed to have used a Stinger missile. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) provided Stinger missiles to Afghan insurgents in the late 1980s for use against Soviet helicopters during the Soviet occupation and war in Afghanistan.