FIM-92 Stinger

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The FIM-92 Stinger is a man portable infra-red homing surface-to-air missile developed in the United States and used by all the US armed services, with whom it entered service in 1981. The basic Stinger missile has to date been responsible for 270 confirmed kills of aircraft.

It is manufactured by Raytheon Missile Systems and also under license by EADS in Germany. Raytheon designates the missile as a MANPADS (Man-Portable Air-Defense System). It is used by the military of the United States and by 29 other countries. Around 70,000 missiles have been produced.

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Description

Light to carry and relatively easy to operate, the FIM-92 Stinger is a passive infrared homing surface-to-air missile, shoulder-fired by a single operator, although officially it requires two. The FIM-92B can attack aircraft at a range of up to 15,700 feet (4,800 m) and at altitudes between 600 and 12,500 feet (180 and 3,800 m). The missile can also be fired from the M-1097 Avenger vehicle and the M6 Linebacker a defense variant of the M2 Bradley IFV. The missile is also capable of being deployed from HMMWV Stinger rack, and can be used by airborne paratroopers. A helicopter launched version exists called the ATAS or Air-to-Air Stinger.

The missile is 1.52 m long and 70 mm in diameter with 10 mm fins. The missile itself weighs 10.1 kg, while the missile with launcher weighs approximately 34.5 pounds (15.2 kg). The Stinger is launched by a small ejection motor that pushes it a safe distance from the operator before engaging the main solid-fuel two-stage motor which accelerates it to a maximum speed of Mach 2.2 (750 m/s). The warhead is a 3 kg penetrating hit-to-kill warhead type with an impact fuze and a self-destruct timer.

In order to fire the missile, a BCU (Battery Coolant Unit) must be inserted into the handguard. This shoots a stream of argon gas into the system, as well as a chemical energy charge that enables the acquisition indicators, IFF antenna, and missile to get power. The batteries are somewhat sensitive to abuse, and only hold so much gas in them. Over time, and without proper maintenance, they are known to become unserviceable.

There are three main variants in use; the Stinger basic, STINGER-Passive Optical Seeker Technique (POST), and STINGER-Reprogrammable Microprocessor (RMP). The RMP version is commonly used by the US Army, and is excellent for combating countermeasures used by the enemy.

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History

Image:StingerMissile.jpg

Initial work on the missile was begun by General Dynamics in 1967 as the Redeye II. It was accepted for further development by the US Army in 1971 and designated FIM-92; the Stinger appellation was chosen in 1972. Because of technical difficulties that dogged testing, the first shoulder launch was not until mid-1975. Production of the FIM-92A began in 1978 to replace the FIM-43 Redeye. An improved Stinger with a new seeker, the FIM-92B, was produced from 1983 alongside the FIM-92A. Production of both the A and B types ended in 1987 with around 16,000 missiles produced.

The replacement FIM-92C had been developed from 1984 and production began in 1987. The first examples were delivered to front-line units in 1989. C-type missiles were fitted with a reprogrammable electronics system to allow for upgrades. The missiles which received a counter-measures upgrade were designated D and later upgrades to the D were designated G.

The FIM-92E or Block I was developed from 1992 and delivered from 1995 (certain sources state that the FIM-92D is also part of the Block I development). The main changes were again in the sensor and the software, improving the missile's performance against smaller and low-signature targets. A software upgrade in 2001 was designated F. Block II development began in 1996 using a new focal plane array sensor to improve the missile's effectiveness in "high clutter" environments and increase the engagement range to about 25,000 feet (7,600 m). Production was scheduled for 2004, but Janes reports that this may be on hold.

Since 1984 the Stinger has been issued to many US Navy warships for point defense, particularly in Middle Eastern waters.

The CIA helped supply nearly 500 Stingers (some sources claim 1500) to the mujahideen militants fighting Soviet forces in Afghanistan during the 1980s. The Stingers are said to have downed nearly 300 Russian aircraft, including many helicopter gunships, before Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989. Also, as part of its effort to overthrow Angola's government, the Reagan administration provided Stingers to UNITA anti-communist fighters in the late 1980s. In both cases, efforts to recover missiles after the end of hostilities proved incomplete. There has been speculation that the reason the Stinger has not been used in further attacks is because the batteries that are needed for the launcher to function have expired. After the 1989 Soviet withdrawal the US government collected most of the Stingers it had delivered, but 16 of them found their way into Iran giving it the technology. Iran now manufactures it's own variation of the missiles.

The Stinger's combat debut occurred on 21 May 1982, during the Falklands War fought between Britain and Argentina. British troops had been clandestinely equipped with a small quantity of missiles, although they had received very little instruction in its use. The very first Stinger fired in anger shot down an Argentine Pucara ground attack aircraft. [1] However, subsequent shots were ineffective due to British troops' unfamiliarity with the weapon's recharging procedure.

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Cost

In 1987 the US government was paying about USD $62,000 per missile, this was reduced to around $35,000 in 1988 by placing a multi-year contract for 20,000 missiles. In 1991 an order was placed for 1333 missiles at a cost of around USD $26,000 per missile.

The Swiss government placed an order for 2,500 missiles in 1988 at a cost of around USD $126,000 per missile.

In 2002, the United States sold 69 Stinger missiles and associated equipment (vehicle-mounted launch platforms, target acquisition radars, training equipment, et cetera) to Lithuania for USD 34 million [2]. If one third of the cost of the contract was for the missiles themselves, the unit price would be about USD $165,000.

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Popular culture

The FIM-92 Stinger has been featured in several works of fiction, including many computer games.

The Stinger is one of the weapons in Metal Gear Solid which is used by the player to destroy a Mil Mi-24 and Metal Gear REX. It also appears in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
The Stinger is carried by anti-air soldiers in Operation Flashpoint.
In the submarine simulation Dangerous Waters the Stinger can be fired from the bridge when a US submarine is surfaced: in real-life, it is carried by US submarines.
It is part of the Anti-Armour Kit featured in the popular Battlefield 1942 Mod, Desert Combat. In the sequel, Battlefield 2, it can be fired from fixed mounts and the M6 Bradley Linebacker.
In the James Bond film Licence to Kill, the villain Sanchez possesses two Stinger Missiles (which are used against ground targets).
Stingers appear in several games in the Command & Conquer series. They provide the main anti-air and anti-ground armamament for the allied destroyer in Red Alert, while in Command & Conquer: Generals, the stinger site is the Global Liberation Army's main base defense structure.
Stingers are used in Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction. Both the player and faction soldiers can use Stingers, players can pick up dropped Stingers, and they can be purchased from the Merchant of Menace, alone as the "Anti-Air Drop", or packaged with a SMAW anti-armor missile in the "Heavy Weapons Drop".
In Novalogic's FPS game Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising, the Stinger can be used as a shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missile. They were also imported from JOTR to Delta Force: Extreme in the popular "Pilot Mod".