| Stinger | |
|---|---|
A U.S. Marine with a field radio relays the direction of aircraft approaching to the operator of an FIM-92 Stinger missile launcher (1984). |
|
| Type | Manportable surface-to-air missile |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1981–present |
| Used by | See Operators |
| Wars | Falklands War, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Angolan Civil War, Kargil War, Yugoslav Wars, Invasion of Grenada |
| Production history | |
| Designer | General Dynamics |
| Designed | 1967 |
| Manufacturer | Raytheon Missile Systems |
| Unit cost | US$38,000 |
| Produced | 1978 |
| Variants | FIM-92A, FIM-92B, FIM-92C, FIM-92D, FIM-92G |
| Specifications (FIM-92 Stinger) | |
| Weight | 15.2 kg |
| Length | 1.52 m |
| Diameter | 70 mm |
| Crew | 1 |
|
|
|
| Effective range | 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) (FIM-92C Stinger-RMP Block II) |
| Warhead weight | 3 kg |
|
|
|
| Engine | Solid Rocket Motor |
| Guidance system |
Infrared homing |
| Launch platform |
MANPADS, M6 Linebacker, Eurocopter Tiger, AN/TWQ-1 Avenger, MQ-1 Predator, AH-64 Apache |
The FIM-92 Stinger is a personal portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM), which can be adapted to fire from ground vehicles and helicopters (as an AAM), developed in the United States and entered into service in 1981. Used by the militaries of the U.S. and by 29 other countries, the basic Stinger missile has to-date been responsible for 270 confirmed aircraft kills.[1] It is manufactured by Raytheon Missile Systems and under license by EADS in Germany, with 70,000 missiles produced. It is classified as a Man-Portable Air-Defense System (MANPADS).
Contents |
Light to carry and easy to operate, the FIM-92 Stinger is a passive surface-to-air missile, shoulder-fired by a single operator, although officially it requires two. The FIM-92B missile can also be fired from the M-1097 Avenger and M6 Linebacker. The missile is also capable of being deployed from a Humvee Stinger rack, and can be used by paratroopers. A helicopter launched version exists called Air-to-Air Stinger (ATAS).
The missile is 1.52 m (60") long and 70 mm (2-3/4") in diameter with 10 cm fins. The missile itself weighs 10.1 kg (22 lbs.), while the missile with launcher weighs approximately 15.2 kg (33.5 pounds). The Stinger is launched by a small ejection motor that pushes it a safe distance from the operator before engaging the main two-stage solid-fuel sustainer, 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.
To fire the missile, a BCU (Battery Coolant Unit) is 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 and missile to get power. The batteries are somewhat sensitive to abuse, with a limited amount of gas. Over time, and without proper maintenance, they can become unserviceable. The IFF system receives power from a rechargeable battery. Guidance to the target is initially through proportional navigation, then switches to another mode that directs the missile towards the target airframe instead of its exhaust plume.
There are three main variants in use: the Stinger basic, STINGER-Passive Optical Seeker Technique (POST), and STINGER-Reprogrammable Microprocessor (RMP).
The Stinger-RMP is so-called because of its ability to load a new set of software via ROM chip inserted in the grip at the depot. If this download to the missile fails during power-up, basic functionality runs off the on-board ROM. The four-processor RMP has 4 KB of RAM for each processor; since the downloaded code runs from RAM, there is little space to spare, particularly for processors dedicated to seeker input processing and target analysis. The RMP has a dual-detector seeker: IR and UV. This allows it to distinguish targets from countermeasures much better than the Redeye, which was IR-only.[2]
Initial work on the missile was begun by General Dynamics in 1967 as the Redeye II. It was accepted for further development by the U.S. 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 Jane's reports that this may be on hold.
Since 1984 the Stinger has been issued to many U.S. Navy warships for point defense, particularly in Middle Eastern waters, with a three-man team that can perform other duties when not conducting Stinger training or maintenance. Until it was decommissioned in September 1993, the U.S. Navy had at least one Stinger Gunnery Detachment attached to Beachmaster Unit Two in Little Creek Virginia. The sailors of this detachment would deploy to carrier battlegroups in teams of two to four sailors per ship as requested by Battle Group Commanders.
| 9K34 Strela-3 /SA-14 | 9K38 Igla /SA-18 | 9K310 Igla-1 /SA-16 | FIM-92C Stinger | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service entry | 1974 | 1983 | 1981 | 1987 |
| Weight, full system, ready to shoot |
16.0 kg (35 lb) | 17.9 kg (39 lb) | 17.9 kg (39 lb) | 14.3 kg (32 lb) |
| Weight, missile | 10.3 kg (23 lb) | 10.8 kg (24 lb) | 10.8 kg (24 lb) | 10.1 kg (22 lb) |
| Weight, warhead | 1.17 kg (2.6 lb), 390 g (14 oz) HMX |
1.17 kg (2.6 lb), 390 g (14 oz) HMX |
1.17 kg (2.6 lb), 390 g (14 oz) HMX |
3 kg (6.6 lb) HE |
| Warhead type | Directed-energy blast fragmentation |
Directed-energy blast fragmentation |
Directed-energy blast fragmentation |
Annular blast fragmentation |
| Fuze type | Impact and grazing fuze. | Delayed impact, magnetic and grazing. |
Delayed impact, magnetic and grazing. |
Delayed impact. |
| Flight speed, average / peak | 470 m/s (1,100 mph) sustained | 600 m/s (1,300 mph) / 800 m/s (1,800 mph) |
570 m/s (1,300 mph) sustained (in +15°C temperature) |
700 m/s (1,600 mph) / 750 m/s (1,700 mph) |
| Maximum range | 4,100 m (13,500 ft) | 5,200 m (17,100 ft) | 5,000 m (16,000 ft) | 7,600 m (24,900 ft) |
| Maximum target speed, receding | 260 m/s (580 mph) | 360 m/s (810 mph) | 360 m/s (810 mph) | ? |
| Maximum target speed, approaching | 310 m/s (690 mph) | 320 m/s (720 mph) | 320 m/s (720 mph) | ? |
| Seeker head type | Nitrogen-cooled, lead sulfide (PbS) |
Nitrogen-cooled, Indium antimonide (InSb) and uncooled lead sulfide (PbS) |
Nitrogen-cooled, Indium antimonide (InSb) |
Argon-cooled, Indium antimonide (InSb) |
| Seeker scanning | FM-modulated | FM-modulated | FM-modulated | FM-modulated |
| Seeker notes | Aerospike to reduce supersonic wave drag |
Tripod-mounted nosecone to reduce supersonic wave drag |
The Stinger's combat debut occurred during the Falklands War fought between Britain and Argentina. At the onset of the conflict soldiers of the British Special Air Service had been clandestinely equipped with six missiles, although they had received very little instruction in their use. The sole SAS trooper who had received training on the system, and was due to train other troops, was killed in a helicopter crash on 19 May.[3] Nonetheless, on 21 May 1982 an SAS soldier engaged and shot down an Argentine Pucará ground attack aircraft with a Stinger.[4] On the 30 May, at about 11.00 a.m., a Aerospatiale SA-330 Puma helicopter was brought down by another missile, also fired by the SAS, in the vicinity of Mount Kent; six National Gendarmerie Special Forces were killed and eight more wounded.[5] The main MANPADS used by both sides during the Falklands War was the Blowpipe missile.
The Central Intelligence Agency supplied nearly 500 Stingers (some sources claim 1,500–2,000) to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan during Operation Cyclone, the Soviet war in Afghanistan, beginning in September 1986[6] with the supply of 250 launchers.[7] Some sources claim the Stinger have had a decisive impact on the war,[8][9] while other authors dismiss this argument.[6][10] In the following two years, the Stingers fired by the Mujahideen, accumulated tens of Soviet helicopters and fixed wing aircraft shot down. After the 1989 Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, the United States attempted to buy back the Stinger missiles, with a 55 million dollar program to buy back around 300 missiles (US$183,300 each).[11] The U.S. government collected most of the Stingers it had delivered, but some of them found their way into Croatia, Iran, Qatar and North Korea.[12] According to the CIA, already in August 1988 the US had demanded from Qatar the return of Stinger missiles.[13]
The Reagan administration provided Stingers to UNITA anti-communist rebels in Angola the late 1980s. As in Afghanistan, efforts to recover missiles after the end of hostilities proved incomplete. The battery of a Stinger lasts for four or five years, so any weapons supplied in the 1980s would now be inoperative.[14]
The Chadian government received Stinger missiles from the United States, when Libya invaded the northern part of the African Country. On 8 October 1987, a Libyan Su-22MK was shot down by a FIM-92A fired by Chadian forces. The pilot, Capt. Diya al-Din, ejected and was captured. He was later granted political asylum by the French government. During the recovery operation, a Libyan MiG-23MS was shot down by a FIM-92A.[15]
Russian officials claimed several times the presence of US made Stinger missiles in the hands of the Chechen militia and insurgents. They attributed few of their aerial losses to the American MANPADS. The presence of such missiles was confirmed by photo evidence even if it is not clear their actual number nor their origin.[16]
Some of the Stingers that the US supplied starting from 1987, could have been used during the US intervention in Afghanistan. Due to political reasons, US and Coalition forces generally downplay or even deny any MANPADS involvement in the Afghan War by Taliban insurgents, attributing the attacks to unguided RPGs. However it became clear that coalition aircraft came under attack by different types of MANPADS in different instances.[17][18]
The U.S. inventory contains 13,400 missiles. The total cost of the program is $7,281,000,000.[19] It is rumored that the United States Secret Service has Stinger missiles to defend the President, a notion that has never been dispelled; however, USSS plans favor moving the President to a safer place in the event of an attack rather than shooting down the plane, lest the missile (or the wreckage of the target aircraft) hit innocents.[20]
During the 1980s, the Stinger was used to support different US aligned guerrilla forces, notably the Afghan Mujahidins, the Chad government against the Libyan invasion and the Angolan UNITA. Nicaraguan CONTRA was not provided with Stingers due to the lower intensity conflict, since no fixed wing aircraft were used, the previous generation FIM-43 Redeye was considered adequate.[21].
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||