FIM-92 Stinger

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 in September 1984.
Type Man-portable surface-to-air missile
Place of origin United States
Service history
In service 1981–present
Used by See Operators
Wars Falklands War, Soviet–Afghan War, Angolan Civil War, Sri Lankan Civil War, Chadian–Libyan conflict, Tajikistani Civil War, Kargil War, Yugoslav Wars, Invasion of Grenada, Second Chechen War, Syrian Civil War, Iraqi Civil War (2014-present)
Production history
Designer General Dynamics
Designed 1967
Manufacturer Raytheon Missile Systems
Unit cost U.S.$38,000
Produced 1978—present
Variants FIM-92A, FIM-92B, FIM-92C, FIM-92D, FIM-92G
Specifications (FIM-92 Stinger)
Weight 33.5 lb , 15.19 kg
Length 59.8 in (1.52 m)
Diameter 2.76 in (70.1mm)
Crew 1
Effective firing range 5.0 miles (8 km) (FIM-92C Stinger-RMP)[1]
Warhead High explosive Annular blast fragmentation
Warhead weight 3 kg (6.6 lb)
Engine Solid-fuel rocket motor
Guidance
system
 Infrared homing
Launch
platform
 MANPADS, M6 Linebacker, Eurocopter Tiger, AN/TWQ-1 Avenger, MQ-1 Predator, AH-64 Apache, T-129 ATAK

The FIM-92 Stinger is a Man-Portable Air-Defense System (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles and helicopters (as an AAM). Developed in the United States this weapon system entered service in 1981 and is used by the militaries of the United States and by 29 other countries. It is principally manufactured by Raytheon Missile Systems and is produced under license by EADS in Germany and by Roketsan in Turkey with 70,000 missiles produced.

Description

Light to carry and easy to operate, the FIM-92 Stinger is a passive surface-to-air missile, that can be shoulder-fired by a single operator (although standard military procedure calls for two operators, spotter and gunner). The FIM-92B missile can also be fired from the M-1097 Avenger and the M6 Linebacker. The missile is also capable of being deployed from a Humvee Stinger rack, and can be used by airborne troops. A helicopter launched version exists called Air-to-Air Stinger (ATAS).

The missile is 5.0 ft (1.52 m) long and 2.8 in (70 mm) in diameter with 10 cm fins. The missile itself weighs 22 lb (10.1 kg), while the missile with launcher weighs approximately 34 lb (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 two-stage solid-fuel sustainer, which accelerates it to a maximum speed of Mach 2.54 (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). These correspond to the FIM-92A, FIM-92B, and FIM-92C and later variants respectively.

The POST has a dual-detector seeker: IR and UV. This allows it to distinguish targets from countermeasures much better than the Redeye and FIM-92A, which have IR-only. While modern flares can have an IR signature that is closely matched to the launching aircraft's engine exhaust, there is a readily distinguishable difference in UV signature between flares and jet engines.[2] 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.

History

New Mexico Army National Guard soldiers train with a Stinger missile launcher in 1999.
A U.S. Marine fires an FIM-92A Stinger missile during a July 2009 training exercise in California.

Initial work on the missile was begun by General Dynamics in 1967 as the FM-43 Redeye II. Production of the Redeye II ran from 1969 to 1982 where some 85,000 were in circulation.[3] 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.

Variants

Comparison chart to other MANPADS

9K34 Strela-3 /SA-14 9K38 Igla /SA-18 9K310 Igla-1 /SA-16 9K338 Igla-S /SA-24 FIM-92 Stinger RMP[8] Grom[9] Starstreak[10]
Service entry 1974 1983 1981 2004 1987 1995 1997
Weight,
full system,
ready to shoot		 35.3 lb (16.0 kg) 39 lb (17.9 kg) 39 lb (17.9 kg) 42 lb (19 kg) 32 lb (14.3 kg) 36 lb (16.5 kg) 44.09 lb (20.00 kg)
Weight, missile 23 lb (10.3 kg) 24 lb (10.8 kg) 24 lb (10.8 kg) 26 lb (11.7 kg) 22 lb (10.1 kg) 23 lb (10.5 kg) 30.86 lb (14.00 kg)[10]
Weight, warhead 2.6 lb (1.17 kg),
14 oz (390 g) HMX		 2.6 lb (1.17 kg),
14 oz (390 g) HMX		 2.6 lb (1.17 kg),
14 oz (390 g) HMX		 5.5 lb (2.5 kg),
20.6 oz (585 g) HMX		 6.6 lb (3 kg) HE 2.8 lb (1.27 kg) 3x2.0 lb (0.90 kg) tungsten alloy darts,
3x16 oz (450 g) PBX-98
Warhead type Directed-energy
blast fragmentation		 Directed-energy
blast fragmentation		 Directed-energy
blast fragmentation		 Directed-energy
blast fragmentation		 Annular blast fragmentation Directed-energy Directed-energy
Fuze type Impact and grazing fuze. Delayed impact,
magnetic and grazing.		 Delayed impact,
magnetic and grazing.		 Delayed impact,
magnetic and grazing.		 Delayed impact. Impact. Delayed impact, armour-piercing.
Flight speed, average / peak 1,100 mph (470 m/s) sustained 1,300 mph (600 m/s)
/ 1,800 mph (800 m/s)		 1,300 mph (570 m/s) sustained
(in + temperature)		 ? 1,600 mph (700 m/s)
/ 1,700 mph (750 m/s)		 1,300 mph (580 m/s)
/ 1,500 mph (650 m/s)		 2,700 mph (1,190 m/s)
/ 3,000 mph (1,360 m/s)[11]
Maximum range 13,500 ft (4,100 m) 17,100 ft (5,200 m) 16,000 ft (5,000 m) 20,000 ft (6,000 m) 15,700 ft (4,800 m) 18,000 ft (5,500 m) 23,000 ft (7,000 m)+
Maximum target speed, receding 580 mph (260 m/s) 810 mph (360 m/s) 810 mph (360 m/s) 890 mph (400 m/s) ? 720 mph (320 m/s) ?
Maximum target speed, approaching 690 mph (310 m/s) 720 mph (320 m/s) 720 mph (320 m/s) 720 mph (320 m/s) ? 810 mph (360 m/s) ?
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)		 ? SACLOS and SALH
Seeker scanning FM-modulated FM-modulated FM-modulated FM-modulated FM-modulated FM-modulated Low intensity modulated-laser-homing darts
Seeker notes Aerospike to reduce
supersonic wave drag		 Tripod-mounted nosecone
to reduce supersonic wave drag		 passive IR focal plane array seeker Low laser beam energy levels ensuring no

warning to target

Service

U.S. Army soldiers from the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade stand next to a FIM-92A Stinger portable missile launcher during the Persian Gulf War.
A Stinger missile being launched from a U.S. Marine Corps AN/TWQ-1 Avenger in April 2000.

Falklands War

The Stinger's combat debut occurred during the Falklands War fought between the United Kingdom and Argentina. At the onset of the conflict soldiers of the British Army's Special Air Service had been clandestinely equipped with six missiles, although they had received 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.[12] Nonetheless, on 21 May 1982 an SAS soldier engaged and shot down an Argentine Pucará ground attack aircraft with a Stinger.[13] On 30 May, at about 11.00 a.m., an 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.[14] The main MANPADS used by both sides during the Falklands War was the Blowpipe missile.

Soviet War in Afghanistan

The story of the Stingers in Afghanistan was popularly told in the media by western sources primarily, notably in Charlie Wilson's War by George Crile, and Ghost Wars by Steve Coll.

In late 1985, several groups, such as Free the Eagle, began arguing the CIA was not doing enough to support the Mujahideen in the Soviet–Afghan War. Michael Pillsbury, Vincent Cannistraro, and others put enormous bureaucratic pressure on the CIA to provide the Stinger to the rebels. The idea was controversial because up to that point, the CIA had been operating with the pretense that the United States was not involved in the war directly, for various reasons. All weapons supplied up to that point were non-U.S. made weapons, like Type 56 rifles purchased from China,[15] and AK-47 and AKM AK derivatives purchased from Egypt.

The final say-so came down to President General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan, through whom the CIA had to pass all of its funding and weapons to the Mujahideen. President Zia constantly had to gauge how much he could "make the pot boil" in Afghanistan without provoking a Soviet invasion of his own country. According to George Crile III, U.S. Representative Charlie Wilson's relationship with Zia was instrumental in the final go-ahead for the Stinger introduction.[15]

Wilson and his associates at first viewed the Stinger as "just adding another component to the lethal mix we were building."[15] Their increasingly successful Afghanistan strategy, formed largely by Michael G. Vickers, was based on a broad mix of weapons, tactics, and logistics, not a 'silver bullet solution' of a single weapon. Furthermore, the previous attempts to provide MANPADs to the Mujahideen, namely the SA-7 and Blowpipe, hadn't worked very well.[15]

Engineer Ghaffar, of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami, brought down the first Hind gunship with a Stinger on September 25, 1986 near Jalalabad.[15][16][17] As part of Operation Cyclone, the CIA eventually supplied nearly 500 Stingers (some sources claim 1,500–2,000) to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan,[18] and 250 launchers.[19]

The impact of the Stinger on the outcome of the war is contested, particularly in the translation between the impact on the tactical battlefield to the strategic level withdrawal, and the influence the first had on the second.[20] Dr. Robert F. Baumann (of the Staff College at Fort Leavenworth) described its impact on "Soviet tactical operations" as "unmistakable". [21][22] This opinion was shared by Yossef Bodansky.[23][20] Soviet, and later, Russian, accounts give little significance to the Stinger for strategically ending the war.[18][24][25]

According to the 1993 US US Air Defense Artillery Yearbook, the Mujahideen gunners used the supplied Stingers to score approximately 269 total aircraft kills in about 340 engagements, a 79-percent kill ratio.[26] If this report is accurate, Stingers would be responsible for over half of the 451 Soviet aircraft losses in Afghanistan.[20] But these statistics are based on Mujahedin self-reporting, which is of unknown reliability. Selig Harrison rejects such figures, quoting a Russian general who claims the United States "greatly exaggerated" Soviet and Afghan aircraft losses during the war. According to Soviet figures, in 1987-1988, only 35 aircraft and 63 helicopters were destroyed by all causes.[27] The Pakistan Army fired twenty-eight Stingers at enemy aircraft without a single kill.[20]

An analysis of the Stinger's role in the withdrawal of the Soviet Union, the statistics supporting the Stinger's unusually high kill ratio, and the chronology leading up to the decision to deploy the weapon, was made in 1999.[20]

According to Crile, who includes information from Alexander Prokhanov, the Stinger was a "turning point".[15] Milt Bearden saw it as a "force multiplier" and morale booster.[15] Representative Charlie Wilson, the politician behind Operation Cyclone, described the first Stinger Mi-24 shootdowns in 1986 as one of the three crucial moments of his experience in the war, saying "we never really won a set-piece battle before September 26, and then we never lost one afterwards."[28][29] He was given the first spent Stinger tube as a gift and kept it on his office wall.[15][29] That launch tube is now on exhibit at the US Army Air Defense Artillery Museum, Fort Sill, OK.

The last Stingers were supplied in 1988 after increasing reports of fighters selling them to Iran and thawing relations with Moscow.[17][30] After the 1989 Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, the U.S. attempted to buy back the Stinger missiles, with a $55 million program launched in 1990 to buy back around 300 missiles (US$183,300 each).[31] The U.S. government collected most of the Stingers it had delivered, but by 1996 around 600 were unaccounted for and some found their way into Croatia, Iran, Sri Lanka, Qatar, and North Korea.[32][33] According to the CIA, already in August 1988 the U.S. had demanded from Qatar the return of Stinger missiles.[34] Wilson later told CBS he "lived in terror" that a civilian airliner would be shot down by a Stinger, but he did not have misgivings about having provided Stingers to defeat the Soviets.[29]

Angolan Civil War

The Reagan administration provided 310 Stingers to Jonas Savimbi's UNITA movement in Angola between 1986 and 1989.[35] 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 battery supplied in the 1980s would now be inoperative[36] but during the Syrian Civil War, insurgents showed how easily they switched to different batteries, including widespread car batteries, as power sources for several MANPADS models.[37]

Libyan invasion of Chad

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.[38]

Tajik civil war

Tajik Islamist opposition forces operating from Afghanistan during the 1992–97 Tajik civil war encountered a heavy air campaign launched by Russia and Uzbekistan to prop up the government in Dushanbe that included border and cross-border raids. During one of these operations, a Sukhoi Su-24M was shot down on 3 May 1993 with a Stinger fired by fundamentalists. Both Russian pilots were rescued.[39][40]

Chechen War

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.[41]

It is believed one Sukhoi Su-24 was shot down by a Stinger missile during the Second Chechen War.[42]

Sri Lankan Civil War

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam also managed to acquire one or several Stingers, possibly from former Mujahideen stocks, and used at least one to down a Sri Lanka Air Force Mi-24 on November 10, 1997.[33][43]

United States

The current U.S. inventory contains 13,400 missiles. The total cost of the program is $7,281,000,000.[1] It is rumored that the United States Secret Service has Stinger missiles to defend the President, a notion that has never been dispelled; however, U.S. Secret Service 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.[44]

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. The Nicaraguan contras were not provided with Stingers due to the lack of fixed wing aircraft of the Sandinista government, as such the previous generation FIM-43 Redeye was considered adequate.[24]

Syrian civil war

In the Syrian civil war, Turkey reportedly helped to transport to the anti-government rebels a limited amount of FIM-92 Stingers.[45][46]

Operators

Map with FIM-92 operators in blue

Current operators

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "FIM-92A Stinger Weapons System: RMP & Basic". fas.org.
  2. ↑ John Pike. "FIM-92A Stinger Weapons System: RMP & Basic". globalsecurity.org.
  3. ↑ "General Dynamics / Raytheon FIM-92 Stinger - Development and Operational History, Performance Specifications and Picture Gallery". Retrieved 2016-08-26.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 "General Dynamics / Raytheon FIM-92 Stinger – Man-Portable, Air Defense Missile System – History, Specs and Pictures – Military, Security and Civilian Guns and Equipment". militaryfactory.com.
  5. ↑ http://www.army-technology.com/news/newsus-army-starts-upgrade-of-fim-92e-stinger-block-i-missiles-4425281
  6. ↑ Osborn, Kris (6 November 2014). "Army Upgrades Stinger Missiles". Kitup.Military.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  7. ↑ Stinger upgrade to increase service life, capabilities - Army.mil, 29 October 2014
  8. ↑ http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/m-92.html
  9. ↑ Kwasek, Tomasz (18 August 2011). "Przeciwlotniczy zestaw rakietowy PPZR Grom i Piorun". Dziennik Zbrojny (in Polish). Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Advanced Air Defence Solutions: STARStreak High Velocity Missile (HVM)" (PDF). Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  11. ↑ "Starstreak Close Air Defence Missiles". Defence Journal. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Britain's Small Wars". Facebook.
  13. ↑ "San Carlos Air Battles - Falklands War 1982". naval-history.net.
  14. ↑ "Argentine Puma shot down by american "Stinger" missile. — MercoPress". MercoPress.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History, George Crile, 2003, Grove/Atlantic.
  16. ↑ Military engineer recounts role in Soviet-Afghan war, By Michael Gisick, Stars and Stripes, Published: September 11, 2008
  17. 1 2 "Successful surface-to-air missile attack shows threat to airliners". HomeLand1.
  18. 1 2 Malley, William (2002) The Afghanistan wars. Palgrave Macmillan, p. 80. ISBN 0-333-80290-X
  19. ↑ Hilali, A. Z. (2005). US-Pakistan relationship: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. p. 169. ISBN 0-7546-4220-8
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 Alan J. Kuperman. "The Stinger missile and U.S. intervention in Afghanistan" (PDF). Political Science Quarterly. 114 (Summer 1999): 219.
  21. ↑ Robert F. Baumann "Compound War Case Study: The Soviets in Afghanistan". In Compound warfare: That fatal knot Thomas M. Huber (ed.) U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Press, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. pg 296
  22. ↑ John Pike. "COMPOUND WAR CASE STUDY: THE SOVIETS IN AFGHANISTAN". globalsecurity.org.
  23. ↑ Yossef Bodansky. "SAMs in Afghanistan: assessing the impact." Jane's Defence Weekly, vol. 8, no. 03, 1987 PP. 153-154
  24. 1 2 CUSHMAN Jr, JOHN H. (17 January 1988). "THE WORLD: The Stinger Missile; HELPING TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF A WAR". The New York Times.
  25. ↑ Scott, Peter (2003). Drugs, oil, and war: the United States in Afghanistan, Colombia, and Indochina. Rowman & Littlefield, p. 5. ISBN 0-7425-2522-8
  26. ↑ Blair Case, Lisa B. Henry. "Air Defense Artillery Yearbook 1993" (PDF). US Army Air Defense Artillery Branch. p. 20.
  27. ↑ Hammerich, Helmut (2010). Die Grenzen des Militärischen. Berlin: Hartmann, Miles-Verl. p. 195. ISBN 9783937885308.
  28. ↑ A conversation with Charlie Wilson, Charlie Rose, PBS, April 24, 2008, via charlierose.com
  29. 1 2 3 Charlie Did It, CBS News, 60 minutes. December 19, 2007 9:51 AM, From March 13, 2001: Former Rep. Charlie Wilson looks back on his efforts to arm the Mujahedeen against the Soviet Union back in the 1980s. Mike Wallace reports.
  30. ↑ "Afghanistan PSYOP Leaflet". psywarrior.com.
  31. ↑ Weiner, Tim (24 July 1993). "U.S. Increases Fund To Outbid Terrorists For Afghan Missiles". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  32. ↑ Stinger missile system
  33. 1 2 Matthew Schroeder (July 28, 2010). "Stop Panicking About the Stingers". Foreign Policy.
  34. ↑ "Middle East brief (deleted) for 2 August 1988: In brief: x—Qatar" (pdf). Central Intelligence Agency. 1988-08-02. p. 3. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  35. 1 2 "Trade Registers". Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
  36. ↑ Silverstein, Ken (3 October 2001). "Stingers, Stingers, Who's Got the Stingers?". Slate. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  37. ↑ "Improvised MANPADS batteries employed in Syria | Armament Research Services". armamentresearch.com. Retrieved 2016-08-05.
  38. ↑ http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_360.shtml
  39. ↑ John Pike. "Uzbekistan- Air Force". globalsecurity.org.
  40. ↑ Human Rights in Tajikistan: In the Wake of Civil War By Escrito por Rachel Denber, Barnett R. Rubin, Jeri Laber. Google Books.
  41. ↑ "Militaryphotos.net". www.militaryphotos.net. Retrieved 2016-08-05.
  42. ↑ Pashin, Alexander. "Russian Army Operations and Weaponry During Second Military Campaign in Chechnya". Moscow Defense Brief. Archived from the original on January 29, 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  43. ↑ Harro Ranter. "ASN Aircraft accident 10-NOV-1997 Mil Mi-24 CH619". aviation-safety.net.
  44. ↑ Stephen Labaton (September 13, 1994). "Crash at the White House: The defenses; Pilot's Exploit Rattles White House Officials". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  45. ↑ "Clinton: Chemical warfare is planned for. Rebels get first anti-air Stingers". Debka.com. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  46. ↑ "Syrian Rebels Claim to Have Brought Down a Jet". New York Times. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  47. ↑ Infodefensa.com (2015-09-23). "Colombia adquiere 60 misiles antiaéreos Stinger y 100 TOW antitanques - Noticias Infodefensa América" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2016-08-05.
  48. ↑ "HS: Finland to splurge 90 million on US Stinger missiles". Yle Uutiset.
  49. ↑ Tiger Attack Helicopter, Europe. Retrieved on October 24, 2008.
  50. ↑ Times, Stephen Engelberg With Bernard E. Trainor, Special To The New York (1987-10-17). "Iranians Captured Stinger Missiles From Afghan Guerrillas, U.S. Says". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-08-05.
  51. ↑ "Pak general says Iran stole Stinger missiles". iran-times.com.
  52. ↑ "Stingers for South Korea AH-64E Apaches". Retrieved 2016-08-05.
  53. ↑ Singh, R.S.N. (2005). Asian Strategic And Military Perspective. Lancer Publishers. p. 238. ISBN 9788170622451.
  54. ↑ Sumit Ganguly & S. Paul Kapur (2008). Nuclear Proliferation in South Asia: Crisis Behaviour and the Bomb. Routledge. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-203-89286-2.
  55. ↑ "defpro.com". www.defpro.com. Retrieved 2016-08-05.
  56. ↑ Official Roketsan Stinger Page. Retrieved on October 23, 2008.

Further reading

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