FIM-92 Stinger

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.

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 2 crew. 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 M2 Bradley Stinger fighting vehicle which retired in 2004. The missile is also capable of being deployed from HMMWV High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle Stinger rack, and can be used by airborne paratroopers. A helicopter launched version exists called the ATAS or Air-to-Air Stinger.

Related Topics:
Infrared homing - Surface-to-air missile - Aircraft - M-1097 Avenger - M2 Bradley - High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle - Air-to-Air Stinger

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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 fuse and a self-destruct timer.

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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.

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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.

Related Topics:
US Army - Countermeasure

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