Avenger, the powerful mobile short-range air defense missile system
Air defense Soldiers clear the skies with AVENGER and PATRIOT missile systems, shielding ground forces from all threats above. If it sounds like rocket science, it is. Heavy weapons experts see dimension in ways others don’t.
The Avenger is a powerful mobile short-range air defense missile system that protects troops from airborne threats. It can even fire its eight stinger missiles while on the move.
The U.S. Army’s shoulder-fired STINGER Weapon System provides effective, short-range air defense capabilities to soldiers and U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), U.S. Navy (USN), and U.S. Air Force (USAF) ground personnel who defend against low-level fixed and rotary-wing aircraft attack. It is the weapon of choice for the United States and many allied armed forces.
The 35-pound, supersonic, fire-and-forget STINGER, which replaced the REDEYE, features quick-reaction acquisition and tracking, and all-aspect engagement, including head-on. Improved missile speed, range, maneuverability, flight tracking, and countermeasures rejection made the individual combat air defender using the STINGER the equal of the most sophisticated threat aircraft. Three variants, Basic STINGER, STINGER-Passive Optical Seeker Technique (POST), and STINGER-Reprogrammable Microprocessor (RMP) were developed. All operate in a similar fashion; are fielded as certified rounds in a disposable, sealed launch tube; and require no field testing or maintenance. All three use the rolling airframe concept, proportional navigation, passive homing, separate launch motor, dual-thrust flight motor, penetrating hit-to-kill warhead, reusable launcher/ gripstock, and belt-pack Identification, friend or foe (IFF) transceiver.
The Basic STINGER is an infrared (IR) reticle-scan analog system using discrete component signal processing. The STINGER-POST employs an IR/ultraviolet (UV) dual detector, rosette-pattern image scanning, and digital microprocessor-based signal processing. Advanced features include improved acquisition, false target rejection, and additional countermeasures capabilities. The STINGER-RMP adds additional microprocessor power and is highly countermeasures resistant. New external software reprogrammability allows upgrades without costly retrofit as the threat evolves. The U.S. Army uses the STINGER-RMP not only for ground forces but to arm helicopters for air-to-air combat (Air-to-Air STINGER) and on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) to provide low altitude air defense. Many allied countries have selected the export version of the STINGER-RMP (less reprogrammable module) for their armed forces, and two European coproduction programs for the export version were implemented.
Early in the 1980s the U.S. Army began to research ways to overcome the military’s lack of air defense. One result of these initiatives was the AVENGER weapon system. The AVENGER is a non-developmental item (NDI), lightweight, highly mobile and transportable surface-to-air missile/gun weapon system mounted on a high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV). Mounted on the turret are a .50 caliber M3P machine gun and two Standard Vehicle Missile Launchers (SVMLs), both of which contain four STINGER missiles. It is operated by a two-man crew for defense against helicopters and fixed wing aircraft at low altitude, day or night, and in clear or adverse weather. The system incorporates an operator’s position with controls, displays, fire control electronics, and the SVML. The latter includes the seeker coolant bottles and related hardware, and it supports and launches multiple STINGER missiles. The SVML provides output signals that can be used to display to the gunner exactly where the STINGER missile is pointed. The drive sight reticle capability aids the gunner in severe background clutter and electromagnetic countermeasures (ECM) environments. The system operates with standard, unmodified Basic STINGER, STINGER-POST, or STINGER-RMP missile rounds. AVENGER filled the Line of Sight-Rear (LOS-R) role in Forward Area Air Defense Systems (FAADS). Check out the Chronology chronology since 1965
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