America’s Next Man-Portable Air Defense Missile to Replace the Iconic Stingers
The FIM-92 Stinger has been the Western world’s most recognizable man-portable air-defense system for more than four decades. First fielded in the early 1980s, it became famous for its… 
The FIM-92 Stinger has been the Western world’s most recognizable man-portable air-defense system for more than four decades. First fielded in the early 1980s, it became famous for its performance in Afghanistan against Soviet helicopters and later proved its value in multiple conflicts, including the current war in Ukraine, where thousands of rounds were transferred to Kyiv. Yet the same system that once defined short-range air defense is now widely viewed as obsolescent. Production lines sat dormant for years, existing stocks have been drawn down by large-scale aid packages, and the missile’s infrared seeker and roughly Mach 2 speed were never optimized for the small, low-signature drones…
