Surface-to-Air Missiles

Raytheon FIM-92 Stinger

Man-Portable Air-Defense System The Raytheon FIM-92 Stinger is a personal portable infra-red guided surface-to-air missile designed to take down low flying aircraft. The Stinger is fired from the shoulder with a launch tube and is therefore classified as a Man-Portable Air-Defence System (MANPADS). Distinctive features are its small size, low weight and easy operation. Once the missile is launched it's self guiding with a passive infra-red guidance system, meaning that it does not emit signals to detect a heat source. The missile has a range of approximately 6 km and can reach an altitude of approximately 3 km. The Stinger was developed by General Dynamics from the FIM-43 Redeye II in the 1970s. It's now produced by Raytheon Missile Systems and, under license, by EADS in Germany and over 70.000 missiles have been produced. The Stinger missile entered into service in the United States in 1981 and made its combat debut during the Falklands War in 1982. During this conflict an Argentine IA 58 Pucará ground attack aircraft and an SA 330 Puma helicopter were shot down with the Stinger by the British Special Air Service (SAS). From then on, it has been and still is been a very succesfull and versatile weapon system and has been or is operated by over 30 nations worldwide. Since 1982, the Stinger is being used by the Commando Air Artillery, a Royal Netherlands Army ground-to-air unit stationed at De Peel Air Base. Fennek Stinger Weapon Platform The Royal Netherlands Army uses 18 Stinger Launching Systems, developed by ASELSAN in Turkey, that are mounted on Fennek ground vehicles. The Fennek Stinger Weapon Platform has a fully integrated launch system with four Stinger missiles ready to fire from two launchers. The system is operated from inside the vehicle and two missiles can be activated at the same time and fired successively in a very short timespan. The weapon terminal shows target-information using data from external radar instalations.

Mercedes-Benz 290GD Stinger Weapon Platform The Dual Mounted Stinger missile launch installation, designed and build by the Dutch Defense Materiel Organisation, is mounted on the Mercedes-Benz 290GD. The commander uses the weapon terminal that shows target-information from external radar sources to select a target. Then the operator manually turns the Dual Mounted Stinger in the right direction guided by LEDs on the Visual Cueing Device. Only one of the two stinger missiles can be activated at once. Since 2007, the Mercedes-Benz Stinger Weapon Platform is used by the Commando Air Artillery.