--- title: "The Army is hunting for a replacement for its man-portable Stinger missile" description: "The Army is looking for a fresh man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) to replace the shoulder-launched Raytheon FIM-92 Stinger missile systems that have been in service since the 1980s" date: "2020-11-14" modified: "2020-11-14" authors: - name: "Jared Keller" job_title: "Former Managing Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jaredkeller.md" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-stringer-missile-replacement/" categories: - "Army" - "Military Branches" - "Missiles" - "News" - "Tech & Tactics" - "Weapons" --- # The Army is hunting for a replacement for its man-portable Stinger missile ![]() The Army is looking for a fresh man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) to replace the shoulder-launched Raytheon FIM-92 Stinger missile systems that have been in service since the 1980s. The service issued a [request for information]() on Tuesday in search of the fresh system "to meet increasing demand to counter the growing aerial threat capability," [according]() to the notice. The ideal system must be capable of defeating both fixed-wing and rotary-wing ground attack aircraft as well as various unmanned aerial systems "with capabilities equal to or greater than" the current Stinger missile, [according]() to the notice. "The Army is conducting a SHORAD study which will inform efforts to modernize and to address emerging threats, which may increase the demand for MANPADS capable missiles," [according]() to the notice. The service's current arsenal of Stinger missiles is "in decline," according to the notice, the Block I missiles' programmable microprocessors on a timeline to become obsolete in fiscal year 2023 despite an ongoing service life extension. [According]() to a recent Congressional Research Service report, current service life extension programs plan on keeping the Stringer in service until at least fiscal years 2030-2031. ![]() *Sgt. Nicolas Kotchenreuther, a Stinger team leader from Frederick, Maryland, assigned to 4th Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment, rehearses firing Stinger Missiles with Spc. Cody Perez, a native from the Bronx, New York* A "fire-and-forget" missile that employs a passive infrared seeker to home in on its airborne targets up to 2.5 miles away, the Stinger missile has been a [critical element]() of short-range air defense (SHORAD) formations for decades. [Upgrading short-range air and missile defense]() systems has remained a major modernization priority for the Army as it pivots award from counterinsurgency tactics to assessing large-scale conflicts against near-peer adversaries. Indeed, the Stinger missile is an integral part of the new Interim Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) systems developed for the service by General Dynamics Land Systems and Leonardo DRS in response to the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and resurgence in Cold War-style tactics in Europe. The Army reportedly plans to procure 144 IM-SHORAD Systems, with the objective of equipping the first and second battalions with 36 systems apiece by fiscal year 2021 and a third and fourth battalion with 36 systems each by fiscal year 2022. According to the Army notice, the service is currently planning to award a full and open competitive contract no later than fiscal year 2026 for the production of up to 8,000 MANPADS missiles. ***Related: [The Army is officially adding missile-hauling Strykers to its arsenal]()*** ## Author Jared Keller is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose. His writing has appeared in Aeon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post, among other publications. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Facebook]() [LinkedIn]() [Instagram]()