Home Americas US Army issues RFI for Stinger missile successor

US Army issues RFI for Stinger missile successor

Stinger SHORAD
A US Marine launching a Stinger missile during a training event in 2019. Photo: US Marine Corps

The US Army has released a request for information (RFI) to industry with the aim of starting work on a new surface-to-air missile that would replace the Stinger missile currently in service.

The aim of the RFI is to identify potential interested sources with the capability to provide a new missile, that will be referred to as Maneuver Short Range Air Defense Increment 3 (M-SHORAD Inc. 3), to meet increasing demand and growing threat capability.

Program Executive Office, Missiles and Space, Project Manager, Short and Intermediate Effectors for Layered Defense (SHIELD) will be in charge of this effort.

As explained, the Stinger- Reprogrammable Microprocessor (RMP) will become obsolete in fiscal year (FY) 2023 and Stinger Block I is undergoing a service life extension to extend its end of useful life.

Additionally, the current Stinger inventory is in decline, the RFI states. This decline is influenced by the situation in Ukraine, where the US is sending thousands of Stinger and other defense systems to help Ukraine defend against the Russian invasion.

In March this year, House Armed Services Committee leaders sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley expressing concerns about the need for a Department of Defense strategy to meet short range air defense (SHORAD) replenishment requirements for stocks of Stinger systems and accelerate the development of a “rapidly fieldable follow-on system for US forces, contributing allies, and partners.”

“Events in Europe have demonstrated the importance of such a capability and the need for the Army and Marine Corps to develop a plan to invigorate the industrial base, buy-down strategic risk in our current capability, and accelerate the development of a follow-on SHORAD system that can be rapidly fielded,” the letter stated.

The committee urged that the Pentagon prioritize acceleration of a SHORAD modernization or replacement “that will deliver a low-cost, exportable evolution of a system, within 36 months.”

“The committee urges focus on the most rapid possible development, testing, and fielding of a more capable SHORAD system and would favorably consider an appropriate reprogramming request to get this started,” representatives Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), HASC chairman and ranking member, wrote.

According to the RFI, the Army plans to begin design, development, and test of a replacement missile by August 2023, which is expected to eventually lead to the production of 10,000 M-SHORAD Inc. 3 missiles beginning in FY27.

M-SHORAD STRATEGY.

In 2016, Congress and Joint and Army senior leaders, noting the results of studies and peer threat nations aggressions, provided resources and directed the Army to aggressively pursue air defense capabilities to protect maneuvering forces as soon as feasibly possible. This effort is intended to serve as a bridge to meet increasing demand for an improved short-range air defense capability in support of the maneuver force; organizational growth within the air and missile defense (AMD) portfolio; and increasing near-peer threat capability.

The new M-SHORAD Inc. 3 is expected to be capable of defeating rotary wing aircraft, group 2-3 unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and fixed wing ground attack aircraft with capabilities equal to or greater than the current Stinger missile.

The system must also be capable of integration with the Stinger Vehicle Universal Launcher (SVUL), which is a component of M-SHORAD Inc. 1, formerly referred to as IM-SHORAD. Other requirements include improved target acquisition with increased lethality and ranges over current capability. The new solution is also expected to feature the proximity fuze capability, which is also being retrofitted to the Stinger under a process that started in 2019.

The FIM-92 Stinger is an infrared homing surface-to-air missile that has been around since the late 1970’s. The man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) can be fired from a variety of vehicles and helicopters and is currently also part of the Stryker IFV-based M-SHORAD solution that was deployed to Europe last year.