The American FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS, along with Igla and Strela MANPADS, undoubtedly belongs to one of the most famous man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems in the world. "Stinger" (from the English Stinger - "sting") has a combined arms index FIM-92 in the American army and, like its "colleagues" from other countries, is designed to destroy low-flying air targets: drones, helicopters and airplanes. In addition, the Stinger provides the operator with limited capabilities to fire unarmored ground or surface targets. The complex, which was adopted by the American army in 1981, is still in service.
The complex, created in the United States since 1981, is not only in service with the American army, but is also actively exported. In addition to the United States, it was produced by the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) in Germany and Roketsan in Turkey. Over the entire production period, more than 70 thousand missiles have been fired for these complexes of all types. MANPADS is one of the most widespread in the world, it is in service with 30 states.
MANPADS "Stinger" is designed to destroy aircraft, including supersonic, and helicopters, both on a collision course and on a catch-up course. Including targets flying at low and extremely low altitudes. The complex was developed by the specialists of the General Dynamics company. The development of the Stinger MANPADS was preceded by work under the ASDP (Advanced Seeker Development Program) program, which began in the mid-1960s, shortly before the start of serial production of the first American Red Eye MANPADS. The purpose of these works was a theoretical study and experimental confirmation of the feasibility of the concept of a portable complex "Red Eye 2" with an anti-aircraft missile, on which it was planned to use an all-aspect infrared homing head.
The successful implementation of this program allowed the US Department of Defense in 1972 to start financing the development of a promising MANPADS, which immediately received the name "Stinger". The development of the complex, despite the difficulties encountered during the work, was completed by 1977. In the same year, General Dynamics began producing the first batch of finished samples. Their tests were carried out in the United States during 1979-1980 and ended successfully.
The test results of the new MANPADS with the FIM-92A anti-aircraft guided missile, which was equipped with an infrared (IR) seeker (wavelength range 4, 1-4, 4 microns), confirmed the complex's ability to destroy air targets on a collision course. The demonstrated results allowed the US Department of Defense to decide on the serial production of the complexes and their acceptance into service. Since 1981, they began en masse to enter service with the US ground forces in Europe. At the same time, the volume of production of MANPADS in this modification was significantly reduced due to the success achieved in creating a new GOS POST, the development of which had been carried out since 1977 and by the beginning of the 1980s was already at the final stage.
The dual-band POST seeker, which was used in the FIM-92B rocket, operates not only in the IR, but also in the ultraviolet (UV) wavelength range. Unlike the seeker of the FIM-92A rocket, where information about the position of an air target relative to its optical axis was extracted from a signal modulated by a rotating raster, a rasterless target coordinator was used in the new rocket. Its UV and IR detectors, operating in the same circuit with two digital microprocessors, allowed for rosette scanning. This provided the missile seeker with the ability to select an air target in conditions of background interference, as well as protection from infrared countermeasures.
The production of these missiles began in 1983, but due to the fact that already in 1985 the General Dynamics company began work on the creation of a new anti-aircraft missile FIM-92C, the rate of release of the FIM-92B missiles was also reduced compared to previously … The new rocket, the development of which was completely completed in 1987, used the new POST-RPM seeker, equipped with a reprogrammable microprocessor, which made it possible to adapt the characteristics of the missile guidance system to the jamming and target environment by choosing suitable programs. Replaceable memory blocks, in which typical programs were stored, were located in the case of the trigger mechanism of the "Stinger-RPM" MANPADS. Until 1991, about 20 thousand FIM-92C missiles were fired, all of which were supplied only to the US Army. Further work on improving missiles equipped with the POST-RPM seeker was carried out in terms of equipping the FIM-92C missile with a lithium battery, a ring laser gyroscope, and an improved roll rate sensor.
The FIM-92E Block I missiles were widely used, which were equipped with a dual-band anti-jamming seeker of the socket type, operating in the IR and UV wavelength ranges. These missiles were equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighing 3 kg, their flight range increased to 8 kilometers, and the missile speed is M = 2, 2 (about 750 m / s). The FIM-92E Block II missiles were equipped with an all-aspect thermal imaging seeker with an array of IR detectors located in the focal plane of the optical system. The first FIM-92E missiles began to enter service with the American army in 1995. Almost the entire stock of Stinger MANPADS missiles in service with the US Army has been replaced with these missiles.
MANPADS "Stinger" of all modifications, without exception, consists of the following main components:
- anti-aircraft guided missile in a transport and launch container;
- trigger mechanism;
- an optical sight for visual detection and tracking of an air target, as well as an approximate determination of the range to the target;
- a power supply and cooling unit with an electric battery, as well as a container with liquid argon;
- equipment for identification "friend or foe" AN / PPX-1 (electronic unit, which is worn on the waist belt of the operator of the complex).
The missile seeker: Under the transparent cover, the tracking coordinator of the target on a gyro-stabilized platform is visible
The "Stinger" MANPADS missile is made according to the "duck" aerodynamic configuration. In the nose of the rocket there are four aerodynamic surfaces, two of which are rudders, and two more remain stationary relative to the rocket body. To be controlled using one pair of aerodynamic rudders, the rocket rotates around its longitudinal axis, and the control signals that go to the rudders are consistent with its movement relative to this axis. SAM acquires initial rotation due to the inclined arrangement of the launch accelerator nozzles relative to its body. To maintain the rotation of the rocket in flight, the planes of the tail stabilizer, which, like the rudders, open when the missile defense system leaves the TPK, are installed at a certain angle to its body. Control with one pair of rudders allowed the designers to achieve a significant reduction in weight, as well as the cost of flight control equipment.
The missile is equipped with a dual-mode sustainer solid-propellant engine "Atlantic Research Mk27", which ensures its acceleration to a speed of 750 m / s and maintains such a high speed throughout the flight to the target. The missile's main engine is turned on only after the launching accelerator is separated and the rocket is removed to a safe distance from the operator-operator of the complex (about 8 meters). The defeat of air targets is provided by a powerful high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighing about three kilograms. The warhead is equipped with a percussion fuse and a safety-actuating mechanism, which ensures the removal of the fuse protection stages and the transmission of a command to self-destruct the missile defense system in the event of a miss.
The anti-aircraft missile is placed in a sealed cylindrical TPK made of fiberglass, which is filled with an inert gas. Both ends of this container are closed with lids that collapse at the time of launch. The front of them is made of a material that transmits IR and UV radiation, which allows the homing head to capture a target without breaking the seal and tightness of the TPK. The sufficiently high reliability of the SAM equipment and the tightness of the TPK ensure the storage of anti-aircraft missiles in the troops without maintenance for 10 years.
The trigger mechanism, with the help of which the missile defense system is prepared for launch and the launch is carried out, is connected to the TPK with the help of special locks. The electric battery of the energy saving and cooling unit (this unit is installed in the trigger housing in preparation for firing) is connected to the rocket on-board network via a plug connector, and a container with liquid argon is connected to the cooling system line through a fitting. On the bottom surface of the MANPADS trigger there is a plug connector designed to connect the electronic unit of the friend-or-foe identification equipment, and on the handle there is a trigger with two working and one neutral positions. After pressing the trigger and putting it into the first operating position, the power supply and cooling unit is activated, after which the electricity from the battery (voltage 20 volts, the duration of operation is at least 45 seconds) and liquid argon are fed on board the missile defense system, providing cooling of the GOS detectors, spinning up the gyroscope and performing other operations that are directly related to the preparation of the rocket for launch. With further pressure of the arrow operator on the trigger and his occupation of the second working position, the onboard electric battery is activated, which is able to power the electronic equipment of the missile defense system for 19 seconds and the igniter of the anti-aircraft missile launch engine is triggered.
In the process of combat work, data on air targets comes from an external detection and targeting system or a crew number that monitors the airspace. After the aerial target is found, the shooter-operator puts the Stinger MANPADS on his shoulder and aim the complex at the selected target. After the seeker of the anti-aircraft missile captures the target and begins to follow it, the sound signal and the vibration device of the optical sight turn on, against which the operator presses his cheek, warning of the capture of the air target. The operator then activates the gyroscope by pressing a button. Before the actual launch, the shooter-operator also enters the required lead angles. With the index finger of the arrow, he presses the trigger guard, after which the on-board battery begins to work. When the battery returns to normal operation, the cartridge with compressed gas is triggered, which discards the detachable plug, disconnecting power from the power supply and cooling unit, including the squib for starting the rocket launch engine.
The calculation of the Stinger MANPADS consists of two people - the gunner-operator and the commander, who have at their disposal 6 SAM missiles in the TPK, an electronic warning and display unit of the air situation, and an all-terrain vehicle. MANPADS calculations were available in the states of anti-aircraft divisions of American divisions (armored - 75 each, light infantry - 90 each, air assault - 72), as well as the Patriot and Improved Hawk divisions.
American portable complexes "Stinger" have been actively used in various local conflicts in recent decades. Including the Afghan mujahideen against the Soviet troops. Thermal traps did not always save planes and helicopters from fired missiles, and a powerful warhead quite effectively hit even the engines of Su-25 attack aircraft. The losses of Soviet aviation from MANPADS "Stinger" in Afghanistan were tangible. According to various estimates, up to half of the 450 Soviet planes and helicopters lost in Afghanistan could have been shot down from the ground by MANPADS fire.
The appearance in Afghanistan of the American Stinger MANPADS in late 1986 - early 1987 became a really serious problem for Soviet aviation. In just nine months of 1987, the Americans transferred about 900 complexes of this type to the Afghan mujahideen. They tried to solve the problem of widespread use of MANPADS by the enemy in various ways, not only by installing false heat target shooting systems on helicopters and airplanes. The tactics of using aviation, both transport helicopters and aircraft, and attack vehicles, were also changed. Transport aviation flights began to be performed at high altitudes, where MANPADS missiles could not reach them. Landing and takeoff of aircraft took place in a spiral with a sharp climb or vice versa with a sharp loss of altitude. During flights, helicopters, on the contrary, began to cuddle to the ground, using ultra-low altitudes for flights, trying to hide in the folds of the terrain. Despite all measures, the massive appearance of modern MANPADS among the Mujahideen reduced the effectiveness of Soviet aviation at the final stage of the Afghan war.
It is worth noting that the Stinger MANPADS also has alternative options for combat use. It can also be used to fire unarmored ground and surface targets. According to its criteria, this complex meets the definition of surface-to-surface missiles. The limited use of "Stinger" MANPADS for these purposes was clearly demonstrated during joint tests conducted by the US Marine Corps and the US Army in the summer of 2003 in Texas at the Fort Bliss McGregor training ground. During the tests, Stinger missiles hit: a medium army truck such as an M880 pickup truck, a truck with a van, a floating tracked armored personnel carrier of the Amtrack type, and a high-speed motor boat. On the basis of these tests, the possibility of arming the "Stinger" MANPADS of American servicemen at checkpoints to protect against shahid-mobiles instead of the "Javelin" ATGM systems, which cost an order of magnitude more expensive than the "Stingers", was considered, however, this idea was never implemented got it.
It should be noted that the complex developed in the 1970s is still relevant. This is the only MANPADS in service with the US military. At the same time, he is now emerging from almost 15 years of oblivion. On January 17, 2018, the Internet portal defensenews.com reported that the American army resumed training programs for shooters-operators of FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS, which have practically not been conducted in recent years. “The return of the Stinger MANPADS is linked to a self-identified rift created and recognized by the US Army. We are going back to basics and returning short-range missile systems to combat units,”Lt. Col. Aaron Felter, head of training programs for the Air Defense Integrated Office, told reporters.
According to the new operator training program, MANPADS will primarily be used to combat numerous unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as attack helicopters. According to US General Randall McIntyre, "in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Russian army has been transformed, UAVs are increasingly being used for military purposes, so we need to have the tools to defend European countries." In fact, the US military has turned on its old "plate", which, however, does not negate the fact that it is still very early to write off any MANPADS, especially with the observed growth in the use of all kinds of drones in military conflicts of varying intensity around the world.
The performance characteristics of the FIM-92 Stinger:
The range of targets hit (after) - up to 4750 m (up to 8000 m for the FIM-92E).
The minimum range of targets hit is 200 m.
The height of target destruction is up to 3500-3800 m.
The maximum rocket speed is 750 m / s.
The rocket diameter is 70 mm.
The length of the rocket is 1, 52 m.
The launch mass of the rocket is 10, 1 kg.
The mass of the missile warhead is 3 kg.
The mass of the complex in the firing position is 15, 2 kg.
The warhead is high-explosive fragmentation.
