Difference between revisions of "FIM-92 Stinger"

Revision as of 23:03, 19 December 2017

FIM-92 Stinger with IFF interrogator - 70mm

FIM-92 Stinger DMS (dual mount system) - 70mm

Avenger Air Defense System with FIM-92 Stingers - 70mm

The FIM-92 Stinger is the US military's principle man-portable air defence system (MANPADS). Originally developed as a pure IR-seeking system, it is a fire-and-forget weapon using a soft-launch missile with a two-stage main booster.

A Stinger has two main parts: the larger is the disposable Launch Tube Assembly, which incorporates the fiberglass launch tube, a 22-pound, 5-foot encased missile with an attached launch motor, and the weapon's sighting unit. The other is the reusable gripstock assembly, which includes the trigger assembly, controls, and the folding IFF (identify friend or foe) antenna. Two additional parts are the BCU (battery coolant unit) which is inserted into the underside of the gripstock with a quarter-turn to lock it (something which is almost never shown being done in media) and provides 45 seconds' worth of battery power and argon coolant gas for the missile seeker once activated, and the optional IFF interrogator, a small computer which is worn on the user's belt and connects to the base of the pistol grip via a wire. Without the latter, the weapon's IFF antenna does nothing: with it, the system can interrogate targets, identifying them as either friendly or unknown.

A complete Stinger is issued as a single "weapon-round" (as opposed to a "missile-round," which is just the LTA) in a protective case with either three or five BCUs, an IFF interrogator and a set of earplugs. While the gripstock is reusable, a Stinger team is usually only issued with two missile-rounds compared to four weapon-rounds, so it is not common for a Stinger to be "reloaded" in the field.

In 1991 the US Marine Corps began a program called WASP (Wide-Angle Stinger Pointer) to develop a night-vision sight for the Stinger. Raytheon designed a sight derived from their existing AN/PAS-13B, the AN/PAS-18, which was adopted by the USMC as the Stinger Night Sight (SNS) in 1993. The SNS is a passive night-vision scope that attaches to the top of the launch tube: as well as the USMC, it has also been adopted by the German Air Force as part of the VSHORAD (Very Short Range Air Defence) system, and Euroatlas GmbH has produced a variant of the design adapted to fit on the Russian SA-16 "Gimlet" missile system.

Note: Before adding to this list, make sure that you have checked the FIM-43 Redeye page. For a brief guide in differentiating these two weapons, see the bottom of this page.

Specifications

(1981-present)

Type: MANPADS (FIM-92), air-to-air missile (AIM-92 ATAS and ATAL)

Caliber: 70mm Missile, hit-to-kill annular blast fragmentation warhead (added proximity sensor on FIM-92J)

Capacity: 1 missile, disposable launcher

System weight: FIM-92A: 33.5 lb (15.19 kg)

Missile weight: 22 lb (10.1 kg)

Length: 59.8 in (1.52 m)

Fire Modes: Single shot, IR homing (FIM-92A), dual IR and UV homing (FIM-92B and later), IR, UV and passive radar (Stinger ADSM), imaging infrared (Stinger RMP Block II, cancelled)

The FIM-92 'Stinger' shoulder-fired Surface to Air Missile (SAM) has appeared used by the following actors in the following movies, video games, and television series:

Film

In live-action works a "Stinger" is usually a real, expended Stinger launch tube with its integrated sighting unit (as these are in many jurisdictions treated as expended rounds of ammunition), mounted on a prop gripstock unit. These props can be distinguished from a real gripstock by inaccuracies in the IFF antenna design (which is often rather wobbly) and often having a totally flat front, without the latch for attaching the gripstock to the launch tube.

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Fire Birds	Sean Young	CWO Billie Lee Guthrie	With a real gripstock	1990
Fire Birds			Mounted on AH-64 Apache helicopters	1990
Under Siege		Henchmen		1992
True Lies		Crimson Jihad terrorists		1994
Soldier Boyz		Vinh Moc's soldier		1995
Canadian Bacon	Kevin J. O'Connor	Roy Boy		1995
2009: Lost Memories		Fureisenjin terrorists	Spent tube with no gripstock	2002
Charlie Wilson's War		Mujahadeen fighters		2007
Charlie Wilson's War	Tom Hanks	Charlie Wilson		2007
The Day the Earth Stood Still		U.S. Army soldier	Mounted on M1097 Avenger Humvee	2008
Terminator: Genisys		Resistance fighter		2015
London Has Fallen		Terrorists	Prop gripstock and blown-out IR window	2016

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Note/Episode	Air Date
Miami Vice	Philip Michael Thomas	Detective Ricardo Tubbs		1984-1989
JAG	Lee Tergesen	Gunnery Sgt. Gentry	"Brig Break"	1995
Stargate SG-1		U.S military personnel	"Children of the Gods" (S1E01)	1997
NCIS			seen in weapons cache; "Enigma" (S1E15)	2004
JAG		Terrorist	"A Tangled Webb, Part I" (S8E24)	2008
Doctor Who		British Army soldiers	"Doomsday" (S2E13), Incorrectly used against ground targets	2006
The Unit	Scott Foley	Sgt. Bob Brown	"Eating the Young" (S1E09)	2006
CSI: Miami	Vincent Laresca	Antonio Riaz	"One of Our Own" (S4E25)	2006
Lost			"Cabin Fever" (S4E11)	2008
Doctor Who		UNIT soldiers	"Poison Sky" (S4E05); Incorrectly used against ground targets	2008
Branch (Expozitura)		The assassins	9th/ "Král je mrtev"	2009
Meteor		Army National Guard		2009
The Blacklist			seen in weapons sale; "The Stewmaker (No. 161)" (S1E04)	2013

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Enemy Engaged: Apache/Havoc			Shoulder and vehicle-mounted	1998
Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War			Non-playable	2004
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon			Simplistic launcher model designed to produce a convincing shadow	2011
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake				1990
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes				2004
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty				2001
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots				2008
Operation Flashpoint	AA Launcher			2001
Conflict: Desert Storm				2002
Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising				2004
Söldner: Secret Wars				2004
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare				2007
ArmA: Armed Assault				2007
Resident Evil 2				1998
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas				2004
Battlefield 2			In twin turret mount and quad launcher on M6 Linebacker	2005
Shadow Force: Razor Unit'	AA Launcher			2002
America's Army			Stored in crates in multiplayer mode, non-playable	2002
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames				2008
Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising		With AN/PVS-4 Thermal Scope		2009
Modern Warfare 2	Stinger			2009
Resident Evil 5			Desperate Escape DLC	2009
Project Reality			Shoulder, twin turret, and vehicle-mounted	2005
Battlefield Play4Free			In twin turret mount	2011
World in Conflict				2007
Modern Warfare 3				2011
Operation Flashpoint: Red River				2011
Project Reality: Falklands			Shoulder and twin turret mount	2012
Resident Evil: Revelations				2012
Ravaged				2012
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance	Homing Missile		"Futurised" version with radome instead of IFF antenna	2013
Grand Theft Auto V	Homing Launcher		incorrectly muzzle loaded with warhead outside like RPG-7	2013

Anime

Character	Film Title	Note	Date
Gokumon	Violence Jack: Hell's Wind Hen		1990
Kuze	Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig		2004 - 2005
Dejima refugees	Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig		2004 - 2005
JGSDF soldiers	Saikano		2006
Kiefer	Rideback		2009
Major Pollack's militia	Jormungand	Refurbished FIM-92As	2012

How to tell the FIM-92 Stinger from the FIM-43 Redeye

The Redeye is an earlier MANPAD which is similar in outward appearance to the Stinger and due to the fact that it has since been retired from active service with the US military there are a higher number of deactivated launchers on the market meaning that it often stands in for the Stinger in live-action films and television (The FIM-92 Stinger is in fact an evolution of the FIM-43 Redeye, with developmental name of the Stinger being the "Redeye II"). There are however several key differences which can be used to identify a launcher as a Redeye:

FIM-43 Redeye - 70mm. The Redeye launcher lacks the IFF box antenna found on the right side of a Stinger, the sighting unit is longer and extends further towards the front of the launcher tube, the bottom of the fire control unit is rounded, the battery pack protrude out the bottom of the launcher and the pistol grip slopes backwards like on a conventional firearm, as opposed to the forward sloping grip found on the Stinger launcher.

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 [[File:AADS Humvee.jpg|thumb|right|401px|Avenger Air Defense System with FIM-92 Stingers - 70mm]]
-The '''FIM-92 Stinger''' is the US military's principle man-portable air defence system (MANPADS).
+The '''FIM-92 Stinger''' is the US military's principle man-portable air defence system (MANPADS). Originally developed as a pure IR-seeking system, it is a fire-and-forget weapon using a soft-launch missile with a two-stage main booster.
+A Stinger has two main parts: the larger is the disposable Launch Tube Assembly, which incorporates the fiberglass launch tube, a 22-pound, 5-foot encased missile with an attached launch motor, and the weapon's sighting unit. The other is the reusable gripstock assembly, which includes the trigger assembly, controls, and the folding IFF (identify friend or foe) antenna. Two additional parts are the BCU (battery coolant unit) which is inserted into the underside of the gripstock with a quarter-turn to lock it (something which is almost ''never'' shown being done in media) and provides 45 seconds' worth of battery power and argon coolant gas for the missile seeker once activated, and the optional IFF interrogator, a small computer which is worn on the user's belt and connects to the base of the pistol grip via a wire. Without the latter, the weapon's IFF antenna does nothing: with it, the system can interrogate targets, identifying them as either friendly or unknown.
+A complete Stinger is issued as a single "weapon-round" (as opposed to a "missile-round," which is just the LTA) in a protective case with either three or five BCUs, an IFF interrogator and a set of earplugs. While the gripstock is reusable, a Stinger team is usually only issued with two missile-rounds compared to four weapon-rounds, so it is not common for a Stinger to be "reloaded" in the field.
+In 1991 the US Marine Corps began a program called WASP (Wide-Angle Stinger Pointer) to develop a night-vision sight for the Stinger. Raytheon designed a sight derived from their existing AN/PAS-13B, the AN/PAS-18, which was adopted by the USMC as the Stinger Night Sight (SNS) in 1993. The SNS is a passive night-vision scope that attaches to the top of the launch tube: as well as the USMC, it has also been adopted by the German Air Force as part of the VSHORAD (Very Short Range Air Defence) system, and Euroatlas GmbH has produced a variant of the design adapted to fit on the Russian SA-16 "Gimlet" missile system.
 Note: Before adding to this list, make sure that you have checked the [[FIM-43 Redeye]] page. For a brief guide in differentiating these two weapons, see the bottom of this page.