US defense contractor Raytheon has teamed up with German firm Diehl Defence to jointly produce the key components of the Stinger surface-to-air missile in Europe.
The companies forged the partnership through a signed memorandum of understanding, with Diehl assessing options to increase production capacity for the Raytheon-made munition, which is designed to engage low-flying aerial threats such as helicopters and drones.
In service with 24 countries, the FIM-92 Stinger has been seeing “historically high demand,” according to Raytheon’s president of Land & Air Defense Systems, Tom Laliberty.
Meanwhile, Diehl CEO Helmut Rauch said, “relaunching production for Stinger missiles builds on our proven capabilities and expertise in that product range and fits seamlessly in our strong standing on the market for ground-based air defense systems.”
Stinger Missile Production
Fielded since 1981, the Stinger missile is a man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that was out of active production for around 20 years until demand suddenly surged.
The increase was due to several factors, including the prominence of drone warfare and the 2022 outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine, in which the US has sent over 3,000 Stinger missiles to Kyiv.
In the Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has been expanding its stockpile amid growing tensions with China, leading Washington to consider letting Taipei locally produce the anti-aircraft ammunition.
Meanwhile, the Stinger missiles are undergoing a service life extension program, with 1,900 missiles refurbished last year, while their replacement, the Next-Generation Short-Range Interceptor (NGSRI), is being developed.
