FEATURE ARTICLE

July 2005

Marines Ponder Stinger Missile Replacement

by Sandra I. Erwin

Marine Corps officials are mulling over proposals to replace the 25-year-old Stinger guided missile. A program to develop a substitute could begin as early as 2008, as the current inventory will reach the end of its shelf life during the next five to 10 years.

The Army and Marine Corps employ the Stinger as an air-defense weapon. It is launched from trucks and armored vehicles, or can be shoulder-fired by individuals.

As a stopgap, while it decides on a replacement, the Corps will upgrade its entire fleet of Stinger launchers. As part of a $13 million project that began in September, the Marines will get 188 refurbished air-defense vehicles, known as “advanced manpads” (man-portable air defenses). The new system, built on a four-door Humvee truck, will replace the two-door Avengers and current manpads-rack vehicles, said a Marine Corps Systems Command spokesman. The upgraded vehicles will continue to use the Stinger missile and the existing communications and command and control systems. The trucks also will be outfitted with machine guns and armor kits.

The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Marine Aircraft Wings will each receive 60 launchers. Six will go to the Stinger Gunner School at Fort Bliss, Texas, and two will remain at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, Ind., where the systems were designed and built.

A concept for a Stinger replacement could begin to take shape as early as 2008, said Marine Lt. Col. Lewis E. Wood, program manager for manpads. “We are in the process of developing requirements,” he told National Defense.

One consideration is whether the next generation of Stinger will be designed to hit both air and ground targets. “One of the Iraq lessons is that units have to fill whatever role they need to fill,” Wood said. The upshot is that Stingers occasionally may need to be employed as “force protection” weapons against both airborne and ground threats.

The current Stinger was not designed to strike ground targets, Wood said. In the future, “it is likely that the battalions will need, in addition to traditional air defense, an improved capability against ground threats—soft skin [unarmored] targets and personnel,” he said. “You could possible address it with a missile or gun.”

About two years ago, the Marine Corps asked contractors to submit preliminary concepts for a Stinger replacement, and received several responses, Wood said. An actual solicitation for bids is not expected until late 2006 or 2007.

The Raytheon Company, the current manufacturer of the Stinger, proposed a concept for a “multi-mission” Stinger that would be employed as a defensive weapon against aircraft, cruise missiles, and “thin-skinned, lightly armored vehicles,” according to company briefing charts.

Raytheon officials contend that “early-entry” Marines—who are dropped off in the combat zone way ahead of the unit’s air-defense forces—are potentially vulnerable to enemy unmanned aircraft and cruise missiles. The company says a multi-mission Stinger would provide those forces with a “layered” air-ground defensive shield.

So far, options remain wide open, Wood said. The Stinger ultimately could be replaced by another missile, a gun or even a laser. “All those things we’ll take a look at,” Wood said.

The Army has no plans yet to participate in this program with the Marines. It has about 23,000 Stingers left in the inventory, most of which are being used by the National Guard, said a spokesman for the Air Defense Artillery School. He noted that production has ceased, and that another system could replace Stinger within the next eight to 10 years.

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