The US military wants a new portable missile that soldiers can use to shoot down planes. To replace the venerable Stinger anti-aircraft weapons, the Army issued a request for information on March 28, hoping to produce the weapons by 2027. A new anti-aircraft weapons program for the Army has been underway for a long time, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine has alleviated the problem considerably. The ability of ground soldiers  to destroy planes, or at least endanger pilots with the threat of airstrikes, has severely restricted the way Russia wages war. The

 solicitation patiently points out that "the current Stinger inventory is declining." This is one way to explain the US military sending thousands of  missiles from its  inventory to the Ukrainian army. Missiles are priced at $ 38,000 each, explaining some of the reasons for units like 173.

These missiles complement older anti-aircraft weapons such as the Soviet Strella anti-aircraft missiles that Germany sent to Ukraine to strengthen Ukraine's defenses. In the battle over them. Both of these weapons are  MANPADS, or human-portable air defense systems, and  Strelas and Stingers were both developed in the 1960s for jets and helicopters on the battlefield. The missile is also built into the in-vehicle launcher, allowing it to carry more weapons and  more sophisticated sensors to detect and track enemy aircraft prior to launch. The combination of anti-aircraft defense carried by

people and anti-aircraft defense mounted on the vehicle allowed the Ukrainian army to cause significant damage to Russian aircraft flying low-barreled attack runs. Higher altitude to get the plane.

In 2022, human-carried anti-aircraft missiles still serve to attack helicopters and planes, but  operate in unmanned skies  with far better sensors and countermeasures than  decades ago. is needed. To understand the stinger exchange, it is helpful to understand the stinger first.

Meet Old Stinger

"The basic Stinger weapon is an infrared (IR) -radiated homing  missile launched from a portable shoulder that does not require gunner control  after launch," said the Marine Corps Low Altitude Air Defense Gunner Handbook. Explaining. With launcher, it weighs 34.5 pounds, of which 12.5 pounds are for missiles, and the missile itself contains a 2.25 pound warhead.

Useful for high speed, low flight  or buildings on the ground. Track targets up to 15,700 feet or just under 3 miles and attack vehicles up to 12,500 feet or 2.4 miles away.