The Army has intensified the training soldiers receive on the FIM-92 Stinger — a man-portable, air defense missile — after nearly 15 years of moving away from the weapon system.
The Stinger has been around since the late 1970s, according to the Army. As counterinsurgency became the Army’s primary mission focus, however, training drifted away from the shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile.
“Bringing back the Stinger addresses a self-identified gap that the Army created and has recognized,” said Lt. Col. Aaron Felter, the director of training and doctrine for the Air Defense Integrated Office. “We’re getting back to the basics and providing short-range air defense to maneuver units.”
The shift back to the Stinger is based on the Army chief of staff’s initiative to close the gap in short-range air defense capabilities the United States and its NATO allies suffer from on the European continent, according to the Army.