Raytheon, an RTX subsidiary and one of the largest suppliers of missile weapons to the United States, has signed a memorandum of understanding with German Diehl Defence to co-produce key elements of the Stinger missile in Europe.
Diehl Defence, in turn, is known for its IRIS-T air-to-air missiles and the surface-launched system of the same name. This company has also been involved in manufacturing infrared homing heads for the Stinger MANPADS.
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Earlier, German media indicated growing interest in the country to revive local production of Stingers — during the Cold War, the nation used to make this missile but lost the license. The memorandum is a step towards restoring this capability; furthermore, it invites multiple other European enterprises into the process.
The components are likely to be manufactured at several sites across Europe, including at the COMLOG joint venture between MBDA and Raytheon. To reassure the American side that there's enough demand, Germany, the Netherlands, and Romania have pooled their procurement efforts, resulting in an order for 1,000 missiles.
Interestingly, European countries keep pursuing specifically Stinger, placing orders and deploying local production, while already having six domestic alternatives in active offer and development. These are the Mistral 3, SADM, RBS-70, LMM, and Piorun MANPADS, as well as the newest Fulgur from the Italian MBDA branch.
Stinger, in its own right, has experienced a resurgence after it was practically discarded by the U.S. Army in 2022, and is now being modernized instead. The Red Wasp program seeks to integrate a solid fuel ramjet engine, employing a technology similar to Europe's own Meteor missile. Except this time, the U.S. Army is doing the upgrade itself, without Raytheon's involvement.
For the Bundeswehr, the Stinger cost stands at about €780,000 apiece — a rough calculation based on a 2024 package procurement. This is sort of a preferential price, because Morocco recently sought to buy Stingers, too, and was requested 1.5 times the amount.
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