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The US Faces Issues With Making Homing Warheads For the Stinger MANPADS, Which Slows Down the Production Plans

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The FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS / Illustrative photo from open sources
The FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS / Illustrative photo from open sources

The production of even proven weapon samples often runs into paradoxical technological limitations

The US defense industry plans to increase the production of the Stinger MANPADS by 2025: from 40 to 60 units per month, or approximately 500 to 700 units per year.

However to do this, it is necessary to relearn how to manufacture the key element for this weapon: a double detection node in the infrared homing head, since the American defense industry has "destroyed" its production as of now. Defense24 reports siting Janes.

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The US Faces Issues With Making Homing Warheads For the Stinger MANPADS, Which Slows Down the Production Plans, Defense Express, war in Ukraine, Russian-Ukrainian war
The FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS / Illustrative photo from open sources

Perhaps it will have to be designed anew, as the production of the necessary elements has been lost. In order to manufacture new Stinger MANPADS in small batches for foreign customers, the old stocks of components were enough, and actually the Raytheon corporation has dealt with it until recently.

The US Faces Issues With Making Homing Warheads For the Stinger MANPADS, Which Slows Down the Production Plans, Defense Express, war in Ukraine, Russian-Ukrainian war
The FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS / Illustrative photo from open sources

However, as soon as the US tried to replenish the stocks of Stinger after sending 1,600 units to Ukraine, the situation "emerged" that a critically important node is missing to increase the production, which the American "contractors" are no longer able to do at the moment.

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