The Principle Solid Rocket Engine Lights

Germany and the United States have sent hundreds of Stinger missiles (like this one being fired during a Marine Corp coaching mission) to assist Ukraine fight the invasion from Russia. U.S. Navy picture by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Chandler Harrell

When Russia invaded Ukraine in late February 2022, outnumbered Ukrainian defenders on the ground were susceptible to assault from Russian helicopters, which also had the ability to transport Russian troops quickly around the beleaguered smaller nation. That’s why the U.S. and its NATO ally Germany decided to present the Ukrainians a potent weapon that might assist even the percentages – the Stinger antiaircraft missile [sources: Rfel.org, Gould and Altman].

As retired Army Lt. Gen. Jim Dubik told the publication Army Times, the Stinger is a weapon with the potential to be “a recreation changer,” giving soldiers on the ground the power to contest the airspace, and hinder the enemy’s potential to conduct operations [supply: Gould and Altman]. The weapon’s effectiveness was demonstrated back in the mid-1980s, when Afghan resistance forces used Stinger missiles given to them by the CIA to shoot down Soviet helicopters. Some specialists credit score Stingers with having altered the course of that battle, and being a major factor within the Soviets’ eventual defeat [source: Woody]. Stingers additionally are used on the U.S. Army’s AH-sixty four Apache combat helicopter as an air-to-air weapon [source: Raytheon Missiles & Defense]. And they are often mounted on ground automobiles as effectively [supply: Judson].

In addition to being versatile, the Stinger missile can be extremely accurate, because it uses an infrared seeker to lock on to the heat within the engine’s exhaust, and will hit practically something flying beneath 11,000 ft (3,352 meters).

The Stinger was developed in the early 1970s [source: Trimble]. But it’s still fearsome. Over time, Stingers have been battle-tested in several conflicts, and at present they’re in the arsenals of 19 nations, and are used by 4 U.S. army branches [supply: Raytheon Missiles & Defense].

In this text, you’ll have a chance to be taught concerning the Stinger missile, and how it’s utilized on the battlefield. Federation of American Scientists

The Stinger missile, officially recognized because the FIM-92A, is designed to offer ground troops a approach to deal with low-flying airplanes and helicopters. From the perspective of troopers on the ground, low-flying enemy aircraft are normally an issue because they’re either bombing or strafing (attacking repeatedly with bombs or machine-gun hearth), doing surveillance work, or inserting, extracting and resupplying enemy troops. Shooting down these aircraft is the best way to eliminate these threats. The missile and its launcher weigh about 35 pounds (15 kilograms). The launcher is reusable. Each missile is a sealed unit that weighs solely 22 pounds (10 kilograms).

It’s a shoulder-launched weapon, and one person can launch a Stinger missile (though you usually see a two-man crew operating the missile).

It makes use of a passive infrared seeker. The infrared seeker can lock on to the heat the target is producing. It is called a “passive” seeker as a result of, unlike a radar-guided missile, it does not emit radio waves so as to “see” its goal.

It is a “hearth-and-overlook” weapon, that means it requires no enter from the gunner as soon as it is fired. This allows them to take cover, transfer to another place or interact a new target.

Launching the Missile

To launch a Stinger missile, a soldier basically just points it on the target, and when the seeker locks on, they pull the trigger. U.S. Army

The Stinger missile contains the steering, tail, propulsion and warhead programs. The tail has 4 folding fins that deliver roll. Stability whereas the missile is in flight. The guidance part includes the seeker assembly, a guidance meeting, titanium alloy a management meeting, a missile battery and four wings that present in-flight maneuverability. The warhead is equal to 1 pound (0.Forty five kilograms) of explosives encased in pyrophoric titanium. The propulsion section includes a launch motor. A twin-thrust flight motor.

To fire the weapon, the soldier aims the missile on the goal. When the seeker locks on, it makes a distinctive noise. The launch engine falls away. The principle strong rocket engine lights. This rocket propels the Stinger to approximately 1,500 miles per hour (2,400 kilometers per hour, Mach 2).

The missile then flies to the target routinely and explodes.

The Stinger missile can hit targets flying as high as 11,500 ft (3,500 meters), and has a range of about 5 miles (8 kilometers). Because of this the goal is an airplane less than 2 miles (3.21 kilometers) high and it is visible as a form (reasonably than a dot), then more than likely the Stinger missile can hit it. They’re extraordinarily accurate.

Stinger missiles use passive IR/UV sensors to track targets. The missiles search for the infrared light (heat) produced by the target airplane’s engines and monitor the airplane by following that mild. The missiles also identify the UV “shadow” of the target. Use that identification to differentiate the goal from different heat-producing objects.

Motion-sensing lights use passive infrared sensors. The sensors in a movement-sensing light are tuned to the temperature of a human being. When the sensors see a sudden change in the quantity of infrared gentle, they activate the light.

A motion-sensing mild needs just one sensor. But a Stinger missile wants an entire array of them, because its job is to trace the goal whereas it is flying. The nose of a Stinger missile has, basically, an infrared digital digicam in it. This digital camera might need an array of something from 2×2 (in older designs) to 128×128 (within the Sidewinder design) infrared sensors that receive an infrared picture of the scene. When the soldier will get able to launch the missile, the missile will need to have the target seen in roughly the center of this sensor.

While the missile is flying, the image of the airplane that it’s attempting to hit could become off-middle on the image sensor. When it does, that tells the missile that it is off-course, and the steering system in the missile should decide how to get back on target. This is where proportional navigation is available in. The missile looks at the angle of off-centeredness. Changes its angle of flight proportionally. In other phrases, it makes use of a multiplier. If the multiplier is 2, then if the steering system thinks it’s 10 levels off course, it’ll change its flight direction by 20 degrees. Then, a tenth of a second later it can look on the angle once more, and change again. By over-correcting this way, it lets the missile anticipate the path of the shifting airplane in the identical way that you anticipate the trail of a shifting object.

If you’re a quarterback making an attempt to throw a ball to a receiver operating throughout the sphere, you wouldn’t throw the ball toward the place the receiver is – you would throw it toward where he shall be when the ball arrives.

While the Stinger has confirmed effective over the a long time, the U.S. Army already is searching for a subsequent-technology weapon to change it.

Improving the StingerIn 2019, the U.S. Army began retrofitting its Stinger missiles with proximity fuzes. The expertise allows the missiles to destroy drone aircraft both with direct hits or by detonating near them, a capability that was demonstrated in Army testing in 2017. The modified missile offers floor troops higher defense in opposition to small, agile threats [supply: Osborn, Raytheon Missiles & Defense]. U.S. Army picture by Capt. Rachael Jeffcoat

Here are the stats on the Stinger missile:

Length: 5 feet (1.5 meters)

Diameter: 2.75 inches (7 centimeters)

Weight: 22 pounds (10 kilograms)

Weight with launcher: 34.5 pounds (15.2 kilograms)

Missile: 22 pounds (10.1 kilograms)

Warhead: 6.6 pounds (3 kilograms)

Speed: Supersonic in flight

Altitude Range: Approximately 11,000 ft (3 kilometers)

Range of hearth: 2.Four to 5 miles (four t0 eight kilometers)

For extra data on Stinger missiles and related subjects, check out the hyperlinks under.

The easy Difference Between Ballistic Missiles and Cruise Missiles

How Nuclear Bombs Work

How to outlive a Nuclear Attack

How Biological and Chemical Warfare Works

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