The US Army is preparing for a major overhaul of its short-range air defense arsenal and is seeking 11,000 next-generation missiles to replace its aging Stinger missile.
In a request for information document published on the government’s contracting website last week, the service said it’s looking for defense industry input on production of the Next Generation Short Range Interceptor, or NGSRI, a new surface-to-air missile.
The Army, together with industry partners, began developing the weapons in 2023 and hopes to begin producing them in five years. A planning estimate included in the documents posted online calls for the procurement of approximately 11,000 missiles and 2,200 launch assemblies over ten years.
Defense industry juggernauts Lockheed Martin and RTX are each competing to be the Army’s choice for Stinger replacements. RTX’s Raytheon business makes the current Stinger. Each tested potential replacement options earlier this year. Lockheed conducted the first in a series of planned flight tests in January, and in February, RTX’s Raytheon carried out a ballistic test.
The Army says that the new NGSRI will be a “fire and forget” missile, meaning the shooter doesn’t have to guide it after launch, capable of defeating helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and larger unmanned aerial systems. It is intended to replace the FIM-92 Stinger, a shoulder-fired missile that has been a cornerstone of American short-range air defense for decades.
Like the US military’s FGM-148 Javelin and M3 MAAWS Carl-Gustaf systems often used to target vehicles or tanks, the Stinger is small enough to be carried by ground combat personnel and is fired by mounting the weapon on the shooter’s shoulder.
The Stinger is characterized as a MANPADS, or man-portable air-defense system. It relies on an infrared-homing seeker to engage targets and has been in service since the early 1980s. Though reliable, the modern air defense environment is becoming increasingly complex, demanding more advanced capabilities.
The coming NGSRI is expected to be faster, have a longer range, and be more survivable while also being able to engage a wider range of aerial threats.
The Army’s interest in procuring thousands of NGSRI missiles comes as the US military grapples with growing concern over munitions stockpiles. While fighting in the Middle East has taken a toll on stocks of higher-end air defense systems, significant transfers to Ukraine over the years have depleted the US Stinger arsenal.
Those stockpiles aren’t easily rebuilt, since the Stinger is an older weapon with a relatively cold industrial base. Rather than reignite production, the Army is instead chasing a replacement.
According to the Army’s request document, the Stinger replacements should be compatible with existing launch platforms.
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