The United States has signed a contract to purchase anti-aircraft Stinger missiles for $687 million. The missiles will help restock supplies that have been sent to Ukraine.
Raytheon produces the Stinger missiles, which have been in high demand in Ukraine for their effectiveness at stopping air assaults.
Stingers are lightweight, shoulder-fired missiles that can be quickly deployed to defend against cruise missiles, airplanes, drones, and helicopters. The missiles are also in high demand in other European countries that border Russia due to the possibility of having to defend themselves against Russian forces.
According to a document seen by Reuters, Raytheon was awarded the contract on Wednesday for a total of 1,468 Stingers. The order has an estimated delivery time of up to 30 months, though there was no schedule to complete the work.
Even though U.S. troops currently have limited use for Stingers, the country says it needs to maintain its supply on hand while developing the next generation of a “man-portable air defense system.”
The document additionally says that the Pentagon will search its inventory for Stingers that need to be refurbished.
On May 6, Bill LaPlante, the chief weapons buyer for the Pentagon, stated that he had intended to sign a contract by the end of the month and that the intention was to replace the Stinger missiles sent to Ukraine one-for-one. Since February, the U.S. has sent approximately 1,400 Stingers to Ukraine.
According to the Pentagon’s announcement, the U.S. intended to shut down its Stinger assembly line in December 2020. However, Raytheon was awarded a contract in July 2021 to produce additional Stingers primarily intended for international governments.
On April 26, Raytheon’s Chief Executive Officer, Greg Hayes, disclosed to analysts that the U.S. Department of Defense had not purchased a Stinger in the last 18 years. One facility producing Stinger’s remains in the U.S., an Arizona plant that only produces at a low rate.
“Some of the components are no longer commercially available, and so we’re going to have to go out and redesign some of the electronics in the missile of the seeker head,” said Hayes. “That’s going to take us a little bit of time.”