Tag Archives: stinger missile

Devil Dog Icicle

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Talk about dramatic. Check this one out.

Official caption: “Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Sebastian Gutierrez-Quiroz and Sgt. Matthew Blake shoot a FIM-92E Stinger missile at a simulated hostile counter-unmanned aircraft system during Arctic Edge near Fort Greely, Alaska, March 7, 2026. The exercise was designed to improve readiness, demonstrate capabilities, and enhance joint and allied force interoperability in the Arctic.”

Credit: Marine Corps Sgt. Aaron Torres-Lemus, VIRIN: 260307-M-UQ888-1037M

Replacing the old Redeye and British Blowpipe systems– which never worked well– Stinger has been the go-to NATO MANPADS since 1981 and earned its first combat kill before it was a year old with SAS commandos in the Falklands.

How you simulate a Stinger missile being fired

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The shoulder-launched surfaced to air missile or man-portable missile has been the go-to way for foot soldiers to swat down pesky low-flying aircraft since the late 1950s when Redeye and the Soviet SA-7 popped on the scene. Since the 1980s, the FIM-92 Stinger has been the weapon of choice for U.S. forces, but how do you get that just-shot missile feeling on the cheap?

Its called the “Stinger Launcher Simulator” or STLS. The STLS is a simulated round designed to mirror the Stinger missile except the STLS travels approximately 50 yards then drops to the ground.

Needless to say, the STLS has no warhead.

Below you have Marines assigned to Alpha Battery 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense (LAAD), 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, fire some STLS at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, Sept. 24, 2015