Raytheon Co., one of the world’s largest defense contractors, announced that it fired a Stinger surface-to-air missile using a Javelin launcher.
According to a company news release, Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business, successfully completed the first-ever demonstration of a Stinger missile fired from a Javelin Lightweight Command Launch Unit, or LWCLU, for the U.S. Army. The missile engaged and defeated an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), validating the capability of the combined systems to defeat emerging threats on land and in the air.
The LWCLU’s primary mission is as the launcher for the Javelin missile, however its superior optics also allow for stand-alone Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance missions. The system weighs 30 percent less than its predecessor and offers twice the sight range at night and three times the site range during the day, regardless of weather conditions.
Combat proven in four major conflicts, the Stinger missile has more than 270 fixed- and rotary-wing intercepts to its credit. It’s deployed in 19 nations and with all four U.S. military services.
“Because LWCLU can defeat both land and aerial threats, it’s easier for soldiers to use in complex environments,” said Tom Laliberty, vice president of Land Warfare & Air Defense, a business area of Raytheon Missiles & Defense. “It reduces the burden of carrying additional gear.”
During the test, conducted at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, soldiers from the Mississippi National Guard used a Sentinel radar simulator and an FAAD/C2 to track the target UAV, allowing the gunner to engage the aerial target with a Stinger Block I proximity fuse missile through the networked LWCLU.