Dual Mount Stinger American Man-Portable Air-Defense System (MANPADS)

The Dual Mount Stinger (DMS) is a tripod-mounted launch platform for the Stinger Missile developed by Hughes Missile Systems Company (HMSC) for the SHORAD Project Office. (HMSC was later sold to Raytheon Corporation and is currently operating as Raytheon Missile Systems Corporation [RMSC].) Tripod-mounted missile launch devices are not a new concept. Developed for FMS customers, the DMS Weapon System consists of the DMS launcher with two Stinger tactical missiles (Guided Missile, Intercept Aerial). This system provides air defense capability from a fixed ground position. A self-contained system, the DMS includes its own electrical power system, argon coolant, and sighting units. Easily disassembled into portable components that require minimal set-up time, the DMS can be operated autonomously or in conjunction with an external early warning command and cueing/control system. The DMS launcher has provisions to receive Forward Area Air Defense Data Link or Ground Based Data Link cueing data, which can be from either two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional(3D) sensors. Cueing data from a 2D system give the approach direction (azimuth) and range of the target aircraft, while cueing data from a 3D system give the approach direction (azimuth), range of the target aircraft, and elevation angle. Since the United States had no requirement for this system in 1997, its development and fielding presented a unique set of challenges. A current FMS customer approached the SHORAD Project Office with the requirement for a tripod launcher, and we immediately started the research necessary to meet the requirement. The sale of this system, even though it technically did not exist at the time, required the same U.S. Department of State approval as any other FMS case. In August 1998 the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the United States requested a possible sale of 61 Dual Mount STINGER Missile Systems consisting of: 61 Dual Mount STINGER (DMS) launchers (includes elevation assembly, tripod assembly, and sights) with coolant units, 61 STINGER RMP (-) captive flight trainers, 728 complete STINGER RMP (-) missile rounds (less battery coolant unit), 132 AN/VRC-91 export version Single Channel Ground/Air Radio System (SINCGARS) radios, spare and repair parts, support equipment, Interrogator Friend or Foe interrogator sets, interrogator programmers, utility carrier trucks, aerial flight handling and launcher trainers, coolant units, gas bottles, publications and documentation data, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor engineering and logistics personnel services, U.S. Government Quality Assurance Teams, Mobile Training Teams, and other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost was $180 million. The Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD) Project Office obtained necessary approvals and built the customer a Stinger Missile Launcher that ultimately met their requirements in a timely and cost-effective manner.