Send 1,400 Stinger Missiles To Ukraine, United States Orders New Missiles Worth IDR 9 Trillion

Illustration of a Stinger missile. (Wikimedia Commons/Cpl. Joseph Scanlan)

JAKARTA - The United States Army last week awarded Raytheon Technologies Corp. a contract worth Rp. 625 million, or approximately Rp. 9,082,312,500,000 million, for Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to replenish stocks sent to Ukraine.

Raytheon's shoulder-fired anti-aircraft Stinger missiles are in high demand in Ukraine, where they have successfully stopped Russian attacks from the air. As well as in concerned European neighbors, they may also need to defeat Russian troops.

US forces have limited use for the current supply of Stingers, a light, self-contained weapon that can be deployed quickly to defend against helicopters, airplanes, drones and cruise missiles. However, the United States needs to maintain its supply while it develops the next generation of 'human-portable air defense systems' (MANPADS).

Since February, the United States has shipped about 1,400 Stingers to Ukraine. US allies also want to restock weapons they sent to Ukraine in recent months.

Contracts of up to 1,468 Stingers awarded on Wednesday, according to a document reviewed by Reuters, were quoted as of May 30, worth up to $687 million with options added. There is no time limit for the completion of the work, but it is estimated that delivery could take up to 30 months.

Raytheon Missiles & Defense President Wes Kremer said the order would help "fulfill our current foreign military sales orders, while replenishing Stingers supplied to Ukraine and speeding up production."

Separately, the Pentagon is looking for a Stinger missile that is already in stock, but needs to be updated, according to the document.

On May 6, the Pentagon's main arms buyer, Bill LaPlante, said he intended to sign the contract by the end of May, aiming to replace the Stinger missiles delivered to Ukraine. The Pentagon and Raytheon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Stinger production line closed in December 2020, the Pentagon said. In July 2021, Raytheon won a contract to manufacture more Stingers, but primarily for international governments, according to the US Army.

Meanwhile, Raytheon Chief Executive Greg Hayes told analysts during an April 26 conference call, the US Department of Defense has not bought a Stinger in 18 years.

"Some of the components are no longer commercially available, so we had to go out and redesign some of the electronics in the search missile. That would take us a bit of time."