US Wants To Make More Stingers, But it Needs to Revive Production Technology Nearly from Scratch
July 1st, 2023
Via: Technology.org:
It is not easy to restart old production lines – after most of them have been disassembled and the technology itself was largely forgotten. Therefore, in order to make Stinger portable missile launchers (MANPADS) which became incredibly popular after their particularly effective use in Ukraine, the United States needs to find specialists who still know the essence of making this weapon.
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To replenish its own stocks, the U.S. Army placed an order for 1700 new Stinger launcher units back in May 2022. However, the Pentagon reported that it would take as long as 30 months (or two and a half years) for the completed MANPADS to start rolling off the assembly line.
The reason behind this lengthy timeframe is quite straightforward—several components for these MANPADS are no longer in production, necessitating the exploration of new methods and possibly novel technological improvements to resume production and increase its rates in the nearest time.
As an example, American engineers have encountered difficulties in manufacturing the homing heads for these MANPADS, so this component will potentially require conducting research and developing replacement modules.
