The U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Finland of FIM-92K Stinger Man Portable missiles; Production Verification Flight Test (PVFT) FIM-92K Stinger Man Portable missiles; and related equipment for an estimated cost of $380 million. The Government of Finland has requested to buy three hundred fifty (350) FIM-92K Stinger Man Portable missiles; and five (5) Production Verification Flight Test (PVFT) FIM-92K Stinger Man Portable missiles. Also included is support equipment; production support, engineering and technical services; transportation services; and other related elements of program and logistics support.
The proposed sale will improve Finland’s defense and deterrence capabilities. Finland intends to use these defense articles and services to increase its national stock. This critical platform will bolster the land and air defense capabilities in Europe’s northern flank, supporting the U.S. European Command’s top priorities. Finland will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces. The principal contractors will be Raytheon Missiles and Defense, Tucson, AZ and Lockheed Martin Corporation, Syracuse, NY. There are no known offset agreements in connection with this potential sale. Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Finland.
The FIM-92 Stinger is an American man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles, and from helicopters. The Stinger missile has a length of 1.52m, a diameter of 7.62cm and fin span of 10.16cm. The system weighs around 10kg, while the total weight including that of grip stock is 15.87kg. It entered service in 1981 and is used by the militaries of the United States and 29 other countries. Finland will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces. 171 FIM-92F Stinger-RMP Block I missiles were brought from Denmark to be used for training purposes.
The FIM-92K is a variant of the FIM-92 Stinger designed to use a vehicle datalink rather than the missile’s own seeker for targeting. The missile upgrade to replace aging components to extend service life an additional 10 years. Upgrades include a proximity fuze warhead section, equipped with a target detection device to increase effectiveness against unmanned aerial vehicles, a new flight motor and gas generator cartridge, as well as new designs for the o-rings and integral desiccant cartridge. While previous versions of the Stinger were supposedly capable against larger UAS (DoD Class 3), the FIM-92J and K have the ability to engage smaller UAS, even down to Class 1.
