Babadag Training Area, Romania. (December 27, 2024): It is a weapon that terrorized Russians forces in Afghanistan and is knocking their planes out of the skies over Ukraine today. The weapon is the Stinger, a shoulder-launched heat-seeking antiaircraft missile that continues to devastate Russian armor today. In this photo by Sergeant Austin Steinborn, Specialist Alexis Ortega (left) and Sergeant Blaise Harvilla (right) use a Stinger Field Handling Trainer to track a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during air defense training. These trainers help gunners learn essential weapon handling skills, sighting and ranging, and how to visually track live aircraft.

In the 1980s, the U.S. covertly provided Stinger missiles to insurgents during the Soviet Afghan War helping clear their skies of Russian aircraft. The weapon had such an effect that it is credited with helping end the Soviet occupation that led to the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union. Today, the Americans and its allies are sending thousands of Stingers to Ukraine to help them do the same.

Designed to counter low-altitude threats, the Stinger was developed by General Dynamics and has been an integral part of the United States military arsenal since 1981. The weapon uses an infrared guidance system to track the heat emitted from an aircraft engine, enabling them to lock onto targets with high accuracy. The 2.25-pound warhead travels at 1,930 mph and has a targeting range of up to five miles. The biggest advantage of the Stinger over other air defenses is its portability. Man-portable and requiring minimal training, Stingers can be quickly dispersed across the battlefield. Also, a defender carrying a Stinger missile is much more difficult to detect and target than larger pieces of air-defense equipment.

As it did in the 1980s, the Stinger continues to sting the Russians in the skies above Ukraine.