US Army Avenger AN/TWQ-1 air defense missile comes back into service in Europe

U.S. Army Depot is putting Avenger mobile air defense missile systems back into service. The first 36 refurbished Avengers have been shipped to Europe to support a battalion there.

An Avenger fires a Stinger missile during Artemis Strike, a live fire exercise at the NATO Missile Firing Installation (NAMFI) off the coast of Crete, Greece Nov. 6, 2017. (Picture source U.S. MoD)

In order to create 72 fully functional Avenger sets to support EUCOM (United States European Command) mission requirements, Army Materiel Command inspected and overhauled legacy Avenger systems that were stored in Pennsylvania and had been awaiting disposal

To date, 208 U.S. Soldiers have received Man-Portable Air-Defense System training, for 104 MANPADS teams (two per team). These Soldiers will deploy in support of U.S. Forces Command the U.S. European Command.

The Avenger AN/TWQ-1 Air Defense System vehicle is a missile mounted system which provides mobile, short-range air defense protection for ground units against cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, low-flying fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters. In the early 1980s, the then Defense Systems Division of the Boeing Aerospace Company (now The Boeing Company) developed the Avenger air defense system as a private venture.

The electric turret drive is the same as that used on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and is manufactured by General Dynamics, Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Avenger carries eight Raytheon Stinger short range air defense missiles in two launch pods mounted either side of the turret. The Stinger missile has a maximum firing range of 3,800 m at a maximum altitude of 3,800 m.