The Avenger AN/TWQ-1 Air Defense System vehicle is a missile-mounted system that provides mobile, short-range air defense protection for ground units against cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, low-flying fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters.
Country users: Taiwan, Ukraine, United States
Technical Data
-
Armament
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 on either side of the turret. The turret can also be deployed as a fixed stand-alone unit. The baseline configuration consists of a gunner’s turret with missile pods mounted on each side. Each missile pod called the standard vehicle-mounted launcher, can hold four FIM-92 Stinger missiles that can be removed and fired in the MANPAD employment configuration. The missile has an outward targeting range of up to 4,800 m and can engage low-altitude enemy threats at up to 3,800 m. It can launch its missiles stationary or on the move, with a maximum speed of 35 km/h. The FIM-92 Stinger is a two-stage solid fuel self-homing missile with infrared guidance. It is a fire-and-forget type weapon. It has a maximum speed of Mach 2.2 and is fitted with HE-FRAG (High Explosive Fragmentation) warhead. The Avenger is also armed with a .50 caliber M3P automatic machine gun to cover the missile dead zone and engage ground targets
-
Design and protection
The Avenger air defense missile system is mounted on light wheeled vehicle HUMVEE. The driver is seated on the left and, in addition to having all the controls required to drive and operate the HMMWV, he also has complete intercommunications with the gunner in the turret. All voice systems, intercom/radio, and system tones are provided. The AVENGER is operated by a two-man crew
-
Mobility
This HUMVEE Avenger system is powered by a liquid-cooled eight-cylinder (V-8) diesel engine. The HMMWV has a full-time four-wheel drive. This means that it is always in four-wheel drive, with power being delivered to all four wheels through the two-speed locking Transfer Gear Case. As with other tactical military vehicles, the HMMWV has a 24-volt electrical system. This vehicle has two 12-volt batteries connected in a series to provide 24-volt electrical power. The batteries are located underneath the front passenger seat. The vehicle attains a speed of 90 km per hour on hard surface roads and has a maximum recommended cross-country speed of 40 km per hour. The HUMVEE vehicle is designed to operate in water up to 0,9 m deep without any special preparation. When equipped with a deep water fording kit, the HMMWV can operate in water up to 1,8 m deep.
-
Combat Equipment
The Avenger weapon station is equipped with an optical tracker and forward-looking infrared system. These are used to acquire targets. A friend-or-foe identification system is also fitted. The Avenger vehicle can be linked to the Forward Area Air Defense Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence (FAAD C3I) system, which permits external radar tracks and messages to be passed to the fire unit to alert and cue the gunner. The Slew-to-Cue (STC) subsystem allows the commander or gunner to select a FAAD C3I-reported target for engagement from a display on a Targeting Console developed from VT Miltope's Pony PCU. Once the target has been selected, the turret can be automatically slewed directly to the target with limited interaction by the gunner. To reduce life cycle and initial procurement costs, standard automotive components are used wherever possible, as in the engine, transmission, transfer case, and steering.
Photo Gallery
