AN/TWQ-1 Avenger American 4x4 Mobile Air Defense Missile System

AN/TWQ-1

Mobile Air Defense Missile System

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Basic Information

Name

AN/TWQ-1 Avenger American 4x4 Mobile Air Defense Missile System

Designation

AN/TWQ-1

Alternate Designation

AN/TWQ-1

Equipment Type

Mobile Air Defense Missile System

Manufacturer

Boeing

Date of Introduction

1989

Description

The Avenger Air Defense System, designated AN/TWQ-1 under the Joint Electronics Type Designation System, is an American self-propelled surface-to-air missile 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. The Avenger was originally developed for the United States Armed Forces and is currently used by the U.S. Army. The Avenger system was also used by the U.S. Marine Corps. The Avenger comes mainly in three configurations, the Basic, Slew-to-Cue, and the Up-Gun. The Basic configuration consists of a gyro-stabilized air defense turret mounted on a modified heavy Humvee. The turret has two Stinger missile launcher pods, each capable of firing up to 4 fire-and-forget infrared/ultraviolet guided missiles in rapid succession. The Avenger 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. The Up-Gun Avenger was developed specifically for the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment for the Regiment's 2005 deployment to Iraq. The modification was designed to allow the Avenger to perform unit and asset defense in addition to its air defense mission. The right missile pod was removed and the M3P .50 cal machine gun was moved to the pod's former position. This allowed for the removal of the turret's cab safety limits which enabled the gun to be fired directly in front of the HMMWV. Eight of the unit's Avengers were modified to this configuration. With the 3rd ACR's redeployment from Iraq, the Up-Gun Avenger completed its role in Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Avengers have been scheduled to be converted back to STC systems.

Ground Specifications

Crew 2

Mobility Type Wheeled (4x4)

Main Weapon Stinger missiles

Engine Detroit Diesel cooled V-8 (135 hp)

Max Speed 89.0 km/h

Range 443.0 km

Variants

Boeing/Shorts Starstreak Avenger Boeing teamed with Shorts Brothers PLC (now part of Thales) to offer an Avenger system in which one Stinger pod was replaced with a pod of four Starstreak Hyper-velocity laser-guided missiles, in the hopes of attracting a U.S. Army contract under the Forward Area Air Defense System Line-of-Sight Rear (FAADS-LOS-R) program. Test installation was carried out in mid-1990 and firing trials followed from mid-1991 in the U.K. Starstreak would have complemented the Stinger by improving the overall systems ability to deal with low hovering helicopters which frequently do not provide enough contrast for lock-on by infrared guided missiles. Starstreak also has the ability to be used against un-armored and lightly armored ground vehicles.

Boeing/Matra Guardian In the 1990s Boeing teamed with Matra of France to offer the Avenger modified by the substitution of standard triple launcher boxes for Matra Mistral missiles in place of the quadruple Stinger pods of the standard Avenger. One demonstrator vehicle was built in 1992 and test firings took place in France. The project was dropped around 1997.

Avengers during the Iraq War Due to the lack of serious airborne threats during much of the Iraq War, along with the pressing need for ground assets for combat roles such as convoy protection, the Avenger was pressed into this role. The FLIR/laser rangefinder combined with the .50 cal machine gun has proved to be very effective, but was limited by no-fire zones, particularly to the front of the vehicle. A program was instituted to remove one of the missile pods and move the machine gun to that position to enable a 360° field of fire. The upgrade also increased the ammunition capacity to 650 rounds.

Avenger DEW Another potential variant proposed by Boeing is an Avenger with a Directed Energy Weapon (DEW). Boeing completed an initial test of a 1 kilowatt laser mounted where the right missile pod would be. The M3P .50 cal has been replaced by the M242 Bushmaster as its close defense weapon.

Avenger Multi-Role Weapon System Test firing demonstrations took place in 2004 of this variant modified by re-locating the M3P machine gun over the turret cab to allow a 360-degree field of fire, increasing ready-use machine gun ammunition stowage to 600 rounds, and providing the option to substitute launchers for 2 FGM-148 Javelin missiles in place of 1 Stinger pod.

Accelerated Improved Interceptor Initiative (AI3) In February 2012, Raytheon was awarded a contract to develop the AI3, a modified AIM-9 Sidewinder missile mounted on the Avenger launcher, to perform counter rocket, artillery, mortar (C-RAM), counter unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV), and counter cruise missile duties. In 2013, the US Army decided to not buy the system. In August 2014, the system successfully intercepted a UAV and cruise missile target featuring a semi-active radar homing seeker in a test.

Other variants Boeing have proposed that the Avenger PMS turret could be mounted on other vehicles such as Unimog truck, BV-206 all-terrain vehicles, M113 APC, and M548 tracked cargo carrier as well as being used as a stationary ground mount on a pallet for defense of static targets. The Avenger PMS has been demonstrated with a mock-up of two 70 mm helicopter-type rocket pods carrying a total of 36 rockets to give the system greater multi-mission utility. Other missiles such as the Bofors RBS 70/Bolide have been proposed for use on the Avenger PMS. In March 2017, Boeing revealed a modernized Avenger system fitted with AIM-9X Sidewinder and Longbow Hellfire missiles on the sides and a directed energy weapon affixed to the top. It is also planned to be integrated onto other platforms including the JLTV, Stryker, and Bradley Fighting Vehicle. While Boeing had configured a Stryker with the Avenger turret to fulfill the Army's Interim Maneuver-Short-Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) requirement, the Army ultimately decided against the idea, feeling it would require major modifications to the vehicle and because of the company's desire for the service to supply the turrets, of which there were a limited amount existing readily in the inventory.

System

Alternate Designation AN/TWQ-1

Type Mobile Air Defense Missile System

Manufacturer Boeing

Configuration 4x4

Role Short-range surface-to-air shoot-on-the-move air defense weapon; protection for the maneuver force

Components HMMWV, C2i, radars, platforms and stinger missiles, and a .50 caliber machine gun

Crew 2 (Basic), 3 (STC)

AN/TWQ-1 Avenger (Launcher)

Name AN/TWQ-1 Avenger

Type Surface-to-Air Missile System

In Service 1989-Present

Manufacturer Boeing

Crew 2 (Basic), 3 (STC)

Missile FIM-92 Stinger missiles

Targets Cruise missiles, UAVs, low-flying, high-speed fixed-winged aircraft, and helicopters

Missile

Name FIM-92 Stinger missiles

Type Infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM).

Length 1.52 m

Diameter 70.1 mm

Weight 15.19 kg

Warhead High explosive annular blast fragmentation

Warhead Weight 3 kg

Engine Solid-fuel rocket motor

Guidance System Infrared homing

Speed 750 m/s

Operational Range It has an outward targeting range of up to 4,800 m and can engage low altitude enemy threats at up to 3,800 m.

Dimensions

Length 4.95 m m

Width 2.18 m m

Height 2.64 m

Weight 3,900 kg

Automotive

Engine Name INA

Engine Type Detroit Diesel cooled V-8

Engine Power 135 hp

Maximum Range 443 km

Maximum Speed 89 km/h

Mobility Highly mobile, Mounted atop a 4×4 Heavy High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV)

Protection

Armor INA

Smoke INA

Image Sources

Notes https://www.ebay.com/itm/404803225932; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/TWQ-1_Avenger; https://www.armyrecognition.com/index.php;

Details

Country of Origin United States

Category Short-Range Missile Systems (Less than 30 km)

Land > Air Defense > Short-Range Missile Systems (Less than 30 km)

Classification

Domain

Ground

Equipment Status

Active

Dimensions

Length

4.95 m

Width

2.18 m

Height

2.64 m

Weight

3900 kg

Documents & Files (3)

AN9ea8.TWQ1_Avenger_(AA)

229.61 KB

AN.TWQ-1_Avenger_(AA).jpg

TRADOC ODIN WEG

AN7b3e.TWQ1_Avenger_(B)

39.85 KB

AN.TWQ-1_Avenger_(B).jpg

TRADOC ODIN WEG

AN60d3.TWQ1_Avenger_(C)

462.87 KB

AN.TWQ-1_Avenger_(C).jpg

TRADOC ODIN WEG

Operators (4)

United States

Bahrain

Egypt

Iraq

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