The Indian Ministry of Defence signed an agreement with the U.S. Defense Department to acquire 245 Raytheon [RTN]-built Stinger air-to-air missiles with launchers and engineering support, the company said Wednesday.
The Stinger acquisition is part of a larger $3.1 billion deal with the U.S. first finalized in September (Defense Daily, Sept. 30, 2015). The original order included combat helicopters, weapons, radars, and electronic warfare suites.
“India joins nations around the globe who recognize that air-to-air Stinger can be a key component of attack and light attack helicopter mission configurations,” Duane Gooden, vice president of Raytheon Land Warfare Systems, said in a statement.
The supersonic Stingers are aimed at targeting all classes of helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles, and fixed-wing aircraft. They can operate in both a surface-to-air setting, including sea-based, and air-to-air setting when integrated into fixed or rotary-wing aircraft, Raytheon said.
The company highlighted the Stinger is currently deployed in 19 countries and all of the U.S. military services with over 270 air intercepts.