FIM-92 Stinger, How it Destroyed a Nation

[@Taskandpurpose]

Big thanks to Ridge for sending me this wallet and supporting the channel! Here’s the site if you want to check them out! > ridge.com/taskandpurpose Use code "TASK" for 15% off your wallet today , makes a great fathers day gift.

[@Wolfnapoli]

What happens when you get coins with the ridge wallet

[@jamesleate]

All militaries need a stinger? StarStreak is faster, longer range and an improvement over the stinger.

[@Peterski]

@@jamesleate I think what he means is that all militaries need that type of weapon. Doesn't have to be the Stinger as such. And yeah, StarStreak > Stinger 🙂

[@SenpaiDelta11B]

Cappy moo-ja-hideen lol 😆 😂

[@hansolowe19]

MuJAhideen, you forgot the JA bit 😉 Interesting video 👍

[@10thmtn86]

As a former SHORAD (short range air defense) platoon leader, I really hope the US Army finally learns the lesson of what a significant threat drones can be, and re-invests in a major way in improving our SHORAD capabilities, which have been ignored for far too long. The biggest issue with Stinger has always been the "finger of death" smoke trail, which points right back to where you launched from. You might get one enemy air asset, but his wingman will come after you. Hence the need to shoot-and-scoot. That needs to be addressed by whatever replaces it.

[@graemestephens1894]

Yes ,well documented in "96 with flight 800 out of JFK.

[@Talishar]

Nearly all SAM systems have this from the launch/booster motors. Even "smokeless" systems emit a ton of energy that aircraft sensors can pick up for miles.

[@dhruvbhardwaj143]

USA was the one who supported terrorist and give rise to terrorism.

[@TheTrueAdept]

You'll have to get it past the USAF, though. They've always been the big problem when talking about USMC/US Army AA procurement.

[@akiko009]

@@TheTrueAdept USMC has procurement? I thought they were merely the recipients of unwanted hand-me-downs.

[@chrissears622]

I was an U.S. Army Avenger/Manpad soldier back in 04-07 our MOS was attached to cavalry, air bourne, air assault ,and infantry units. We were so versatile from our vehicles and on foot

[@kevinkim5817]

I thought John Rambo was the reason the russians left Afghanistan.

[@zackworrell]

That's not supposed to be public information, good job loose lips :P

[@lance9150]

That was an interesting movie because Rambo was fighting on the side of the Mujahideen, who was backed by the United States. Later on they carried out the 9/11 attacks. You wonder how many of the weapons the US has sent to East Europe will be used in future terrorism.

[@penhullwolf5070]

No, they heard Chuck Norris was starring in the sequel.

[@steveperreira5850]

That’s my understanding. Rambo!

[@1990-w1l]

John Rambo teach Stinger

[@TechnoMinarchist]

My extensive experience of more than 1000 hours with the Stinger missile is that I know that Battlefield 4 Admins get really angry when you use them.

[@captainbroady]

Nah you can't hit anything in Battlefield 4. The freaking flares confuse the missiles so easily like as if EA/Dice nerfed it so people can fly their planes and helis

[@TechnoMinarchist]

@@captainbroady If you hold the lock long enough most players end up popping their countermeasures due to the pressure it can make. Or wait until someone else makes them release. Plus at least 1 out of every 5 times the flares don't manage to stop at least one of your missiles.

[@captainbroady]

@@TechnoMinarchist fair enough, but whenever I play shanghai the freaking helicopters rule the match XD

[@TechnoMinarchist]

@@captainbroady That's true. The only time they don't is if you or someone else dedicates their entire match to hunting helis.

[@TetoSuperFan]

@@TechnoMinarchist lmao sometimes i just camp entire games using the stinger just to fuck with the enemy air forces, i always get pissed off messgaes its fucking hilarious

[@billbrockman779]

The air attack during the Korean War that resulted in America’s last casualties was by an ancient PO-2 biplane operated by North Korea. Two soldiers KIA.

[@teddy.d174]

They still use those ancient biplanes.

[@kilianortmann9979]

Wasn't there a MASH episode about something similar?

[@anthonydesisto2328]

@@kilianortmann9979 5 o'clock Charlie!

[@GnosticAtheist]

@@teddy.d174 They are still useful for many things although an unmanned drone is cheaper (and better).

[@jasonthomas9596]

In all honesty the reason we haven't had any kind of you know air-to-ground attack from a foe is because we roll the doctor and we don't let the other guys fly anything that's the first thing we take down in a war is the enemy's ability to use air power against us I mean sure we continue to use it and continue to have it because well s*** happens but I can see why the army just hasn't had a need or issue to do anything and I'm of the complete opinion that you know we do need an upgrade I'm not ready to feel the entire new set of stingers unless Raytheon can upgrade it and bring it into a modern age they can make it have the same kind of Pop as the British antier missile that they came out with I might consider it. Because I'm of the opinion if it ain't broke don't fix it but right now we're dealing with a lot of bad things going on and I'll be honest while bringing it up would be nice my first question is can it be done this year if it can't then maybe we should think about putting something else on the pipe at least temporarily.

[@robomaster5274]

I love how you pronounce the name of the soviet anti-air missile "I-G-L-A", while the word "igla" ("игла") just stands for "needle" in Russian.

[@janvesely6353]

He's not the only one though, not an uncommon mistake among non-slavic native speakers, perhaps it was written in caps somewhere. Interestingly, as you go from Russian to western Slavic languages, the "g" in many words starts to be usually pronounced and ultimately written as "h" so if you encounter the word let's say as Czech, it resembles more igloo than our "jehla".

[@sirfoggy7682]

@@janvesely6353 or Gitler :P

[@dimitrinikolas4481]

Such a noob

[@Volodymyr_SVD]

So what? No one calls Stinger as "Жало" (in Russian) as well.

[@dimitrinikolas4481]

@@Volodymyr_SVD No one calls a stinger a S-T-I-N-G-E-R either.

[@davidchait6010]

It's more than just the shortage, the Stinger uses electronics that haven't been produced in decades, so some redesign will likely be required.

[@donovanburkhard]

Pentagon already threw out a pdf saying they’re looking for a stinger replacement. Companies right now are working up a draft to compete. New Requirements like smaller and lighter profile for urban environments is one of the main goals

[@brokeandtired]

Already better gear out there. Like the British Starstreak kinetic triple missile in 1 manpad. Honestly its time for an upgrade....no point in buying obsolecent gear (except against Russia).

[@ooblah10]

@@donovanburkhard It's crazy they can make weapons better and lighter with every generation update

[@jasonthomas9596]

In truth the only reason the US hasn't replaced it with something newer was because they were looking at other stuff it's been on the low end of the priority spectrum for a while. I personally think that maybe we should adopt the British star Street system I mean there's a couple of other systems out there that are pretty good but I know British one's pretty good.

[@MichaelDavis-mk4me]

Stinger is actually an old system than the US army wanted to ditch. Still today, it's impressive, but better systems already exist. It will be replaced, never to be produced again. Edit : once they get producing modern launchers.

[@thetinoshow6719]

Hey Cappy, this was my missle. I was in 84 to 02. FYI, we always had what was called the "STPT" Stinger Targeting Practice Trainer, or something. Stinger missle with a monitor where the flip up sight goes. Comes with separate monitor in hardened case. Actually have a picture of myself with one on my shoulder. If you're interested in seeing just respond. I'm pretty sure we sent these to the Stan back in the 80's.

[@coppermike5550]

That friend or foe radar is the shit!! I was a "Redeye" gunner in Europe early 70s and we had to do visual aircraft recognition. Actually, we devoted the majority of our training to aircraft rec. Black and white "Flash cards" with aircraft silhouettes on them. One Monday morning after a payday weekend we had an Airforce full bird colonel show up and do a recognition test. We failed horribly...he was none too happy. He asked us what that meant on the battlefield and my team leader (2-man teams) told him "Sir, we just shoot 'em down and sort 'em out on the ground"! That colonel went ballistic...good times!!

[@77LCJ]

Pay day weekend? Does that mean what I think it does - you were hitting the bars big time?

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

@@77LCJ copper mike even sounds like a 90s rapper

[@lcifermorningstar191]

Friendly fire.🔥 It's a funny story, and this is why weapon systems have to be made idiot proof.

[@johnandstephanie377]

Will still did that in 88 as well. I still lookup every time I hear a jet.

[@realyopikechannel]

but how does it work? couldn't enemies put whatever it recognizes as friendly in their aircraft preventing you from using it on them? what if a friendly jet was stolen and used against you?

[@8ball733]

I’m happy that he posted again already when he posted yesterday, love your content!

[@DrJimBoston]

Check Polish AA misile "Piorun", I think it's superior over Stinger, for example with longer range or capibility of detonating close to target if aircraft will dodge the missile. US army bought "Grom" some time ago, older version of "Piorun".

[@DJRYGAR1]

nope, they bought 'Piorun', not sure if just for evaluation - because number of units was small, but it might be because everything produced now goes to Ukraine, so it might be that they just wait with bigger orders for later. I think US will produce it on license

[@HusieK576]

@@DJRYGAR1 They bought both of them.

[@texasghoul7425]

Who cares.. poland makes shit weapons and gear.

[@fejr89]

and they are buying Pioruns now

[@kubagra456]

All modern AA missiles have and use capability of "detonating close to target". Main advantage of "Piorun" is its longer range and one of best (if not best) thermal guideance system preventing missile from missing even if helicopter or aircraft deploys countermeasures.

[@randchoochinwah3814]

pls do the IGLA as well... thanks for all the brilliant content!

[@TheHipClip]

The US has other air defense systems that can take the role of the Stinger. I really recommend the YT channel Perun. He makes great analyses/presentations on current military issues and Ukraine

[@enricogattone432]

Totally agree

[@scmh1288]

Perun is great

[@graegoles8382]

Perun is the best thing that came out of this sad situation

[@JohnDoe_Poland]

Piorun / Perun is definitely ahead of the contenders in its class. Ukrainian war with Terrorist Russia seems to prove it

[@icosthop9998]

TY

[@gen.mayhem981]

I’m glad you highlighted the age of the weapon here. Before people get freaked out that we are low on anti-aircraft systems, we have to remember that this is only one of the many many anti-aircraft defenses the US fields. There are radar systems and the largest Air Force in the world still defending this country before anyone tries to say we’ve underarmed ourselves.

[@BeingFireRetardant]

Still, while all that's true, the old Soviets still run the game in SAMs and anti-air. Manpads I'm not so sure of... Mostly because we kept a Cold War doctrine of constantly overflying their airspace, while they could scarcely return the favor. Hence such an over-investment in Soviet anti-air capability that it's a separate military branch in Russia. Like Space Force, but with more beets, sturgeon, and tea.

[@u.nforcesalx9892]

I mean manpads wise yeah you guys only have stingers to this day Brits have starstreaks and a few stingers, French have their mistrals idk about Germany, Russia has a shit ton of Igla variations, and the Poles have the grom if we're not speaking manpads wise you have the ram,Cram,rim-7,Patriot,And a whole bunch more

[@KKSuited]

@@u.nforcesalx9892 my personal favorite would be the F-22. We used Stingers to destroy the S.U. They aren't necessarily a vital cog, just a useful one.

[@kitkat47chrysalis95]

I feel like the civilians should be better armed, in the case of an invasion of US mainland we won't be able to defend ourselves

[@u.nforcesalx9892]

@@kitkat47chrysalis95 I doubt it lol Who'd dare to attack America rn

[@expandedhistory]

Wow, these stingers were just on sale last week at my Walmart.

[@spekenbonen72]

Fwiw, even the latest version doesn't "recognize" a type of plane (as you claim in this video). It can detect an IR / UV signal but NOT identify from which type of plane the signal is coming from. Being able to use countermeasures depends on the target having a launch detection systen (which most of the current Russian planes don't have) or the pilot eyeballing (seeing) the launch. Counter measures are used in suspect OR known areas where MANPADS are located. Or when an attack (bombing/rocket/missile attack) is being made. (Former Stinger operator 328Sqn/3GGW Dutch Airforce)

[@notjarrod8287]

2:35 the avenger is pretty old but it’s still used effectively today. My unit recently shot down UAVs with them in Iraq. Hope you do a video on them and the replacement IMSHORAD sometime :)

[@someturkishguy8638]

Avenger is underrated

[@rossmonty1911]

Your unit hahaha wot in fucking call of duty 😅😅😅

[@ivanstepanovic1327]

"Igla" is not an acronym. In pretty much all of Slavic languages it means "needle".

[@maciej5866]

I've just read Washington Post article about volunteers who fought in Ukraine and are coming back because they weren't prepared for what this war looks like. Including US army veterans, Marines who served in Afghanistan or Iraq. They weren't prepared for being attacked by airstrikes, they weren't used to being under constant artillery fire etc. Their wars looked different, they had air superiority etc. Now they are in kinda similar position to their previous enemies. That realization really made me think. I think it's interesting topic to cover. The Washington Post article title is "Ukraine war volunteers are coming home, reckoning with difficult fight".

[@avroarchitect1793]

US war doctrine assumes air dominance. In exercises where its simulated that they don't they tend to loose or take undue casualties. To be fair though, they should never be in a war where they don't achieve it. The USAF, USN aviation, and USMC aviation combined outnumber the next 10 largest air forces combined, and that's assuming they aren't fighting with allies too.

[@fretted4life]

So basically the GI's have been spoiled by training in a scenario with complete air & fire superiority. Ukraine gave them a reality check. Which is telling because once this conflict is over Ukraine will have one of the most battle hardened military capable of withstanding lack of air & long range fire superiority and still dish out some damage to frontline infantry of the adversary.

[@johnwayne-iw3hc]

@@fretted4life Their best units have been getting mauled in the east for weeks, look up their daily casualties, some genius has decided to use those troops for target practice for Russian artillery. Every russian arty battery has at minimum Orlan drones, it's estimated they have over 3000 active, look up russian telegram pages for daily carnage. Germans in WW2 lost their best troops in the east by 1943 because they refused to retreat to better defensive positions, they never recovered and Russians took Berlin. Is Ukraine going to make the same mistake?

[@thomasstyan2066]

@@fretted4life Indeed. Amidst the horror of the war are silver linings. And the thought of a battle-hardened Ukraine as a stalwart ally of democracy is one of them.

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

Yeah it's easy to be the hammer but difficult to be the nail. I and many others have pointed out this weakness in the US military.

[@eXhaustedWisdom]

I really appreciate that you use metric units. nice content, keep it up!

[@klausbruner1392]

And US now is investing in missile launchers, also polish ones "the piorun", which was proven effective in hitting helicopters, even those flying really low. Actually this 10:50 was not the stinger, it was identified as a work of polish "Piorun"

[@txvet7738]

You forgot to show a short lived ADA platform that had a mounted stinger launcher, the M6 Bradley Linebacker. When I was in the Army I started out as a 14R which was a M6 Bradley Linebacker crewmen. It was an awesome platform but like you mentioned the Army got stupid and cutbacks hurt Army Shorad. Now the glorious Army is struggling to bolster our ADA assets again when they should have been modernizing it. Great video, it brings back memories of the good old days!

[@januszkurahenowski2860]

Would you consider making a video about the polish manpad Piorun? Since it's so new, especially compared to stinger that's 40 years old I was wondering what are the differences and new technologies used. They were sent on mass to ukraine as well

[@dhruvbhardwaj143]

USA was the one who supported terrorist and give rise to terrorism. --------

[@stormiewutzke4190]

I still think that the shortage is overblown. We do have other options for anti air like say our own fighters. Yes it doesn't have the same cost benefits but given the risk of war with another major power before something else can be developed and the changes to fully degrade one of the largest threats and the other strategic issues involved giving Ukraine every last one on NATO shelves is a huge bargain since they are basically being used for the same reason as NATO was created anyway. If Ukraine uses them to destroy Russian aircraft its a far larger return than a defensive measure and going bad sitting on thw shelf.

[@スガル]

Its better for it to be used now during Russia Invasion of Ukraine than during Russia Invasion of USA

[@beardnick1748]

@@スガル if it were not for nuclear weapons, America would have conquered everyone, the United States would invade and not Russia.the United States has more production capacity of tanks, any weapons, even citizens have weapons, there are a lot of weapons in America.whose invasion should be feared is the American invasion of China or Russia, because it is easier to rob countries than to work at a factory.

[@josetrujillo2394]

I think people also forget that when military leaders in the US talk about readiness, they mean ready to fight a TWO FRONT WAR! Since Russia is being chewed up in Ukraine, I should think we can narrow down 2 to 1.5 or even 1 front now and stop being so stingy about giving out weapons to Taiwan and Ukraine.

[@TomorrowWeLive]

Perun covered this. It's nonsense. The stinger is an ancient weapon (by US standards) which a modern military doesn't need at all (and arguably with a strong air force like the US doesn't need any kind of portable shoulder-mounted surface to air missile to take down enemy aircraft. It's not as though that's what they'd be relying on for air defence.) They should empty out all the stockpiles, clear out the warehouses. Just like throwing out expired food.

[@dadthelad]

@@TomorrowWeLive Yup, if the US loses air superiority, then they are in deep shit. China is the only possibility on the current horizon. I'm also curious how a missile like a Stinger would go against an F-35, the detection and computing tech on those things is next level. I'm no expert, but I'd suspect an F-35 would be able to automatically detect and destroy a Stinger fired at it without the pilot having to even lift a finger.

[@piotrwarcholak4503]

What about Polish AA missle launchers Grom and Piorun?

[@mortarboss]

Please do the IGLA. Would love to watch that.

[@seanmoon7095]

Last U.S. Army infantryman killed in Vietnam was named Elvis Osborne. 50 years ago in June. I think Elvis Osborne was from Texas. He was KIA in June of 72 in Vietnam.

[@ernestpaul2484]

So many fond memories of hiding out in the tundra and mountainsides in Alaska as I was attempting to get a Secondary MOS as a Redeye gunner. The Redeye was the pre-cursor to the Stinger. That was back in in 80' or 81'. On one of many qualification missions, two of us spent a couple of nights in a dilapidated trapper's cabin with a couple of ermine (ferret looking mammals). We had a good run that week, credited with taking down 3 or 4 Kiowa OH-58's and 2 F-4 Phantoms used as enemy aircraft (read Soviet). We were never detected. Unfortunately, after almost a year, the cross-training was ceased and we never got the organic short/medium range anti-aircraft teams into our airborne company at Ft. Wainwright. Or the identifier actually. If I remember it right it went Acquire, Tone and Lock. Even if that is out of sequence, the firing instructions are on the weapon body. Hell, its been 42 years.

[@georgepalmer5497]

I like the cost/benefit aspect of the Stinger. I also like its effectiveness against aircraft. I like almost everything about it.

[@krisk7]

10:49 That was actually Polish "Piorun"

[@fernandoserrano9393]

There were soldiers that were dedicated stinger gunners and others that did it in addition to their other work. I trained at the Grafenwoehr and Baumholder domes and at a bombing range near Vilseck.

[@Peterski]

Didn't the US buy some of the Polish Piorun missiles to cover for the aging Stingers?

[@JohnDoe_Poland]

They did :)

[@SGTShootToKi11]

Luckily Russia's army isn't that advanced so we can afford to get rid of aging tech and still make a dent on the battlefield by giving old tech. That's what I call value. Stinger has hella value. Even today.

[@My_initials_are_O.G.cuz_I_am]

They bought some for testing and evaluation, to decide if they are going to replace Stinger with it. Still no major orders for actual, combat use, as of yet.

[@phunkracy]

@@My_initials_are_O.G.cuz_I_am they ordered 600 missiles iirc, that's far more than required for testing

[@AlexLee-dc2vb]

@@My_initials_are_O.G.cuz_I_am if we're going to replace the Stinger with something that's already on the market (instead of developing something ourselves), which I think would be a better use of resources, the British STARStreak and French Mistral would also be great contenders

[@kkrolik2106]

Every Military Needs PPZR Piorun :) current gen Stinger first needs upgrades and reduce price x3 to be competitive.

[@VieneLea]

I'd love a video about other manpads, like piorun :)

[@iLLeag7e]

Hey Cappy the volume of content you're putting out these days is commendable! I don't watch every video but I watch a lot of your channel overall. That's a good way to win at youtube man, keep it up

[@Перемогобуд]

To be honest, most of air targets in Ukraine were downed by Igla-Perun's, not by Stingers)

[@Suchar29]

Piorun is much better than Stinger and USA has already bought Piorun.

[@kubagra456]

Too bad that they decided to buy even more Stingers instead of second batch of Pioruns

[@badgerpa9]

Why is the USA sending stuff there if everything else is always better? USA is dumping billions more than all countries combined if the other countries make better stuff they should go to them instead of the USA.

[@kubagra456]

@@badgerpa9 Don't you think its good to have something good and something a bit older? Thing is that Poland has already sent almost all Pioruns they had and now they're producing more to replace their losses as well as carrying out US order for Pioruns (also its good to point out that Poland doesn't make its donations official/public so we don't know everything that they sent (usually we find out in media due to videos from Ukraine after the fact))

[@badgerpa9]

@@kubagra456 Too many Ukrainian soldiers are getting killed they need what ever is the best to get it done.

[@truckert9729]

My understanding is there are parts that are no longer made for the stinger; period. Part of the reason it's going to take so long is they are looking to fully update the system with a new seeker.

[@Clifford_Banes]

I am so glad to have found this channel. Thank you! Moderate, pro-west but realistic, comprehensive, and I mean it, comprehensive (especially videos over 20 minutes), answering questions on all levels, explaining for everyone to understand, including technicalities, strategy, tactics, politics, economics. I wish I could watch one of your videos every day.

[@zmanhuber6924]

Lol, he doesn't even know the progressive Afghan government BEGGED Soviets for help after US was funding terrorists!

[@kswis]

This is almost the only channel I watch having to do with the ukrain war but it is the only channel that leaves me feeling better educated about Ukraine. So thankyou

[@Nacjo_Farmer]

Also 10:50 is footage from using Piorun MANPAD...

[@yoshimo5338]

I was a 14p or air and missile defense avenger crewmember in the army for 4 years. And I got to say I'm impressed with how much you got right about the manpads configuration. You even had a couple Avengers in there. You however didn't mention how the army is now rapidly growing their air and missile defense since they realized their mistake wich is good otherwise I probably would have been a cook or something. I never saw your videos before and thought this would be good for a laugh but you did a damn fine job.

[@dee-jay45]

It's almost like its worth having an entire batch of light, easy to use, easy to produce, disposable weapons to assist allies in asymmetical warfare.

[@j.f.fisher5318]

I totally agree! An idea I'd suggest is a man-portable tube-launched artillery rocket built around a 120mm mortar warhead with GPS guidance that's able to be programmed with a TOT time to harass occupation forces. Set a few and leave, then at whatever time you decide the enemy gets a nasty surprise and no way to do counterbattery.

[@cplmajbox7629]

@@j.f.fisher5318 cheaper idea I heard about taliban putting ice in mortar tubes so it would fire after they already left

[@dhruvbhardwaj143]

_------- USA was the one who supported terrorist and give rise to terrorism.

[@reappermen]

@@j.f.fisher5318 That basically already exist under the name of loitering Ammunitions. Stuff like the Switchblade and Phoenix Ghost drones are literally a smart missiles that are fully programmable and fired from a standard mortar sized tube.

[@martinivers489]

MANPADS in general have the issue that they are trade-offs of weight, explosive payload and peak altitude/range. This is where novel high explosives might come in, with a superior energy/weight ratio.

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

Atleast giving the tank hitting you succesfully a signalmark like in Battlefield games, only that the mark goes boom .

[@medzik34]

10:49 As Ukrainians stated, this heilcopter was hit by the polish MANPADS called "Piourn" (eng. "Thunderbolt") ;)

[@lUnderWaterl]

Maybe. But it's Ukranian Mi-24. In full fotage this helicopted does'n have engine heat shields and his tail is smoked black by engine exhaust. Russian helicopters have this shields.

[@Bronco46tube]

I only recently discovered this provider but, I'm really enjoying the content. He is well-informed, and an excellent speaker and he has charisma; enjoy his presentations. So it's with some trepidation that I stick my neck out to correct something that has become a pet peeve of mine. The use of the word decimate. The misuse started a long time ago, probably because it sounds bad. Who would want to be decimated? But it's not as bad as it sounds. The word stems from the Latin word Decimatus, which was the way senior commanders would punish cohorts that did not perform as expected or that had committed a serious offense (cowardice, mutiny, desertion). It was also a way to pacify an out-of-control group of men. If the body of men was a cohort (about 480 men), 48 would be picked for execution. Deci, referring to 10%. So a unit that had been decimated had lost 10% of it's number, for whatever reason. It's never a good thing to lose 10% of your force. But it's not as bad as it is frequently meant to imply. Like I said just a grammar issue. I'm just trying to do to the use of the phrase decimate the same thing that was done to the word irregardless. I'm a subscriber, really appreciate the work that goes into the content. Keep up the good work.

[@chiefJwally]

Can you do a video on the Polish Piorun manpad?

[@guaposneeze]

We are definitely due for a replacement. The thermal "battery" was a clever hack for the limits of 80's IR technology. But a modern hybrid optical/radar seeker could be made way smaller/lighter, cheaper, easier to use, and more effective with basically just a few chips from a modern cell phone. IR imagers no longer need to be so exotic. Also, cheap drone + "Stinger II" + better commas would mean you don't need to launch from the ground, which would mean greater range and engagement envelope even without significantly improved rocket motors. Drone (cheap/"attritable") with AA missiles will have a significant effect on local air defense. Don't need infantry to see the target.

[@JimBurly]

If a jet pilot shoots down 5 aircraft he becomes an ace. What does joe schmoe become if he shoots down 5 aircraft with stingers?

[@adamgonzalez7450]

A scorpion

[@Omenowl]

a trainer

[@hgill257]

Eligible for UAV kill streak

[@notjarrod8287]

An Epic Gamer

[@Del_S]

Either a hero or a terrorist depending on where he shot them down.

[@joecool509]

Great Stuff as usual Cappy! hope you feel better!

[@humanbass]

The Stinger electronics are extremely outdated and still do great. A modern version would be awesome.

[@dhruvbhardwaj143]

____ USA was the one who supported terrorist and give rise to terrorism. ---

[@johnwayne-iw3hc]

Real awesome, when used by a trained operator in favourable conditions against properly trained pilot chances of taking out a target were about one in four, CIA estimated bin laden and his buddies were at very best one in ten. Deal was that nobody gave a F"""K when bin ladens buddies got wiped out, just like nobody cares about ukranian losses today.

[@Whereevertheymaybe]

Outstanding video, i always learn so much from Cappy. Bravo zulu

[@szkoclaw]

Uhm, actually polish Piorun is better at this moment and Ukrainians are using it a lot.

[@jamesleate]

The British StarStreak is better too, they have brought down many Russian aircraft in Ukraine.

[@PRshik]

@@jamesleate how many?

[@marcbhoy2811]

@@PRshik source trust me bro

[@jamesleate]

@@PRshik Okay, nobody knows who killed what, a couple of helicopters have been positively recorded.

[@badgerpa9]

So why is USA spending billions and sending stuff there? We should stop sending things there since everything else is always better than the USA version.

[@bluudashork013]

Gotta love seeing 1AD in these videos 😆. I did a bit of manpad training with the stinger and an example of the Igla before our NTC rotation and gotta say. They're heavier than they look. Training was fun though!

[@gaetan4164]

I love your videos, super informative and genuinely funny. Can you make a video on artillery ? It seems to be extremely important in Ukraine now but it's often an overlooked part of the armed forces.

[@zmanhuber6924]

you have absolutely no idea the real reason Soviets were INVITED into Afghanistan after watching this garbage

[@popcornsutton6267]

I didn't know Chris Weidman knew so much about military weapons

[@oveidasinclair982]

Poland's MANPAD is more up to date and actually a bit more advanced to the current US Stinger missile system.

[@combinedlegacy]

Do a video about Richard "Mack" Machowicz from Future weapons show. That would be cool. Then maybe highlight some of those weapons and their current day applications if they were effective and such... you can do it 💪

[@shadyoakum9978]

Buying a ton more of an aging system when you know that a new system of uncertain form is needed for the next generation is probably not the best option.

[@EhEhEhEINSTEIN]

13:47 I read that we did buy some Polish Pioruns. Few hundred launchers and ~1300 or so missiles. Seems like we should just trade them for the F16s they want. I do love the barter system!

[@Schmidty1]

The starstreak from the UK and the Piorun from Poland are much better. The U.S needs to either make a similar system to those or just buy piorun/starstreak to replace stingers for themselves.

[@dhruvbhardwaj143]

USA was the one who supported terrorist and give rise to terrorism. Zzzz

[@BarrettCharlebois]

No one loves ads but I appreciate that at least the sponsor spot you took in the video was for a legitimate product, and not some scammy investment scheme (cough masterworks, crypto, etc. cough)

[@happydeux2254]

I'm no expert but from what I've been learning over the past couple of months is the Stinger isn't as relevant as all the headlines would have you believe, especially in the NATO context. NATO has quite a few other systems that out perform the stinger that are much more modern. However, in the Ukraine context the stinger is relevant and I think most countries are quite happy to have somewhere to send their ancient missile stocks. You can bet your ass Western militaries haven't just forgotten about developing a MANPAD and, again from my admittedly limited knowledge, it appears this 'gap' is accounted for in overall strategy. I wonder, do Western militaries have Proxy War supply strategies?

[@mrvwbug4423]

Yup, the Stinger is deadly to helicopters especially, makes it very hard for Russia to quickly move troops and it forces their fighter bombers to fly high so less effective. The lack of air superiority also forces them to keep their heavy bombers in Russian airpsace so limited to standoff weapons only as Ukranian S-300 batteries would make quick work of any TU-95s or TU-160s that got in range.

[@bluemarlin8138]

I think the US is confident enough in its Air Force and SAMs that MANPADs just haven’t been a high priority. That’s actually pretty justifiable. But it is still time to upgrade the ol’ Stinger, as you can’t count on instant air support everywhere, especially in covert operations.

[@happydeux2254]

@@bluemarlin8138 not sure how many covert ops teams run around with rocket launchers...

[@33223253]

Great video! In Argentina we have MANPADS RBS70 from SAAB, which is IR guided. It s an excellent replacement for the Stinger

[@ryanseet8314]

Pretty sure RBS 70 is laser guided

[@33223253]

@@ryanseet8314 yes! My bad, sorry

[@Casyfill]

“igla” is not an abbreviation, it stands for “needle” in Russian

[@RazgrizRaptor]

please do a video on the Igla, I'd love to hear its history like you did for the Stinger in this one.

[@sebastianstefanski3380]

The stinger is outdated It will most likely be replaced by the polish piorun system.

[@liddz434]

Great video Cappy, as always👏🏾

[@bluefleet1655]

the us kind of already has a replacement for the stinger, being the polish Piorun, otherwise known as a polish heavily upgraded igla, kind of better in all ways now cause of all the modern tech that is around compared to the older stuff the stinger had....but yeah, kind of want to burn through the stock of stingers first

[@Flintlockon]

There are a couple of next generation manpads nowadays. The Piorun is fantastic and the British starstreak is the fastest manpad missile in existence. I suspect the USA will want to build there own though for security and monetary reasons.

[@wolfik2552]

the looks are only similiar to igla it's fully designed and made by poland

[@shanedangelo7212]

LAAD Gunner here, we are the GBAD MOS in the Marine Corps. We use the FIM-92 and hump with them all the time. The Corps was looking to get rid of the LAAD, but now that China and Russia wants to play games, we’re actually growing in size. I know the army is looking for a new GBAD missile system and we will probably get the new weapon system as well.

[@marcinlis8965]

Perhaps you could review the Polish equivalent of the Stinger: Piorun? There're many of them in Ukraine scoring serious hits.

[@dhruvbhardwaj143]

____ USA was the one who supported terrorist and give rise to terrorism. _____

[@u.nforcesalx9892]

I thought u were reffering to the grom??

[@Vengir]

@@u.nforcesalx9892 Grom is Piorun's predecessor.

[@ivanmonahhov2314]

You mean Polish Strela-3

[@mykfik]

@@ivanmonahhov2314 typical Ivan XD

[@derya3990]

well done mate, congrats on the subs

[@IsaacKuo]

I think the war in Ukraine has demonstrated a need for something between the Stinger and the Patriot. I think Starstreak can be a good replacement MANPADS, but something a bit bigger and more capable will be needed to deal with aircraft flying at higher altitudes. There's no guarantee that the enemy in the next war will be short of the guided bombs and missiles needed to effectively attack from high altitude. Conversely, Patriot is perhaps too expensive and thus too much of a high value target. Something more mobile, perhaps towed, could be a lot easier to hide and a lot tougher for an enemy to take out.

[@dhruvbhardwaj143]

____ USA was the one who supported terrorist and give rise to terrorism. _____---

[@IsaacKuo]

The NASAMS system, with SLAMRAAM (surface launched AMRAAM) may be a good option. And HML launcher is basically the armament of a NATO fighter jet on a Humvee - two AMRAAM and two Sidewinder missiles.

[@Statueshop297]

Land ceptor the British have just introduced is a good middle option.

[@IsaacKuo]

​@@Statueshop297 Maybe so, thanks for the pointer to it! Looking it up, it looks like Land Ceptor is built on the same chassis as Patriot. My guess is that these big trucks will be easier targets for the enemy than something smaller. But if Land Ceptor costs a lot less than Patriot, it could survive better simply by being more numerous. I think the basic idea with Land Ceptor is to take advantage of economies of scale by using common missile ammo between naval ships and land based launchers.

[@Roadking26]

I was in Vulcan cannon/ Stinger units from 83-92. We had a Vulcan mounted on an M113, and had 1 stinger crewman on board, but we were all cross trained. It may be dated today, but it was a bad MFing crew. I was given a medal by the post comander for shooting down the most drones with the vulcan. The tower actually told me to allow other guns to shoot some of the drones. We had a blast! We had a huge dome to simulate firing the stinger since they were too pricey at the time to live fire, but firing the vulcan cannon was a blast, and cannot compare to anything else I have fired. The only thing that came close is the M2 50 cal. I believe the stinger is still a very affective weapon today.

[@FLORATOSOTHON]

The Stinger is still a very good missile, but it's usefulness becomes limited with the use of smart bombs and AGM systems. As far as I now it has a range of about 15000ft. and an effective altitude of about 8000ft. A close more modern counterpart of the Stinger is the French Mistral missile, however it is much heavier and requires a pedestal for launch. This missile has a range of about 20000ft. and an effective altitude of about 10000ft. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKiYmqacesaEZtU However today's Russia is not the Soviet Union of the '80s and Ukraine is not Afghanistan. The importance of Ukraine to Russia is far greater than the importance of Afghanistan to the Soviet Union. This translates in simple English, that Russia cannot afford to lose this one no matter what the cost and if it cant win, then chances of a serious escalation becomes very possible. It's quite clear that their conventional forces are not up to par, so the alternative is not pleasant to think about. I think that just about everybody realizes this now and I don't think that any one would call Dr. Kissinger a Putin Lover, despite his age.

[@rtqii]

You don't think Putin has escalated as far as he can go without getting his ass nuked?

[@F4Wildcat]

Yes even in the lightest form, MISTRAL requires a pedestal. i saw a demonstration when i was applying for the belgian army in 200...8 i think (got rejected because of medical reasons) and they had mistrals on vehicles but also the infantry version. It was on a rotating pedestal. The NCO in charge knew every screw & circuit of the weapon system but even he knew they needed aswel a fully man portable system

[@FLORATOSOTHON]

​@@F4Wildcat Man portable systems are most effective against airmobile operations, where the aircraft fly low. Even the AH-64 with Hellfire (8Km) missiles can operate beyond the range of MANPADS, not to mention the use of SPIKE-ER (16Km) and SPIKE NLOS (32Km) missiles on the AH-64. The Turkish TB-2 BAYRAKTAR UAV operates as high as 20000 ft. which is also beyond the range of all MANPADS. Small UAVs and swarm attacks can best be dealt with air defense guns using AHEAD type ammunition of 30 or 35mm, or possibly by high energy lasers.

[@Maria_Erias]

@@FLORATOSOTHON That brings to mind the new solid state laser that the IDF rolled out.

[@FLORATOSOTHON]

@@Maria_Erias Every body develops HELs. The IDF developed the IRON BEAM, the Germans incorporate HELs in their SKYRANGER and SKYSHIELD systems, the US and the UK develop their own systems and in Greece a company called SOUKOS ROBOTS, developed a 100 Kw HEL with a 300 Kw model under development. At 3:38 on the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6eWmml8jbatr5o In tests it also perforated a tank's armor. Of course the problem with these systems is the power requirements.

[@Vienershmaken]

Been a long time since I thought about Mechwarrior. Thanks for that Cappie.

[@WolfKenneth]

Did you mean PZR Piorun?

[@marekzakurzewski501]

Can you do video about “The Polish MANPADS Piorun”

[@steaditex]

I'd like to know more about Starstreak and its use in Ukraine.

[@mavseveneightnine7379]

wet wipes are underrated, they smell and feel great at a moments notice, while they cant replace washing, they can definitely supplement it

[@kholeka8475]

3:16 It was not an "invasion", the Soviets send peace keeping forces to Afghanistan on it’s government’s request.

[@JWCreations]

Crazy how many of these channels exist! Reading a Wikipedia page, finding some stock footage, and then a good sponsor. Good business model !

[@Suchar29]

Only PPZR Piorun

[@BaronVonHobgoblin]

The MIC needs to produce an updated version yesterday!

[@Love-wj5vi]

Ukraine shot down 200 fighter jets not by the stingers. It has a powerful SAM system of s300, s200, s125, Osa, Buk, Tor, Tunguska, Shilka, etc.

[@vndrey6335]

And how many planes do the Russians still have?

[@Love-wj5vi]

@@vndrey6335 about 80 fighter jets altogether.

[@vndrey6335]

@@Love-wj5vi That is, the Russians won't have any more battles and aviation for another month, right?

[@Love-wj5vi]

@@vndrey6335 they mostly use helicopters. Jets already been used rarely.

[@vndrey6335]

@@Love-wj5vi And how did you understand that they rarely use it now? What factors do you rely on?

[@jasonbose3507]

I remember when the Stinger was new and I thought that it was a marvel invention. A feat of engineering when it came out. I love the Stinger defense systems, they are cheap and very effective! Thanks for the video 📸.

[@greendra1000]

Please cover the 9k38 Igla, interested to see how they match up to today's standards.

[@dantirk4560]

I’ve heard from a reliable source (American) that a large percentage of the stingers we are sending ended up being duds. Unfortunately this is usually discovered around the same time the user dies

[@Foreign0817]

But will it work on an extraterrestrial invasion? 🤔

[@evanlucas8914]

With that cooling cannister, I now understand why the javelin is battery powered and takes a while to cool. That's a pretty niche resource to keep on hand for such a short range system.

[@reappermen]

Keep in mind that the cooling canister is only required because the tech is so old. Shile modern systems might also have cooling issues, they happen on completely different levels. The Stinger parts that need cooling can be replicated, and in fact even improved uppn, my parts you find in most smartphones and similar tech. And obviosuly they function perfectly fine without active cooling.

[@geonerd]

Stinger is obsolete. A new missile will have multi-spectral sensors and a neural net computer that will do a VERY good job ignoring countermeasures. Add smokeless propellant and maybe a reusable launch platform with better optics and sensors.

[@Del_S]

The US will need to develop a new MANPADS system sooner or later. Stinger is still working but it's very much an aged design and cancelled upgrades haven't helped. SHORAD as a whole seems to be slow to react to drones, which will be the true main targets of most similar missiles going forward.

[@alijankhan3330]

Neural net computer you say.

[@sbui66pip]

if you have a understanding of defense industry interests, you'd understand that the US still uses the stinger cause no nation the US would ever go to war with produces any air capabilities that need the stinger to be upgraded

[@DJRYGAR1]

@@alijankhan3330 sure, currently AI is just fancy name for pattern recognition. Most current phones have some silicon for accelerating these things (it would not be possible to take high quality photos with such tiny sensors/lenses without some Ai cheating).

[@alijankhan3330]

@@DJRYGAR1 wash day tomorrow. Nothing clean, right?

[@limitlessLtd]

Stinger: Has a max speed of Mach 2.0 > "thats really fast" Starstreak: Am I a joke to you?

[@JohnDoe_Poland]

I think most of us will agree (Ukrainian operator have a priority here) That AA - Piorun missile system is far superior in direct comparison

[@Flintlockon]

There are really good options currently to replace stinger. The piorun is extremely sophisticated and effective next to the stinger and the British starstreak is the fastest manpad missile in existence it flies almost twice as fast as either. I suspect the USA will want to build it's own to properly replace the stinger though.

[@JohnDoe_Poland]

@@Flintlockon Bet you’re right fella :)

[@bocadelcieloplaya3852]

Would be more cost efficient to get a license to manufacturethat British strarstreeker system by a US contractor for US use. Makes too much cents, so it ain't gonna happen.

[@Flintlockon]

@@bocadelcieloplaya3852 How are they going to charge the American taxpayer 80billion to develop it and then five times what it costs to make each one if they just buy a licence for pennies in comparison? It will no doubt be very good and very very expensive.

[@colzaidikari]

I was in 1/3 ADA before its conversion to a CAV Unit in 2004ish I remember all the Radar, Avenger, and Linbacker troops had to retrain to an appropriate CAV MOS. No one was happy. We had no mission in Iraq and the avengers were used mostly "Big Scary Gun" at check points. we did score a hit on a pickup with a stinger some how. The story was that the 50cal on the avenger couldn't point down enough but they tried to spool up a missle and it started tracking and the operator asked "can I shoot it". His Platoon sgt yelled "YES". I didn't see it happen but I saw the pickup after and it had this belt of BB holes from the curb side rear to the driver side front. and the missle or what was left of it struck the driverside rear Bed panel making a diagnal softball like hole thru the bed wall of the pickup into the cab.

[@huasohvac]

I was in 3d LAAD, not as a gunner but rather as an armorer. When I got there they were getting rid of the last Avengers. The rumor i remember hearing is that they wanted to make it so it could lauch either TOW missiles or 2.75inch Rockets as they had no planes to shoot down. That Idea never took off i guess.

[@gregoryrobins7725]

The Soviets made the decision to leave Afghanistan months before the first stingers arrived. The whole stinger impact thing is waaaay overblown. The Soviets adapted new tactics in a pretty short period. Other things had much more of an impact on the Soviet war effort.

[@fretted4life]

The Soviet top brass just like the American top brass in Afghanistan knew the best way to finish off the militancy in the country was by sealing the border with Pakistan & to a lesser extent Iran, thereby cutting the line of supply of fresh manpower and weapons for Mujahideen or in the case of USA, Taliban. But the problem the Soviets faced was what Americans faced nobody in political leadership wanted to take that risk. Which meant both sides the pinnacle of industrialized communism & capitalism on steroids fought a cycle of counter insurgency with no end in sight until someone finally decided to bite the bullet and cut losses and withdraw completely.

[@ericb.4358]

Get some game console/VR goggle designers to work with Rayethon for Gen. 3 Stinger missiles and launchers. Those guys will amaze the "old school" Rayethon engineers.

[@stefa4013]

I remember shooting so many choppers and UAV's out of the sky with stingers... Yeah I'm talking about call of duty what did you expect ;)

[@bouldy2]

Could have gone for Metal Gear Solid :D

[@Hk7762Tube]

BF3, million lock-ons, zero hits.

[@McSkumm]

I work in the electronics industry and I'll tell ya, the supply chain issues for circuit board components is no joke, some parts take up to a year to get to us.

[@VASILLEVSKI1878]

Igla (and less of Starstreak) have been much more effective and useful so far than the stinger. Most of the confirmed kills have come from Iglas which were already in Ukrainian inventory.

[@olekzajac5948]

It likely is because there is more Iglas than any other MANPADS systems in Ukraine today.

[@duckykaze9557]

I liked this vid, and im quite excited for your video on the Igla