Editing FIM-92 Stinger (section)

==Service==
[[File:Stinger Crew Operation Desert Shield -- 1 April 1992.jpg|thumb|U.S. Army soldiers from the [[11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (United States)|11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade]] stand next to a FIM-92 Stinger portable missile launcher during the [[Gulf War#Operation Desert Shield|Persian Gulf War]].]]
[[File:Avenger Stinger Missile.JPEG|thumb|A Stinger missile being launched from a U.S. Marine Corps [[AN/TWQ-1 Avenger]] in April 2000.]]

===Falklands War===
The Stinger's combat debut occurred during the [[Falklands War]] ({{langx|es|Guerra de las Malvinas}}) fought between the United Kingdom and Argentina. At the onset of the conflict soldiers of the [[British Army]]'s [[Special Air Service]] (SAS) had been clandestinely equipped with six missiles, although they had received little instruction in their use. The sole SAS trooper who had received training on the system, and was due to train other troops, was killed in a helicopter crash on 19 May.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Falklands/argentine-aircraftlosses.html|title=Britain's Small Wars|via=Facebook|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091107231634/http://britains-smallwars.com/Falklands/argentine-aircraftlosses.html|archive-date=2009-11-07}}</ref>

Nonetheless, on 21 May 1982 an SAS soldier engaged and shot down an Argentine [[FMA IA 58 Pucará|Pucará]] ground attack aircraft with a Stinger.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naval-history.net/F44airbattles.htm|title=San Carlos Air Battles - Falklands War 1982|work=naval-history.net|access-date=2006-04-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603234818/http://www.naval-history.net/F44airbattles.htm|archive-date=2011-06-03|url-status=live}}</ref> On 30 May, at about 11:00 a.m., an [[Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma]] helicopter was brought down by another missile, also fired by the [[Special Air Service|SAS]], in the vicinity of [[Mount Kent]]. Six [[Argentine National Gendarmerie]] Special Forces troops were killed and eight more wounded.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.mercopress.com/2002/04/12/argentine-puma-shot-down-by-american-stinger-missile#prof|title=Argentine Puma shot down by american "Stinger" missile. — MercoPress|work=MercoPress|access-date=2009-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328101020/http://en.mercopress.com/2002/04/12/argentine-puma-shot-down-by-american-stinger-missile#prof|archive-date=2012-03-28|url-status=live}}</ref>

The main MANPADS used by both sides during the Falklands War was the [[Blowpipe missile]].<ref>Freedman, Sir Lawrence, ''The Official History of the Falklands Campaign'' (Abingdon, 2005). Volume II, pages 732–735</ref>

===Soviet War in Afghanistan===
{{See also|List of Soviet aircraft losses during the Soviet–Afghan War}}

In late 1985, several groups, such as [[Free the Eagle]], began arguing the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] was not doing enough to support the [[Mujahideen]] in the [[Soviet–Afghan War]]. [[Michael Pillsbury]], [[Vincent Cannistraro]], and others put enormous bureaucratic pressure on the CIA to provide the Stinger to the rebels. The idea was controversial because up to that point, the CIA had been operating with the pretense that the United States was not involved in the war directly, for various reasons. All weapons supplied up to that point were non-U.S. sourced weapons, including [[AKM|Kalashnikov]] style assault rifles made in [[Type 56|China]] and [[Military industry of Egypt|Egypt]].<ref name=crile/>

The final say-so came down to [[President of Pakistan|President]] General [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq]] of Pakistan, through whom the CIA had to pass all of its funding and weapons to the Mujahideen. President Zia constantly had to gauge how much he could "make the pot boil" in Afghanistan without provoking a Soviet invasion of his own country. According to George Crile III, U.S. Representative [[Charlie Wilson (Texas politician)|Charlie Wilson]]'s relationship with Zia was instrumental in the final go-ahead for the Stinger introduction.<ref name=crile/>

Wilson and his associates at first viewed the Stinger as "just adding another component to the lethal mix we were building."<ref name=crile/> Their increasingly successful Afghanistan strategy, formed largely by [[Michael G. Vickers]], was based on a broad mix of weapons, tactics, and logistics, not a '[[silver bullet]] solution' of a single weapon. Furthermore, the previous attempts to provide [[MANPAD]]s to the Mujahideen, namely the [[SA-7]] and [[Blowpipe (missile)|Blowpipe]], hadn't worked very well.<ref name=crile/>

Engineer Ghaffar, of [[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar]]'s [[Hezb-i-Islami]], brought down the first [[Mil Mi-24|Hind]] gunship with a Stinger on 25 September 1986 near [[Jalalabad]].<ref name=crile/><ref name=stripes1/><ref name="homeland1">{{cite web|url=http://www.homeland1.com/air-traffic/articles/879393-Successful-surface-to-air-missile-attack-shows-threat-to-airliners/|title=Successful surface-to-air missile attack shows threat to airliners|work=HomeLand1|access-date=2012-12-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118094121/http://www.homeland1.com/air-traffic/articles/879393-Successful-surface-to-air-missile-attack-shows-threat-to-airliners/|archive-date=2013-01-18|url-status=live}}</ref> As part of [[Operation Cyclone]], the CIA eventually supplied nearly 500 Stingers (some sources claim 1,500–2,000) to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan,<ref name=malley>Malley, William (2002) ''The Afghanistan wars''. Palgrave Macmillan, p. 80. {{ISBN|0-333-80290-X}}</ref> and 250 launchers.<ref>Hilali, A. Z. (2005). ''US-Pakistan relationship: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan''. p. 169. {{ISBN|0-7546-4220-8}}</ref>

The impact of the Stinger on the outcome of the war is contested, particularly in the translation between the impact on the tactical battlefield to the strategic level withdrawal, and the influence the first had on the second.<ref name="dtic.mil" /> Dr. Robert F. Baumann (of the [[United States Army Command and General Staff College|Staff College at Fort Leavenworth]]) described its impact on "Soviet tactical operations" as "unmistakable".<ref>Robert F. Baumann "Compound War Case Study: The Soviets in Afghanistan". In [http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/army/compound_warfare_cgsc.pdf ''Compound warfare: That fatal knot''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923180949/http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/army/compound_warfare_cgsc.pdf |date=2015-09-23 }} Thomas M. Huber (ed.) U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Press, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. pg 296</ref> This opinion was shared by Yossef Bodansky.<ref>Yossef Bodansky. [http://hufind.huji.ac.il/Record/HUJ001254812 "SAMs in Afghanistan: assessing the impact."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161206212948/http://hufind.huji.ac.il/Record/HUJ001254812 |date=2016-12-06 }} ''Jane's Defence Weekly'', vol. 8, no. 03, 1987 pp. 153–154</ref><ref name="dtic.mil">{{cite journal|url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a413880.pdf|title=The Stinger missile and U.S. intervention in Afghanistan|author=Alan J. Kuperman|journal=Political Science Quarterly|volume=114|issue=Summer 1999|pages=219–263|access-date=2014-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021160520/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a413880.pdf|archive-date=2014-10-21|url-status=live|doi=10.2307/2657738|jstor=2657738|year=1999}}</ref> Soviet, and later, Russian, accounts give little significance to the Stinger for strategically ending the war.<ref name=malley/><ref name="nytimes">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/17/weekinreview/the-world-the-stinger-missile-helping-to-change-the-course-of-a-war.html |work=The New York Times |first=John H. Jr. |last=Cushman |title=The World: The Stinger Missile; Helping to Change the Course of a War |date=17 January 1988 |access-date=7 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228064608/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/17/weekinreview/the-world-the-stinger-missile-helping-to-change-the-course-of-a-war.html |archive-date=28 December 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Scott, Peter (2003). ''Drugs, oil, and war: the United States in Afghanistan, Colombia, and Indochina''. Rowman & Littlefield, p. 5. {{ISBN|0-7425-2522-8}}</ref>

According to the 1993 [[Air Defense Artillery Branch (United States)|U.S. Air Defense Artillery]] Yearbook, the Mujahideen gunners used the supplied Stingers to score approximately 269 total aircraft kills in about 340 engagements, a 79% kill probability.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.airdefenseartillery.com/files/64224585.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425052021/http://www.airdefenseartillery.com/files/64224585.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-04-25|title=Air Defense Artillery Yearbook 1993|author=Blair Case, Lisa B. Henry|page=20|publisher=US Army Air Defense Artillery Branch}}</ref> If this report is accurate, Stingers would be responsible for over half of [[List of Soviet aircraft losses during the Soviet–Afghan War|the 451 Soviet aircraft losses in Afghanistan]].<ref name="dtic.mil"/> But these statistics are based on Mujahideen self-reporting, which is of unknown reliability. [[Selig Harrison]] rejects such figures, quoting a Russian general who claims the United States "greatly exaggerated" Soviet and Afghan aircraft losses during the war. According to Soviet figures, in 1987–1988, only 35 aircraft and 63 helicopters were destroyed by all causes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hammerich |first=Helmut |title=Die Grenzen des Militärischen |publisher=Hartmann, Miles-Verl |location=Berlin |year=2010 |isbn=9783937885308 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hWuwxZeYsZQC&pg=PA195 |page=195}}</ref> The [[Pakistan Army]] fired 28 Stingers at enemy aircraft with no kill.<ref name="dtic.mil"/> According to Soviet figures, by 25 December 1987, only 38 aircraft (airplanes, helicopters) were lost and 14 more were damaged by MANPADS ([[Blowpipe (missile)|Blowpipe]] or Stinger), or 10.2% kill probability.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allworldwars.com/The-Bear-vs-Mujahideen-in-Afghanistan-by-Edward-Westermann.html|title=The Limits of Soviet Air Power: The Bear versus Mujahideen in Afghanistan by Edward Westermann|website=www.allworldwars.com}}</ref>

According to Crile, who includes information from [[Alexander Prokhanov]], the Stinger was a "turning point".<ref name=crile /> [[Milt Bearden]] saw it as a "[[force multiplier]]" and morale booster.<ref name=crile /> Representative Charlie Wilson, the politician behind Operation Cyclone, described the first Stinger [[Mi-24]] shootdowns in 1986 as one of the three crucial moments of his experience in the war, saying "we never really won a set-piece battle before September 26, and then we never lost one afterwards."<ref name=rose1 /><ref name=sixty1 /> He was given the first spent Stinger tube as a gift and kept it on his office wall.<ref name=crile /><ref name=sixty1 /> That launch tube is now on exhibit at the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Museum, Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Other military analysts tend to be dismissive of the impact of the Stinger. According to [[Alan J. Kuperman]], the Stingers did make an impact at first but within a few months flares, beacons, and exhaust baffles were installed to disorient the missiles, along with night operation and terrain-hugging tactics to prevent the rebels from getting a clear shot. By 1988, Kuperman states, the Mujahideen had all but stopped firing them.<ref name=Kuperman-2002-CFR>{{cite journal|last1=Kuperman|first1=Alan J.|title=Stinging Rebukes|journal=Foreign Affairs|date=January–February 2002|volume=81|issue=1|pages=230–231|doi=10.2307/20033070|jstor=20033070|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/afghanistan/2002-01-01/stinging-rebukes|access-date=16 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150720205124/https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/afghanistan/2002-01-01/stinging-rebukes|archive-date=20 July 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Another source ([[Jonathan Steele (journalist)|Jonathan Steele]]) states that Stingers forced Soviet helicopters and ground attack planes to bomb from higher altitudes with less accuracy, but did not bring down many more aircraft than Chinese heavy machine guns and other less sophisticated anti-aircraft weaponry.<ref name=Steele-2010>{{cite journal|last1=Steele|first1=Jonathan|title=Afghan Ghosts: American Myths|journal=World Affairs Journal|year=2010|url=http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/afghan-ghosts-american-myths|access-date=16 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717215845/http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/afghan-ghosts-american-myths|archive-date=17 July 2015|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

The last Stingers were supplied in 1988 after increasing reports of fighters selling them to Iran and thawing relations with Moscow.<ref name="homeland1" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.psywarrior.com/Herbafghan02.html|title=Afghanistan PSYOP Leaflet|work=psywarrior.com|access-date=2013-07-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902091222/http://www.psywarrior.com/Herbafghan02.html|archive-date=2013-09-02|url-status=live}}</ref> After the 1989 Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, the U.S. [[Operation MIAS|attempted to buy back the Stinger missiles]], with a $55 million program launched in 1990 to buy back around 300 missiles (US$183,300 each).<ref>{{cite news |first=Tim |last=Weiner |title=U.S. Increases Fund To Outbid Terrorists For Afghan Missiles |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/24/world/us-increases-fund-to-outbid-terrorists-for-afghan-missiles.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=24 July 1993 |access-date=2008-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104113232/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/24/world/us-increases-fund-to-outbid-terrorists-for-afghan-missiles.html |archive-date=4 November 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> The U.S. government collected most of the Stingers it had delivered, but by 1996 around 600 were unaccounted for and some found their way into [[Croatia]], [[Iran]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Qatar]], and [[North Korea]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nisat.org/weapons%20pages%20linked/US/stinger_missile_system.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927211359/http://www.nisat.org/weapons%20pages%20linked/US/stinger_missile_system.htm|url-status=dead|title=Stinger missile system|archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref><ref name="foreignpolicy.com">{{cite journal | journal=Foreign Policy | title=Stop Panicking About the Stingers | url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/07/28/stop-panicking-about-the-stingers/ | date=28 July 2010 | author=Matthew Schroeder | access-date=2 August 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802165612/https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/07/28/stop-panicking-about-the-stingers/ | archive-date=2 August 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref> According to the CIA, already in August 1988 the U.S. had demanded from Qatar the return of Stinger missiles.<ref name="CIA0000258681">{{cite web |title=Middle East brief (deleted) for 2 August 1988: In brief: x—Qatar |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |url=http://www.foia.cia.gov/docs/DOC_0000258681/DOC_0000258681.pdf |date=1988-08-02 |access-date=2010-11-14 |page=3 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323061538/http://www.foia.cia.gov/docs/DOC_0000258681/DOC_0000258681.pdf |archive-date=23 March 2012 }}</ref> Wilson later told CBS he "lived in terror" that a civilian airliner would be shot down by a Stinger, but he did not have misgivings about having provided Stingers to defeat the Soviets.<ref name=sixty1/>

The story of the Stingers in Afghanistan was popularly told in the media by Western sources primarily, notably in ''[[Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History|Charlie Wilson's War]]'' by [[George Crile III|George Crile]], and ''[[Ghost Wars]]'' by [[Steve Coll]].

===Angolan civil war===
The [[Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Reagan administration]] provided 310 Stingers to [[Jonas Savimbi]]'s [[UNITA]] movement in [[Angola]] between 1986 and 1989.<ref name=trade>{{cite web |url=http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/trade_register.php |title=Trade Registers |publisher=Armstrade.sipri.org |access-date=2013-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513073842/http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/trade_register.php |archive-date=2011-05-13 |url-status=live }}</ref> As in Afghanistan, efforts to recover missiles after the end of hostilities proved incomplete. The battery of a Stinger lasts for four or five years, so any battery supplied in the 1980s would now be inoperative<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/id/116582/|title=Stingers, Stingers, Who's Got the Stingers?|work=Slate|last=Silverstein|first=Ken|date=3 October 2001|access-date=1 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131080741/http://www.slate.com/id/116582/|archive-date=31 January 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> but during the [[Syrian Civil War]], insurgents showed how easily they switched to different batteries, including common car batteries, as power sources for several MANPADS models.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://armamentresearch.com/improvised-manpads-batteries-employed-in-syria/|title=Improvised MANPADS batteries employed in Syria {{!}} Armament Research Services|website=armamentresearch.com|date=22 July 2014|access-date=2016-08-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160725102315/http://armamentresearch.com/improvised-manpads-batteries-employed-in-syria/|archive-date=2016-07-25|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Libyan invasion of Chad===
The French army used 15 firing positions and 30 missiles purchased in 1983 for operations in Chad. The [[35th Parachute Artillery Regiment]] made an unsuccessful fire during a Libyan bombardment on 10 September 1987 and shot down a Hercules transport aircraft on 7 July 1988.<ref name="arn">Arnaud Delalande, [https://warisboring.com/the-ghost-plane-of-faya-largeau/ The Ghost Plane of Faya-Largeau] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110180239/http://warisboring.com/the-ghost-plane-of-faya-largeau/ |date=2018-01-10 }}, 9 January 2018.</ref>

The Chadian government received Stinger missiles from the United States, when [[Chadian–Libyan conflict|Libya invaded]] the northern part of the African country.
On 8 October 1987, a [[Sukhoi Su-17|Libyan Su-22MK]] was shot down by a FIM-92A fired by Chadian forces. The pilot, Capt. Diya al-Din, ejected and was captured. He was later granted political asylum by the French government. During the recovery operation, a [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23|Libyan MiG-23MS]] was shot down by a FIM-92A.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_360.shtml |title=Welcome to the Air Combat Information Group |access-date=2011-11-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130821000146/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_360.shtml |archive-date=2013-08-21 |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

===Tajik civil war===
Tajik Islamist opposition forces operating from Afghanistan during the [[Civil war in Tajikistan|1992–97 Tajik civil war]] encountered a heavy air campaign launched by Russia and Uzbekistan to prop up the government in [[Dushanbe]] that included border and cross-border raids. During one of these operations, a [[Sukhoi Su-24]]M was shot down on 3 May 1993 with a Stinger fired by the opposition. Both Russian pilots were rescued.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=NFSYcyJULK0C&dq=UZBEKISTAN+SUKHOI-24+tajikistan&pg=PA33 Human Rights in Tajikistan: In the Wake of Civil War] By Escrito por Rachel Denber, Barnett R. Rubin, Jeri Laber. Google Books.</ref>

===Chechen War===
Russian officials claimed several times that the Chechen militia and insurgents possessed US-made Stinger missiles. They attributed a few of their aerial losses to the American MANPADS. The presence of such missiles was confirmed by photo evidence, and were said to originate from Afghan smuggling routes that passed through Georgia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.calibreobscura.com/exotic-species-of-the-north-caucasus-pt-1/|title=Exotic species of the North Caucasus (Pt 1): Problematic MANPADS|date=December 19, 2021|publisher=Calibre Obscura|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124125349/https://www.calibreobscura.com/exotic-species-of-the-north-caucasus-pt-1/|archive-date=January 24, 2022|quote=The first FIM-92 fell into the hands of the separatists back in 1995-1996[...] from Georgia. [....] The CIA, as part of Operation Cyclone, supplied MANPADS to the forces of the "Afghan Opposition" represented by the Mujahideen.}}</ref>
It is believed one [[Sukhoi Su-24]] was shot down by a Stinger missile during the [[Second Chechen War]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Pashin |first=Alexander |title=Russian Army Operations and Weaponry During Second Military Campaign in Chechnya |url=http://mdb.cast.ru/mdb/3-2002/ac/raowdsmcc/ |publisher=Moscow Defense Brief |access-date=8 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129141108/http://mdb.cast.ru/mdb/3-2002/ac/raowdsmcc/ |archive-date=29 January 2009 }}</ref>

===Sri Lankan civil war===
The [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]] also managed to acquire one or several Stingers, possibly from former Mujahideen stocks, and used at least one to down a [[Sri Lanka Air Force]] Mi-24 on 10 November 1997.<ref name="foreignpolicy.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=141721|title=ASN Aircraft accident 10-NOV-1997 Mil Mi-24 CH619|author=Harro Ranter|work=aviation-safety.net|access-date=2013-07-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507145238/http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=141721|archive-date=2015-05-07|url-status=live}}</ref>

===United States===
In 2000, the U.S. inventory contained 13,400 missiles. The total cost of the program is $7,281,000,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/stinger.htm|title=FIM-92A Stinger Weapons System: RMP & Basic|access-date=2016-01-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114140205/http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/stinger.htm|archive-date=2016-01-14|url-status=live}}</ref>
It is rumored that the [[United States Secret Service]] has Stinger missiles to defend the President, a notion that has never been dispelled; however, U.S. Secret Service plans favor moving the President to a safer place in the event of an attack rather than shooting down the plane, lest the missile (or the wreckage of the target aircraft) hit innocents.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/13/us/crash-white-house-defenses-pilot-s-exploit-rattles-white-house-officials.html |title=Crash at the White House: The defenses; Pilot's Exploit Rattles White House Officials |work=[[The New York Times]] |author=Stephen Labaton |date=13 September 1994 |access-date=2008-09-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713194415/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/13/us/crash-white-house-defenses-pilot-s-exploit-rattles-white-house-officials.html |archive-date=13 July 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the 1980s, the Stinger was used to support different US-aligned guerrilla forces, notably the Afghan Mujahidins, the Chad government against the Libyan invasion and the Angolan UNITA. The Nicaraguan contras were not provided with Stingers due to the lack of fixed wing aircraft of the Sandinista government, as such the previous generation [[FIM-43 Redeye]] was considered adequate.<ref name="nytimes" />

===Syrian civil war===
In the [[Syrian civil war]], Turkey reportedly helped to transport a limited amount of FIM-92 Stingers to the [[Free Syrian Army]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/world/middleeast/syrian-rebels-claim-to-have-brought-down-a-jet.html?pagewanted=all|title=Syrian Rebels Claim to Have Brought Down a Jet|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=13 August 2012|access-date=13 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816054952/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/world/middleeast/syrian-rebels-claim-to-have-brought-down-a-jet.html?pagewanted=all|archive-date=16 August 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 27 February 2020, during the [[Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–present)|northwestern offensive]] launched in December 2019 by the Syrian regime (backed by Russia, [[Iran]] and [[Hezbollah]]), Russian and Syrian aircraft (variously reportedly as Russian [[Su-34]]s and Syrian [[Su-22]]) [[2020 Balyun airstrikes|attacked a Turkish military convoy near Idlib]], killing 36 Turkish soldiers. That day, video footage emerged of alleged Turkish soldiers (backing Syrian opposition fighters) firing what apparently looks like a [[Roketsan]]-made Stinger against either Russian or Syrian aircraft (or possibly against both).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/32394/turkey-strikes-back-and-calls-for-no-fly-zone-after-its-troops-die-in-syria-airstrikes|title=Turkey Strikes Back And Calls For No-Fly-Zone After Its Troops Die in Syria Airstrikes (Updated)|first=Joseph|last=Trevithick|website=The Drive|date=28 February 2020 }}</ref>

===Russo-Ukrainian War===
[[File:UA anti-air battalion of 30th bgd 05.jpg|thumb|Ukrainian soldier of the [[30th Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine)|30th Mechanized Brigade]] Anti-Air Battalion with a FIM-92 Stinger during the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion of Ukraine]]]]

In February 2022, several countries announced that they were providing Stinger missiles to [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] forces defending against the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion]].
Germany announced that it would provide 500 missiles.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-26 |title=In 'turning point,' Germany to send Stinger missiles and anti-tank weapons to Ukraine |url=https://www.cbs17.com/russia-ukraine-conflict/germany-to-send-stinger-missiles-and-anti-tank-weapons-to-ukraine/ |access-date=2022-02-28 |website=CBS17.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
Denmark said that it will provide parts for 300 missiles, to be assembled in the United States.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/danmark-sender-vaaben-til-ukraine-vi-ser-en-enestaaende-heroisk-indsats-fra |title=Danmark sender våben til Ukraine: 'Vi ser en enestående heroisk indsats fra ukrainerne, og vi ønsker at hjælpe' |trans-title=Denmark sends weapons to Ukraine: 'We see a unique heroic effort from the Ukrainians, and we want to help' |language=Danish |last=Jenvall |first=Line |website=[[DR (broadcaster)|DR]] |date=2022-02-27 |access-date=2022-03-05}}</ref>
The Netherlands stated they would supply 200 units.<ref>{{Cite news |agency=Reuters|date=2022-02-13 |title=The netherlands to supply 200 stinger missiles to Ukraine |language=en |work=DutchNews |url=https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2022/02/the-netherlands-to-supply-200-stinger-missiles-to-ukraine/ |access-date=2022-02-28}}</ref>
Italy,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://tg24.sky.it/mondo/2022/03/04/guerra-ucraina-armi-italia |title=Guerra in Ucraina, cosa sappiamo sulle armi inviate dall'Italia a Kiev |trans-title=War in Ukraine, what we know about the weapons sent from Italy to Kiev |language=Italian |website=Sky TG24 |date=2022-03-04 |access-date=2022-03-05}}</ref>
Latvia,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Insinna |first=Valerie |date=2022-01-21 |title=Baltic nations sending US-made Stingers, Javelins to Ukraine |url=https://breakingdefense.sites.breakingmedia.com/2022/01/baltic-nations-sending-us-made-stingers-javelins-to-ukraine/ |access-date=2022-02-28 |website=Breaking Defense |language=en-US}}</ref>
Lithuania,<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-02-13 |title=Ukraine receives anti-aircraft missiles from Lithuania |language=en |work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-receives-anti-aircraft-missiles-lithuania-2022-02-13/ |access-date=2022-02-28}}</ref>
and the United States<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-28 |title=US approves direct delivery of Stinger missiles to Ukraine |url=https://www.cbs17.com/russia-ukraine-conflict/us-approves-direct-delivery-of-stinger-missiles-to-ukraine/ |access-date=2022-02-28 |website=CBS17.com |language=en-US}}</ref> each stated that they would provide undisclosed amounts.

By 7 March, the U.S. reported that it and its NATO allies had together sent more than 2,000 Stinger missiles to Ukraine.<ref>{{cite news |author=Oren Liebermann |title=At a secret airfield in Eastern Europe, a multinational effort to send weapons to Ukraine proceeds at high speed |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/06/politics/mark-milley-ukraine-military-assistance/index.html |access-date=7 March 2022 |publisher=CNN|date=7 March 2022}}</ref> In late April 2022, [[Raytheon Technologies]] CEO [[Greg Hayes]] told investors that the company was experiencing supply chain issues and would not be able to ramp up production of Stinger missiles until 2023. This delay was in part due to the fact the Stinger was scheduled to be replaced in the 2020s and thus contained obsolete components, which have to be redesigned for modern procurement. As of 11 May 2022, the U.S. had sent a quarter of its aging Stinger missile stockpile to Ukraine.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McLeary |first1=Paul |title=Raytheon chief warns of delays in replenishing Stinger missile stocks |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/26/raytheon-stinger-missile-stocks-delay-00027766 |website=Politico |date=26 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Gould |first1=Joe |last2=Judson |first2=Jen |title=Stinger shortcut: US Army seeks special funding for missile supply chain |url=https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2022/05/11/stinger-shortcut-us-army-seeks-special-funding-for-missile-supply-chain/ |website=Defense News |date=11 May 2022 |quote=...the 1,400 Stingers sent to Ukraine represent a quarter of U.S. stockpiles.}}</ref>

On 20 August 2022, Russia supplied a single Stinger to Iran, for them to attempt reverse engineering the modern version of it.<ref name=dh>{{Cite web |author=Deborah Haynes |title=Russia flew €140m in cash and captured Western weapons to Iran in return for deadly drones, source claims |url=https://news.sky.com/story/russia-gave-eur140m-and-captured-western-weapons-to-iran-in-return-for-deadly-drones-source-claims-12741742 |date= 9 November 2022|access-date=10 November 2022 |website= Sky News|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420211129/https://news.sky.com/story/russia-gave-eur140m-and-captured-western-weapons-to-iran-in-return-for-deadly-drones-source-claims-12741742|archive-date=April 20, 2023}}</ref>