India acquiring Stinger missiles for its new helicopters

TUCSON, March 30 (UPI) -- India is acquiring hundreds of Stinger air-to-air missiles for its new combat helicopters.

The acquisition of 245 of the Raytheon missiles, together with launchers and engineering support, is part of a $3.1 billion Foreign Military Sales deal with the United States that includes 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," said Duane Gooden, Raytheon Land Warfare Systems vice president. "Stinger significantly improves the ability of the aircraft to successfully perform today's missions while countering existing threats."

The Stinger, which has a land launch capability, has been used in four military conflicts and has more than 270 fixed- and rotary-wing intercepts to its credit. A total of 19 countries use the weapon.