On Monday, February 2, 2026, the American corporation RTX announced that its subsidiary Raytheon had conducted a ballistic (unpowered) flight test of a prototype of a new surface-to-air missile, offered to the U.S. Army under the Next-Generation Short-Range Interceptor (NGSRI) program as a successor to the FIM-92 Stinger system.
Photo: RTX
This was another successful test of Raytheon’s prototype of this type, demonstrating the interceptor missile’s ability to track targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles and to launch from a man-portable shoulder-fired launcher. Raytheon funded the test to demonstrate technical maturity and to collect critical data ahead of an in-flight test demonstration under the program.
„Raytheon’s investment in NGSRI demonstrates the company’s strong partnership with the U.S. Army and our commitment to equipping service members with this advanced capability,” said Tom Laliberty, president of Land and Air Defense Systems at Raytheon. „We continue to prioritize rapid learning and testing to ensure the Army receives a cost-effective and technologically superior interceptor.„
In 2025, Raytheon worked with Northrop Grumman on testing solid rocket motors using Highly Loaded Grain (HLG) technology, which provides higher energy density of the propellant load. This translates into longer burn time and greater thrust, and consequently increased range compared with conventional rocket motors. The propellant is being developed at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory.
The first series of prototype tests was reported on February 18, 2025. A competing solution is being proposed by Lockheed Martin, which announced information about its first prototype test on January 13, 2026.
Stinger Successor
The FIM-92 Stinger systems returned to favor in January 2018 as part of an ongoing U.S. Army reform. The systems were brought back from storage to frontline units (previously only relatively small numbers were maintained), and operator training was resumed in connection with an overall change in U.S. Army doctrine, shifting operational priorities from conflicts with insurgent forces to a potential war with a peer adversary such as Russia or China. Both man-portable MANPADS and vehicle-mounted AN/TWQ-1 Avenger systems were restored.
The most recent production contract for the FIM-92 Stinger was signed on September 24, 2025. The system uses Stinger Block I missiles, also designated as the Stinger Reprogrammable Microprocessor.
On November 10, 2020, the U.S. Army published its first Request for Information (RFI) for a successor to these systems, referred to simply as MANPADS (Man-Portable Air Defense System). The plan calls for the procurement of at least 10,000 missiles along with launchers, sighting units, and training systems (previously 8,000 had been planned—editor’s note).
On March 28, 2022, the SHIELD (Short and Intermediate Effectors for Layered Defense) program office published another RFI on the matter, while at the same time assigning it the codename Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) Increment 3. However, this applies only to systems mounted on vehicles within the IM-SHORAD (Interim Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense) short-range air defense system based on the Stryker A1 ICV wheeled armored personnel carrier, which on June 15, 2024 received the name Sgt Stout.
At that time, preliminary tactical and technical requirements for the new surface-to-air missile were published. These include the ability to engage helicopters, aircraft, and Class 2 and Class 3 unmanned aerial vehicles (Class 2: mass 9.5–35 kg, ceiling below 1,070 m, speed below 463 km/h; Class 3: mass below 600 kg, ceiling below 5,500 m, speed below 463 km/h). The missile is therefore expected to have capabilities comparable to or better than the Stinger, be equipped with a proximity fuze, and offer improved detection, targeting, and guidance performance compared to the current system. It must also be compatible with the currently used SUVL (Stinger Vehicle Universal Launcher) and be immediately ready for use (all-round-up).
Interestingly, the U.S. Army is also seeking a smaller, high-performance surface-to-air missile for the new Enduring Shield air defense launchers under the Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2-Intercept (IFPC Inc 2-I) program.
Raytheon’s NGSRI design leverages more than 60 years of air defense experience to provide the world’s most advanced shoulder-launched air defense missile for the @USArmy and @USMC.
— RTX (@RTX_News) February 2, 2026