AS BOEING CONTINUES to seek foreign-military sales for the Avenger air-defence system, the US Army is considering a further reduction in procurement.
The Pentagon originally planned to buy 1,700 Avenger firing units, but three years ago it elected to reduce its total purchase to just over 1,000 units. Boeing was awarded a $436 million multi-year contract to build 679 units, following an earlier $232 million deal covering 325 Avenger systems.
Because of force reductions, the US Army says that it is considering procurement of no more than 874 Avenger firing units - 674 for the US Army and 200 for the US Marine Corps. That would require re-negotiation of the multi-year award. Boeing says that it is unaware of any plan to cut Avenger purchases.
No foreign-military service has purchased the Stinger-armed Avenger or Avenger derivatives filled with foreign missiles such as the Shorts Starstreak.
Lockheed Martin and Boeing have joined forces to offer another Avenger derivative armed with the ground-launched Hellfire II missile. A prototype of the weapon was demonstrated at the IDEX '95 Show.
Boeing and Matra Defense are offering a system known as Guardian, which is the Avenger, adapted to fire the Mistral missile.
The feasibility of the Guardian system was demonstrated in late 1992, when Mistral missiles were test-fired successfully from an Avenger turret at a range in France.
Potential customers will have the opportunity in May, to witness a planned live-fire demonstration, in France of the Guardian.
Source: Flight International