Profile
- Type
- Self-propelled short-range air defense system
- Conflict side
- Ukraine
- Origin
- United States
- Service note
- Late Cold War design; used in the Russia-Ukraine War after U.S. security assistance deliveries
Air Defense
AN/TWQ-1 Avenger
The AN/TWQ-1 Avenger is a Boeing-developed short-range air defense system that mounts a stabilized turret with Stinger missile pods and an M3P .50 caliber machine gun on a HMMWV chassis. In Ukrainian service it adds a mobile, point-defense layer against drones, helicopters, low-flying aircraft, and cruise-missile threats during the Russia-Ukraine War.
- Conflict side
- Ukraine
- Built by
- Boeing
- Built in
- United States
Service History
- In service
- 1989-present
- Used by
- Ukrainian Armed Forces, United States Army
- Wars
- Russia-Ukraine War
Production History
- Designer
- Boeing Aerospace Company
- Designed
- Early 1980s
- Built by
- Boeing
- Built in
- United States
- Produced
- 1980s-present
- Number built
- More than 1,100 reported produced and delivered
- Variants
- Basic Avenger, Slew-to-Cue Avenger, Up-Gun Avenger
Specifications
- Crew
- 2
- Armament
- Eight FIM-92 Stinger missiles in two four-round pods and one 12.7 mm M3P machine gun
- Missile engagement envelope
- About 200 m to 3,800 m range, with targets up to about 3,800 m altitude
- Sensors and fire control
- Optical tracker, forward-looking infrared system, IFF, fire-control computer, and remote-control unit
- Mobility
- HMMWV 4x4 chassis; road speed about 105 km/h
- Combat weight
- About 3,900 kg
- Dimensions
- 4.95 m length; 2.18 m width; 2.59 m height
Conflict Usage
- Russia-Ukraine War
- Side: Ukraine
The United States announced four Avenger short-range air defense systems with Stinger missiles for Ukraine in November 2022; Ukrainian crews later used Avengers as mobile air defense against Russian Shahed drones and cruise-missile threats.
AN/TWQ-1 Avenger Images
Related Weapon Systems
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PPZR GromMan-portable air-defense systemPPZR Grom is a Polish shoulder-fired infrared surface-to-air missile system built by MESKO for short-range defense against visually acquired aircraft, helicopters, and other infrared-emitting targets. In the Russia-Ukraine War context, open-source arms researchers documented a Grom launcher tube reportedly seized from pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014, making the entry a recovered-conflict-system record rather than a confirmed Ukrainian-operated aid item.
S-300Long-range surface-to-air missile systemThe S-300 is a Soviet-origin family of mobile long-range surface-to-air missile systems used for area air defense against aircraft, UAVs, cruise missiles, and some ballistic threats. In recent conflicts it has appeared both as a Ukrainian and Russian system in the Russia-Ukraine War and as a key Iranian strategic-site air-defense asset targeted during the Israel-Iran Conflict.Sources
Avenger AN/TWQ-1Publisher: Army Recognition | Note: Supports system background, Boeing development/manufacturer context, armament, crew, mobility, dimensions, and other technical specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-20$400 Million in Additional Assistance for UkrainePublisher: U.S. Department of Defense | Note: Documents November 2022 U.S. security assistance provided to Ukraine during the Russia-Ukraine War, including four Avenger air defense systems and Stinger missiles. | Accessed: 2026-06-20$400 Million Security Package Headed to UkrainePublisher: U.S. Department of Defense | Note: Supports Ukraine conflict-use context, including Avenger's intended protection role against unmanned aerial systems, helicopters, and other short-range air threats. | Accessed: 2026-06-20How Avenger ADS Chooses Gunfire Over Spending Missiles to Down Russian Shahed DronesPublisher: Defense Express | Note: Reports operational use by Ukrainian Avenger crews against Shahed drones during the Russia-Ukraine War. | Accessed: 2026-06-20File:Avenger missile.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Primary image provenance; Commons identifies the image as a U.S. Army public-domain work. | Accessed: 2026-06-20File:Avenger Stinger Missile.JPEGPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Gallery image provenance; Commons identifies the launch photo as a U.S. Marine Corps public-domain work. | Accessed: 2026-06-20