Mobile air defense has gotten complicated with all the new drone threats and missile systems flying around modern battlefields. As someone who’s spent years tracking how armies protect themselves from air attack, I learned everything there is to know about the vehicles and systems that keep troops safe from above. Today, I will share it all with you.
Controlling the skies above the battlefield requires more than just fighters and big SAM sites—ground forces need their own protection from aircraft and missiles that would otherwise devastate formations in minutes. From shoulder-launched missiles to radar-guided systems on armored vehicles, these platforms form the ground component of integrated air defense that keeps maneuver forces alive.
The FIM-92 Stinger
Probably should have led with this section, honestly. The Stinger missile transformed mobile air defense when it entered service in 1981. This shoulder-launched, infrared-guided missile weighs only 34 pounds complete, allowing a single soldier to engage aircraft out to 5 miles range and 12,500 feet altitude. The seeker homes on aircraft engine heat, requiring no external guidance after launch—fire and forget, as they say.
Stingers gained worldwide fame in Afghanistan during the 1980s, where mujahideen fighters used them to devastating effect against Soviet helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. The missiles forced Soviet aircraft to higher altitudes where their effectiveness against ground targets decreased dramatically, fundamentally changing how the Soviets had to fight. That’s what makes the Stinger so historically significant—it changed the tactical equation overnight.
Avenger Air Defense System
The AN/TWQ-1 Avenger mounts eight Stinger missiles and a .50 caliber machine gun on a HMMWV chassis, creating mobile air defense that can actually keep up with maneuver units. The two-person crew uses an integrated sight to acquire and engage targets without needing external radar support for basic engagements.
The Avenger’s mobility allows it to protect moving formations rather than just sitting at fixed sites waiting for aircraft to come to them. Vehicles can shoot and relocate rapidly, making them extremely difficult for enemy aircraft to suppress before they’ve already moved. The system’s simplicity and reliability have made it a popular choice for convoy protection and forward area defense in multiple conflicts.
M6 Linebacker
The M6 Linebacker mounted four Stinger missiles on a Bradley Fighting Vehicle chassis, combining air defense capability with the Bradley’s armor protection and cross-country mobility. This allowed air defense to accompany armored formations into actual combat rather than hanging back in safer areas.
The Linebacker was retired from Army service—a decision many consider a mistake in hindsight—but it demonstrated the value of integrated short-range air defense with armored forces. That’s what makes the current revival of this concept so interesting. With drone threats proliferating everywhere, the Army is revisiting ideas it abandoned too quickly.
The M-SHORAD Revolution
The Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense system addresses the gap left by Linebacker retirement with significantly expanded capabilities. Built on a Stryker chassis, M-SHORAD carries Stinger missiles, Hellfire missiles, and a 30mm cannon for engaging various threats. More importantly, it includes electronic warfare systems and will eventually carry directed energy weapons to defeat drone swarms economically.
The system responds directly to lessons from recent conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, and elsewhere where small drones have proven devastatingly effective. Traditional air defense systems designed to kill aircraft struggle against inexpensive drones—you can’t afford to shoot a million-dollar missile at a thousand-dollar quadcopter. M-SHORAD provides cost-effective countermeasures that make sense economically.
Future Threats and Responses
Modern battlefields feature cruise missiles, loitering munitions, and drone swarms alongside traditional aircraft threats—a more complex air picture than we’ve ever faced. Mobile air defense must evolve rapidly to counter these diverse threats before they overwhelm ground forces. Directed energy weapons, electronic attack capabilities, and networked sensors offer new capabilities we’re still learning to integrate. The air defense vehicles of tomorrow will likely combine kinetic weapons with lasers and electronic warfare in integrated packages that would have seemed like science fiction a decade ago.
