page_title: AN/TWQ-1 Avenger
section_title: Overview
hierarchical_section_title: AN/TWQ-1 Avenger / Overview
caption_attribution_description: English: U.S. Marines watch as a Stinger missile is launched from a AN/TWQ-1 Avenger, during a training exercise at Onslow Beach, North Carolina, in April 2000.English: Stinger missile away. With a lot of loud noise and excitement, the Marines of 2d Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion show off their capabilities at this quarters FireEx held at Onslow Beach, North Carolina. The Avenger air defense weapon system is mounted on a High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) Chassis. The gunner's seat is sandwiched between two Stinger missile pods, each holding four missiles, and an M3-P .50 caliber machine gun sits on a turret below the right pod.
context_page_description: The Avenger Air Defense System, designated AN/TWQ-1 under the Joint Electronics Type Designation System, is an American self-propelled surface-to-air missile system which provides mobile, short-range air defense protection for ground units against cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, low-flying fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters.
  The Avenger was originally developed for the United States Armed Forces and is currently used by the U.S. Army. The Avenger system was also used by the U.S. Marine Corps.
context_section_description: The Avenger comes mainly in three configurations, the Basic, Slew-to-Cue, and the Up-Gun.
  The Basic configuration consists of a gyro-stabilized air defense turret mounted on a modified heavy Humvee. The turret has two Stinger missile launcher pods, each capable of firing up to 4 fire-and-forget infrared/ultraviolet guided missiles in rapid succession. The Avenger can be linked to the Forward Area Air Defense Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence (FAAD C3I) system, which permits external radar tracks and messages to be passed to the fire unit to alert and cue the gunner.
  The Slew-to-Cue (STC) subsystem allows the commander or gunner to select a FAAD C3I reported target for engagement from a display on a Targeting Console developed from VT Miltope's Pony PCU. Once the target has been selected, the turret can be automatically slewed directly to the target with limited interaction by the gunner.
  The Up-Gun Avenger was developed specifically for the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment for the Regiment's 2005 deployment to Iraq. The modification was designed to allow the Avenger to perform unit and asset defense in addition to its air defense mission. The right missile pod was removed and the M3P .50 cal machine gun was moved to the pod's former position. This allowed for the removal of the turret's cab safety limits which enabled the gun to be fired directly in front of the HMMWV. Eight of the unit's Avengers were modified to this configuration. With the 3rd ACR's redeployment from Iraq, the Up-Gun Avenger completed its role in Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Avengers have been scheduled to be converted back to STC systems.
caption: A Stinger missile being launched from an Avenger platform at Onslow Beach, North Carolina, in April 2000.
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