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.The Avenger is a mobile short-range air defense missile system. It provides mobile protection for ground units against low-flying aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles. It was developed by Boeing Aerospace as a private venture. Development commenced in the early 1980s. It was successfully trialed by the US Army in 1984. First production systems entered service with the US Army in 1990 and replaced the M163 Vulcan and M167 anti-aircraft guns. It was also in adopted by the US Marine Corps. Export operators are Bahrain, Chile, Egypt, Lithuania, Taiwan and United Arab Emirates. A total of 1 800 of these air defense systems were built. Around 950 systems are still operational. In 2022 it was announced that a small number of Avenger air defense systems will be delivered to Ukraine in order to defend against the Russian invasion.What is the Avenger Missile System? The Avenger air defense system is based on the M998, M1026 or M1097 weapon carrier. All of these vehicles are members of the HMMWV tactical vehicle family. The Avenger is equipped with a PMS platform (Pedestal Mounted Stinger), which has two quadruple launchers with eight FIM-92 Stinger short-range surface-to-air missiles. Also this system is compatible with all models of the Stinger missile. The Avenger air defense system can operate in day/night and all weather conditions.