Photo By Spc. Ashley Dominguez Ibarra | U.S. Army Spc. Dallas Demos with the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment,...... read more read more
Subscribe
BATURAJA, Indonesia – For the second consecutive year, multinational forces conducted a joint live-fire exercise using a FIM-92 Stinger and a Mistral 3 system in Indonesia as part of Super Garuda Shield 26, Sept. 9, 2026.
The U.S. Marines with the Low Altitude Air Defense detachment’s primary weapon is the FIM-92 Stinger. They coached and guided U.S. Army Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division during the live-fire exercise as part of Super Garuda Shield 26. While Indonesian Soldiers with the 10th Air Defense Artillery Battalion practiced shooting a Mistral 3 system.
“My objective today was to help train these soldiers in the FIM-92 Stinger missile,” said Sgt. Liam Hartman, a low altitude air defense gunner with the Marine 3d Low Altitude Air Defense Detachment, Marine Air Control Group 38, Marine Rotational Force-Darwin. “We were out here just making sure they knew the basics, how to properly engage a drone, and we did it successfully.”
Last year marked the first stinger live-fire exercises, this year the training is being put to use to train a new iteration of Soldiers from different branches and nations. Super Garuda Shield 26 is a joint and multilateral military training exercise between the Indonesia National Armed Forces and the U.S. military.
“We have been leaning forward in training our 11 Bravo infantry men, in regards to stinger operations,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brian Myers, the air missile defense systems Integrator with the 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division. “This has been a first for the brigade in regards to execution.”
The FIM-92 Stinger belongs to a family of man-portable, air-defense systems, meant to provide short-range air defense against low-altitude threats. Most anti-aircraft systems are too heavy for a single service member to use, the FIM-92 Stinger allows ground infantry the ability to neutralize low flying aircraft.
The Mistral 3 is an advanced, infrared-guided short-range air defense missile system meant to destroy low-flying aircrafts, helicopters, and drones. Unlike the FIM-92, the Mistral 3 is heavier, which tends to have a ground tripod that can also be mounted on armored tactical vehicles and automated remote turrets.
“Regardless of language barriers, we all have a common understanding that we want to do the best that we can and take down targets that are potentially a threat to not only the Indonesian Armed Forces, but to the United States of America,” said Myers. “We can continually build our relationship in the instance that we have a threat that we have to take care of.”
This iteration of Super Garuda Shield 26 had approximately 2,500 U.S. Armed Forces personnel participating, with about 1,200 from the U.S. Army. The U.S. Marine Corps sent approximately 100 Marines, and the U.S. Navy sent approximately 900 Sailors. There were also personnel from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Special Operations Forces.
| Date Taken: | 09.10.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 09.10.2026 06:02 |
| Story ID: | 574250 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 37 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, SGS26 Trains Multilateral Air Defense Tactics, by SPC Ashley Dominguez Ibarra, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
