Redeye (Surface-to-air missile) in active service today?

[Luno]

Is there any country that uses the old FIM-43 Redeye today ? March 1960 the first Redeye test rounds were fired so its a quite old weapon system today but it where the direct predecessor of FIM-92 Stinger missile. And it where used in Sweden under the name RB69 :D

http://img189.exs.cx/img189/5985/fim43c6ek.jpg

[hist2004]

The FIM-43 Redeye had some operational shortcomings, the most severe of which was its ineffectiveness in head-on engagements. IR missile homing devices of the day could essentially only home on the hot exhaust of an attacking aircraft. This meant that aircraft could only be engaged when they were already leaving the area, i.e. the ordnance may already have been dropped.
In the late 1960s, an air-to-air derivative of the Redeye was studied, and in May 1969, the designation AIM-43D was requested by the U.S. Army for this variant. However, the request was turned down pending a decision for full-scale development of the air-to-air Redeye, which in the end never materialized.
In September 1969, the production of the Redeye was terminated after about 85000 rounds had been built. As early as 1967, studies for a significantly improved Redeye II system began, and in March 1972, this was renamed as FIM-92 Stinger, q.v. for futher information. Beginning in 1982, the Redeye was gradually withdrawn from service, as the new Stinger was deployed. In 1995, the last Redeye missiles of the U.S. armed services were dismantled.


Regards,
Hist2004

[TomInTexas]

I left active Army service in mid 82. The ADA section assigned to our unit had already been sent to training on Stinger & had trained @ Ft. Bliss (White Sands) on it's first live fire exercise. So I can assert that hist2004 is correct & 23 years later it is highly improbable that any Redeyes are left in inventory.