The Avenger AN/TWQ-1 Air Defense System vehicle is a missile mounted 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. In the early 1980s, the then Defence Systems Division of the Boeing Aerospace Company (now The Boeing Company) developed the Avenger air defence system as a private venture. The first production contract for 325 units was awarded in 1987. The gyro-stabilised Avenger turret with Stinger missiles is mounted on a 4×4 HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle), but can also operate in a standalone configuration or mounted on a variety of military vehicles. The electric turret drive is the same as that used on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and is manufactured by General Dynamics, Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Avenger carries eight Raytheon Stinger short range air defense missiles in two launch pods mounted either side of the turret. The turret can also be deployed as a fixed stand-alone unit. The baseline configuration consists of a gunner’s turret with missile pods mounted on each side. Each missile pod, called the standard vehicle-mounted launcher, can hold four missiles that can be removed and fired in the MANPAD employment configuration. The AVENGER is operated by a two-man crew. Avenger is equipped with a .50 calibre M3P automatic machine gun to cover the missile dead zone and engage ground targets.