WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. Army said it has signed a contract worth $625 million with Raytheon Technologies to purchase 1,468 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, in order to restore stocks sent to Ukraine.

The shoulder-fired missiles, which are lightweight, self-contained weapons that can be deployed quickly against helicopters, airplanes, drones and even cruise missiles, have been successfully used by Ukraine to stop Russian air assaults.

While American troops have limited use for the missiles, the U.S. needs to maintain its supply while it develops a next generation "man-portable air defense system," according to officials.

Since the start of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February, the U.S. has sent some 1,400 Stingers to Ukraine, and its allies also seek to restock weapons they recently gave to Ukraine.

Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon Missiles and Defense, said the U.S. Army order will help "fulfill our current foreign military sale order, while replenishing Stingers provided to Ukraine and accelerating production."

On 6th May, Pentagon's chief weapons buyer, Bill LaPlante, said the intent of the purchase was to replace the Stinger missiles sent to Ukraine one-for-one, adding that he had hoped to sign a contract by the end of May.

The U.S. Army said after the Stinger production line was closed in December 2020, Raytheon won a contract to manufacture more Stingers in July 2021, but primarily for international governments.

During a conference call on 26th April, Raytheon Chief Executive Greg Hayes told analysts that the U.S. Defense Department has not purchased Stingers in 18 years.

"Some of the components are no longer commercially available, and so we are going to have to go out and redesign some of the electronics in the missile of the seeker head. That is going to take us a little bit of time," he added.

The sole Stinger production facility in Arizona only produces a small number of missiles, officials said.