Interesting footage shows a US-supplied AN/TWQ-1 "Avenger" air-defense system shooting down a reported Russian cruise missile.

The Avenger is a highly mobile surface-to-air missile system fitted onto a humvee chassis. It carries eight Stinger missiles and is effective against short range targets consisting of drones, helicopters, low-flying jets, and in this case; a cruise missile.

The humvee variant of the Avenger was scheduled for destruction as they were being replaced by similar systems fitted to Stryker vehicles. The US military, instead, sent at least 12 to Ukraine as part of a military aid packages. The Ukrainian AN/TWQ-1 "Avenger" operator crews of the 1129th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment were trained by US personnel in Europe before receiving the systems.

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Will Killmore

Will Killmore is a US Army combat infantry veteran and Purple Heart recipient. He has deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan with the 172nd Stryker Brigade and 173rd Airborne Brigade. Following his time in service, he successfully pursued a certificate of journalism and has been a blogger for Funker530 since 2014. Follow Will’s bad takes on Twitter