Army·Weapon system retired·In Memoriam
Redeye Crewman
16S
Served: 1968–c.1995
Shouldered the FIM-43 Redeye — America's first man-portable air defense missile, the IR-seeking shoulder launcher that taught the Army what MANPADS could and couldn't do.
The Story
Redeye could only kill an aircraft from behind, because its seeker could only track a jet's hot exhaust. A pilot who saw the launch could simply turn into the missile and watch it go stupid.
Epitaph
“You could only shoot one in the back. Pilots learned to turn around.”
Sources
- Wikipedia — FIM-43 Redeyeen.wikipedia.org