The M1097 Avenger is a prototype Anti-Aircraft vehicle for the United States that first appeared in Wargame: AirLand Battle.
History[]
M1097 Avenger was a uparmored HUMVEE equiped with the Pedestal Mounted Stinger a turret equipped with two stinger pods with four missile each along with a M3P machine gun. These were used to provide air defense for the light and motorized formation of the US Army along with serving in the Air Defense Battery of the Armored Cavalry Regiment starting in 1988. The Marine Corps also use the system.
Overview[]
Wargame: AirLand Battle[]
The Avenger is one of the best non-radar SAM vehicles in the game, it uses the Stinger SAM that has incredible accuracy and damage, allowing it to down most planes with only two hits. It has a number of drawbacks however, as a prototype it is only available to the United States and is not available to armored, mechanized or air assault type decks.
It also lacks the range of its Soviet equivalents the BRDM-2 Strela-1M and the MT-LB Strela-10M, both have better range against helicopters, and neither are prototypes although the Avenger has both better accuracy and damage than the former (11 as opposed to 9, HE5 as opposed HE4) and better accuracy than the latter (11 as opposed to 10).
Wargame: Red Dragon[]
The M1097 Avenger returns as one of the United States' IR anti-air options. Firing the Stinger C, it has the same excellent accuracy and fair HE power as the MANPAD variant of the Stinger, while being mounted on a very fast Humvee. However, as with all Stinger variants, the Avenger is lacking in range -- just 2275m versus helicopters, making it one of the shortest-ranged anti-air units in the game. Its anti-plane range is even shorter, limiting its usefulness against either type of aircraft and essentially requiring the unit to be very close to the front line, and as it lacks armor and has only 5HP, it will die easily to almost any kind of damage.
It is almost identical to the Kin-SAM Closed Arrow of Japan, but the Kin-SAM has much-improved range (2450m) at the cost of 10 additional deployment points, and may only be taken in one card.