HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 9K32 Strela-2 (russian: Cтрела, "arrow";
NATO reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform man ...
SA-7 Grail) is a light-weight, shoulder-fired,
surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
(or
MANPADS Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS or MPADS) are portable surface-to-air missiles. They are guided weapons and are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters. Overview MANPADS were developed in the 1950s to provide military ...
) system. It is designed to target aircraft at low altitudes with passive infrared homing guidance and destroy them with a high explosive warhead. Broadly comparable in performance with the US Army
FIM-43 Redeye The General Dynamics FIM-43 Redeye is a man-portable surface-to-air missile system. It uses passive infrared homing to track its target. Production began in 1962 andin anticipation of the Redeye II, which later became the FIM-92 Stingerended in t ...
, the Strela-2 was the first
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
man-portable SAM – full-scale production began in 1970. While the Redeye and 9K32 Strela-2 were similar, the missiles were not identical. The Strela-2 was a staple of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
and was produced in huge numbers for the Soviet Union and their allies, as well as
revolutionary movements A revolutionary movement (or revolutionary social movement) is a specific type of social movement dedicated to carrying out a revolution. Charles Tilly defines it as "a social movement advancing exclusive competing claims to control of the state, ...
. Though since surpassed by more modern systems, the Strela and its variants remain in service in many countries, and have seen widespread use in nearly every regional conflict since 1972.


Development

The end of World War II led to a major shift in Soviet defence policy. The advent of long range, high altitude, nuclear-armed American bombers, capable of penetrating Soviet airspace at heights and speeds unreachable and unmatchable by
anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...
s and most interceptors, appeared to render every conventional weapon obsolete at a stroke. Numerous long-range, high-altitude SAM systems, such as the S-25 Berkut and S-75 Dvina, were rapidly developed and fielded to counter this large vulnerability. Due to the apparent "obsolescence" of conventional arms, however, relatively little development took place to field mobile battlefield air defences. This direction was soon changed with the beginning of the
Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...
. An entirely conventional conflict, it proved that nuclear weapons were not the be-all and end-all of warfare. In the face of a powerful and modern American air force, carrying non-nuclear payloads, the Soviet Union invested heavily in a multi-tier air defence system, consisting of several new mobile SAMs, to cover all altitude ranges and protect ground forces. The new doctrine listed five requirements: * Front-level medium-to-high-altitude area defense system 9K8 Krug (NATO designation SA-4 "Ganef") *
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
-level low-to-medium-range area defense system 3K9 Kub (NATO designation SA-6 "Gainful") * Division-level low-altitude short-range system 9K33 Osa (NATO designation SA-8 "Gecko") *
Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...
-level all-weather radar-guided gun system ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" and very-short-range missile systems Strela-1 (NATO designation SA-9 "Gaskin") *
Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...
-level man-portable Strela-2 (NATO designation SA-7 "Grail") Both Strela-1 and Strela-2 were initially intended to be man-portable systems. As the Strela-2 proved to be a considerably smaller and lighter package, however, the role of the Strela-1 was changed, becoming a heavier, vehicle-mounted system with increased range and performance to better support the ZSU-23-4 in the regimental air defense role. As development began in the Turopov OKB (later changed to Kolomna), detailed information on the design of the US
FIM-43 Redeye The General Dynamics FIM-43 Redeye is a man-portable surface-to-air missile system. It uses passive infrared homing to track its target. Production began in 1962 andin anticipation of the Redeye II, which later became the FIM-92 Stingerended in t ...
became available. While it was not a reverse-engineered copy, in many ways the Strela design borrowed heavily from the Redeye, which had started development a few years earlier. Due to the comparatively primitive Soviet technical base, development was protracted, and many problems arose, especially in designing a sufficiently small seeker head and rocket. Eventually, the designers settled for a simpler seeker head than that of the Redeye, allowing the initial version, the 9K32 "Strela-2" ( US DoD designation ''SA-7A'', missile round 9M32) to finally enter service in 1968, five years behind schedule. At the time, it was described by one expert as being "the premier Russian export line".


Improvements

The initial variant suffered from numerous shortcomings: it could only engage targets flying at relatively slow airspeeds and low altitudes and then only from rear hemisphere, it suffered from poor guidance reliability (particularly in the presence of natural or man-made background IR radiation sources), and even when a hit was achieved, it often failed to destroy the target.Lappi, Ahti: Ilmatorjunta Kylmässä Sodassa, 2003On arrows and needles: Russia's Strela and Igla portable killers. Journal of Electronic Defense, January, 2004. Michal Fiszer and Jerzy Gruszczynski Poor lethality was an issue especially when used against jet aircraft: the hottest part of the target was the nozzle behind the actual engine, which the missile therefore usually hit; but there its small warhead often failed to cause significant damage to the engine itself. In order to address the shortcomings, two improved versions were ordered in 1968; as an intermediate stop-gap the slightly improved 9K32M "Strela-2M" (NATO reporting name SA-7b) to replace the original, as well as the more ambitious
Strela-3 The 9K34 Strela-3 (russian: 9К34 «Стрела-3», 'arrow', NATO reporting name: SA-14 Gremlin) is a man-portable air defense missile system (MANPADS) developed in the Soviet Union as a response to the poor performance of the earlier 9K32 Str ...
. As the modifications introduced with the Strela-2M were relatively minor, the process was fast and it was accepted in service in 1970. The Strela-2M replaced the Strela-2 in production lines immediately. Improvements were made particularly to increase the engagement envelope of the new system: * Higher thrust propellant increased slant range from and ceiling from * Improved guidance and control logic allowed the engagement of helicopters and propeller-driven aircraft (but not jets) approaching at a maximum speed of * Maximum speed of receding targets was increased from * More automated gripstock provided a simplified firing method against fast targets: a single trigger pull followed by lead and superelevation replacing the separate stages of releasing the seeker to track, and launching the missile (see description below) Contrary to what was initially reported in some Western publications, more recent information indicates that, while lethality on impact had proven to be a problem, the warhead remained the same unit (including TNT charge) as in the original. This remained the warhead of all Soviet MANPADS up to and including most 9K38 Igla variants; to address the problem of poor lethality, a more powerful HE filling than TNT, improved fuzing, a terminal maneuver, and finally a separate charge to set off any remaining rocket fuel were gradually introduced in later MANPADS systems, but the original Strela-2/2M warhead design of a directed-energy HE charge in a pre-fragmented casing remained. The seeker head improvements were only minor changes to allow better discrimination of the target signal against background emissions. Some sources claim that the seeker sensitivity was also improved. The only defence against infra-red countermeasures remained the seeker head's narrow field of view, which could be hoped to help the rapidly slowing flare fall off the missile field of view as it was tracking a fast-moving target. In practice,
flares A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala in some Latin-speaking countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illumination, ...
proved to be a highly effective countermeasure against both versions of the Strela-2. The seeker is commonly referred to as a hot metal tracker. The seeker can only see infrared energy in the near infrared (NIR) spectrum, emitted by very hot surfaces only seen on the inside of the jet nozzle. This allows only rear-aspect engagement of jet targets, earning the weapon its other moniker as a revenge weapon, since the missile has to "chase" an aircraft after it has already passed by. The Strela-2M was also procured for use on-board
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...
warships;''War Machine'', issue 64 (magazine), 1984, Orbis Publications, p. 1274. installed on four-round pedestal mounts aboard Soviet amphibious warfare vessels and various smaller combatants, the weapon remained unchanged, but was assigned the NATO reporting name SA-N-5 "Grail".


Description

The missile launcher system consists of the green missile launch tube containing the missile, a grip stock and a cylindrical thermal battery. The launch tube is reloadable at depot, but missile rounds are delivered to fire units in their launch tubes. The device can be reloaded up to five times. When engaging slow or straight-receding targets, the operator tracks the target with the iron sights in the launch tube and applies half-trigger. This action "uncages" the seeker and allows its attempt to track. If a target IR signature can be tracked against the background present, this is indicated by a light and a buzzer sound. The shooter then pulls the trigger fully, and immediately applies lead and superelevation. This method is called a manual engagement. An automatic mode, which is used against fast targets, allows the shooter to fully depress the trigger in one pull followed by immediate lead and superelevation of the launch tube. The seeker will uncage and will automatically launch the missile if a strong enough signal is detected. The manufacturer lists reaction time measured from the carrying position (missile carried on a soldier's back with protective covers) to missile launch to be 13 seconds, a figure that is achievable but requires considerable training and skill in missile handling. With the launcher on the shoulder, covers removed and sights extended, reaction time from fire command to launch reduces to 6–10 seconds, depending greatly on the target difficulty and the shooter's skill. After activating the power supply to the missile electronics, the gunner waits for electricity supply and gyros to stabilize, puts the sights on target and tracks it smoothly with the launch tube's iron sights, and pulls the trigger on the grip stock. This activates the seeker electronics and the missile attempts to lock onto the target. If the target is producing a strong enough signal and the angular tracking rate is within acceptable launch parameters, the missile alerts the gunner that the target is locked on by illuminating a light in the sight mechanism, and producing a constant buzzing noise. The operator then has 0.8 seconds to provide lead to the target while the missile's on-board power supply is activated and the throw-out motor ignited. Should the target be outside acceptable parameters, then the light cue in the sight and the buzzer signal tell the gunner to re-aim the missile. On launch, the booster burns out before the missile leaves the launch tube at 32 m/s and rotating at around 20 revolutions per second. As the missile leaves the tube, the two forward steering fins unfold, as do the four rear stabilizing tail fins. The self-destruct mechanism is then armed, which is set to destroy the missile after between 14 and 17 seconds to prevent it hitting the ground if it should miss the target. Once the missile is five and a half meters away from the gunner, c. 0.3 seconds after leaving the launch tube, it activates the rocket sustainer motor. The sustainer motor takes it to a velocity of , and sustains it at this speed. Once it reaches peak speed, at a distance of around from the gunner, the final safety mechanism is disabled and the missile is fully armed. All told, the booster burns for 0.5 second and the driving engine for another 2.0 seconds. The missile's uncooled lead sulfide passive infra-red seeker head detects infrared radiation at below 2.8 μm in wavelength. It has a 1.9 degree field of view and can track at 9 degrees per second. The seeker head tracks the target with an amplitude-modulated spinning reticle (spin-scan or AM tracking), which attempts to keep the seeker constantly pointed towards the target. The spinning reticle measures the amount of incoming infrared (IR) energy. It does this by using a circular pattern that has solid portions and slats that allow the IR energy to pass through to the seeker. As the reticle spins IR energy passes through the open portions of the reticle. Based on where the IR energy falls on the reticle the amount or amplitude of IR energy allowed through to the seeker increases the closer to the center of the reticle. Therefore, the seeker is able to identify where the center of the IR energy is. If the seeker detects a decrease in the amplitude of the IR energy it steers the missile back towards where the IR energy was the strongest. The seeker's design creates a dead-space in the middle of the reticle. The center mounted reticle has no detection capability. This means that as the seeker tracks a target as soon as the seeker is dead center, (aimed directly at the IR source) there is a decrease in the amplitude of IR energy. The seeker interprets this decrease as being off target so it changes direction. This causes the missile to move off target until another decrease in IR energy is detected and the process repeats itself. This gives the missile a very noticeable wobble in flight as the seeker bounces in and out from the dead-space. This wobble becomes more pronounced as the missile closes on the target as the IR energy fills a greater portion of the reticle. These continuous course corrections effectively bleed energy from the missile reducing its range and velocity. The guidance of the SA-7 follows proportional convergence logic, also known as angle rate tracking system or pro-logic. In this method, as the seeker tracks the target, the missile is turned towards where the seeker is turning towards – not where it is pointing at – relative to the missile's longitudinal axis. Against a target flying in a straight-line course at constant speed, the angle rate of seeker-to-body reduces to zero when the missile is in a straight-line flight path to intercept point.


Combat use

As a consequence of their widespread availability and large numbers, the Strela system has seen use in conflicts across the globe.


Middle East


Egypt

The first combat use of the missile is credited as being in 1969 during the War of Attrition by Egyptian soldiers. The first "kill" was claimed on 19 August 1969. An Israeli 102 Squadron A-4H Skyhawk was hit with a shoulder-fired missile 12 miles west of the Suez Canal and pilot SqL Nassim Ezer Ashkenazi captured. Between this first firing and June 1970 the Egyptian army fired 99 missiles resulting in 36 hits. The missile proved to have poor kinematic reach against combat jets, and also poor lethality as many aircraft that were hit managed to return safely to base. The missile was used later in the
Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...
, where 4,356 Strelas were fired, scoring few hits and just 2–4 kills, with 26–28 damaged. A-4s were fitted with lengthened exhaust pipes in order to prevent fatal damage to the engine, a solution made in the previous war, together with flare launchers. However, together with Shilka and SA-2/ 3/ 6s, they caused very heavy losses to the
Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defens ...
in the first days. Subsequently, Arab forces fired so many SAMs that they almost depleted their weapon stocks. SA-7s were not that effective against fast jets, but they were the best weapon available to Arab infantry at the time. A Strela 2 was reportedly used by the Islamist militant group Ansar Bait al-Maqdis to destroy an Egyptian military Mil-8 helicopter operating in the northern Sinai region on 26 January 2014 near Sheikh Zuweid (close to the border with Gaza), killing its five occupants. This is the first attack of this type during the
Sinai insurgency The Sinai insurgency is an ongoing insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, that was commenced by Islamist militants against Egyptian security forces, which have also included attacks on civilians. The insurgency began during the Egyptia ...
, which has raged on the peninsula due to the security and political turmoil since the 2011 revolution. The MANPADS is reported by
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
to have come from former Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by '' The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
's large stocks, which have been widely proliferated after Libya's civil war chaos and have become a concern to regional and world security.


Syria

The Strela was deployed by Syrian forces occupying Lebanon, along with other Soviet air-defence systems that challenged U.S., French and Israeli airpower in the aftermath of the 1982 conflict and the deployment of the Multinational Force in Lebanon during that year. On 10 November 1983, an SA-7 was fired at a French Super Etendard near Bourj el-Barajneh while flying over
Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...
(PLA) positions. On 3 December, more Strelas and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) were fired at
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experi ...
s flying a reconnaissance mission. The Americans responded with a large strike package of 12
A-7 Corsair The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...
s and 16 A-6 Intruders (supported by a single
E-2C Hawkeye The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin- turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft ...
, two EA-6B Prowlers and two F-14As) launched from the carriers and sailing in the Mediterranean. The aircraft were to bomb Syrian installations, AAA sites and weapons depots near Falouga and
Hammana Hammana ( ar, حمانا) is a town in Lebanon, about 26 km (16 miles) east of Beirut. At an altitude of 1200 m (about 4000 ft) above sea level, Hammana is in the Mount Lebanon Governorate in the district (or Caza) of Baabda. Hammana is ...
, some 16 km north of
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
-
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
highway, when they were received by a volley of (possibly up to 40) Syrian SAMs, one of which hit a Corsair (AE305 of the VA-15), forcing the pilot to eject over the sea before being rescued by a USN search and rescue mission. The attack formation broke, with each pilot attacking each objective on its own, leading to the downing of a second U.S aircraft, an Intruder from VA-85, hit by either an SA-7 or an SA-9. The navigator, Lieutenant
Bobby Goodman Robert O. Goodman (born 30 November 1956) is a former United States Navy bombardier–navigator. He was shot down in his A-6 Intruder over Lebanon on 4 December 1983. Captured upon ejection from his stricken plane, he was held captive for 30 da ...
ejected near a village surrounded by Syrian positions. The pilot, Lt. Mark Lange, ejected too late and died from his wounds soon after being captured by Syrian soldiers and Lebanese civilians. Goodman was captured by the Syrians and taken to Damascus before being freed in January 1984. A second Corsair, searching for the downed Intruder crew, was later hit by an SA-7. The pilot, Cdr. Edward Andrews, managed to eject over the sea near Beirut and was rescued by a fisherman and his son who in turn handed him over to the U.S Marines. During the
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
, several Strelas have made their way to rebel hands, and YouTube videos have shown them being fired. In 2013, '' Foreign Policy'', citing rebels sources, reported the shipment, with Qatari help, of some 120 SA-7s from Libya (with large stocks acquired by Gaddafi and proliferated after that country's civil war) through Turkey and with Turkish authorities' knowledge


Lebanon

On 24 June 1974, Palestinian guerrillas operating in southern Lebanon fired two SA-7s against invading Israel Air Force (IAF) aircraft, though no hits were scored.See US State Department Cable Beirut 7015, Jun. 20, 1974 The Lebanese Al-Mourabitoun militia received either from Syria or the PLO a number of SA-7s, which they employed against
Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defens ...
(IAF) fighter-bomber jets during the
1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee ( he, מבצע שלום הגליל, or מבצע של"ג ''Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil'' or ''Mivtsa Sheleg'') by the Israeli government, later known in Israel as the Lebanon War or the First L ...
. During the 1983–84 Mountain War, the
Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...
(PLA) militia received from Syria a number of Strela missiles, which were used to bring down two Lebanese Air Force
Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-Ro ...
fighter jets and one Israeli IAI Kfir
fighter-bomber aircraft A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...
, on November 20, over the mountainous
Chouf district Chouf (also spelled Shouf, Shuf or Chuf, in ''Jabal ash-Shouf''; french: La Montagne du Chouf) is a historic region of Lebanon, as well as an administrative district in the governorate ( muhafazat) of Mount Lebanon. Geography Located south-east ...
southeast of
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
(the pilot was rescued by the Lebanese Army). The
Christian Maronite The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic ''sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The current head of the Maron ...
Lebanese Forces militia (LF) also received from Iraq a number of Strela missiles in 1988–89. The Shiite Hezbollah guerrilla group also acquired some Strelas in the late 1980s and fired them against Israeli aircraft in November 1991. Since then, they have since fired many Strelas against Israeli aircraft, including two against Israeli warplanes on 12 June 2001 near Tyre, but have never scored a hit.


Iraq

In the early dawn of 31 January 1991, during the Battle of Khafji in
Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
, an Iraqi soldier shot down an American AC-130H gunship with a Strela 2, killing all 14 crewmembers. Strela-2 missiles have been used against Turkish Army helicopters by the PKK in northern
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. During Operation Hammer; on 18 May 1997, a Strela-2 missile was used to shoot down an AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopter. On 4 June 1997, another Strela was used to bring down a Turkish Army AS-532UL Cougar transport helicopter in the Zakho area, killing the 11 soldiers on board. The video of the first attack was used extensively for PKK propaganda and eventually released to the Internet. Greece and
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
's intelligence services, as well as Iran, Syria, Armenia, and Cyprus were traced as possible sources of the missiles. A Strela-2 missile is said to have been used in April 2005, when members of the insurgents shot down an Mi-8 helicopter operated by Blackwater, killing all 11 crew members. The Islamic Army in Iraq took responsibility for the action and a video showing the downing was released on the Internet. The missile launcher is not visible on the video, however, making it impossible to confirm the type of MANPADS used. The spate of helicopter shoot-downs during 2006 and 2007 in Iraq has been partly attributed to the prevalence of the Strela amongst Sunni insurgent groups of that time; while al Qaeda is said to have produced an hour-long training video on how to use SA-7s.


Saudi Arabia

In late 2001, a Sudanese man with links to Al-Qaida fired an SA-7 at an American F-15 Eagle fighter taking off from Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The missile missed the target and was not detected by the pilot or anyone at the base. Saudi police found the empty launcher in the desert in May 2002, and a suspect was arrested in
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
a month later. He led police to a cache in the desert where a second missile was buried.


Gaza

During October 2012, militants in Gaza fired a Strela at an
IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces *Irish Defence Forces *Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 *Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations *Israeli Diving Federation *Interaction ...
helicopter. During Operation Pillar of Defense,
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni- Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qas ...
released a video purporting to be a Strela missile launch at an IAF target. In March 2013, one was also reportedly fired from Gaza at an IAF helicopter. And in 2022 one was fired at IAF F16 to stop the air raid.


Yemen

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula allegedly shot down a UAE Mirage fighter jet with a Strela during the
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present) Yemeni Civil War may refer to several historical events which have taken place in Yemen: * Alwaziri coup, February – March 1948 * Yemeni–Adenese clan violence, 1956–60 * North Yemen Civil War, 1962–70 * Aden Emergency, 1963–67 * North Yem ...
. Houthi rebels were seen carrying 9K32 Strela-2s.


Southeast Asia

The Strela-2 system was also given to North Vietnam, where along with the more advanced Strela-2M it achieved 204 hits out of 589 firings against US and
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
ese aircraft between 1972 and 1975 according to Russian sources. (Some sources, such as Fiszer (2004), claim that it was used from 1968 onwards). Roughly 90–110 kills and several dozen damaged are attributed to Strela-2/2M hits between April 1972 and the Fall of Saigon in April 1975, almost all against helicopters and propeller-driven aircraft. As in the War of Attrition, the missile's speed and range proved insufficient against fast jets and results were poor: only one U.S A-4 Skyhawk, one U.S F-4 Phantom and three South Vietnamese
F-5 Freedom Fighter The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models, the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants and t ...
are known to have been shot down with Strela-2s during the conflict. U.S fixed-wing losses are listed in the following table.''Vietnam Air Losses'', Christopher Hobson, 2002 The internet site Arms-expo.ru states 14 fixed-wing aircraft and 10 helicopters were shot down with 161 missile rounds used between 28 April and 14 July 1972. Between April 1972 and January 1973, 29 fixed-wing aircraft and 14 helicopters were shot down (01 F-4, 7 O-1, 03 O-2, 04 OV-10, 09 A-1, 04 A-37, 01 CH-47, 04 AH-1, 09
UH-1 The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helico ...
) The difference in fixed-wing losses may be at least partly due to South Vietnamese aircraft shot down by the weapon. The table shows heavy losses particularly in the beginning of May, with especially lethal results on the 1st and 2nd, where the shootdown of the O-2 FAC led to further losses when a rescue operation was attempted. After these initial losses, changes in tactics and widespread introduction of decoy flares helped to counter the threat, but a steady flow of attrition and necessity of minimizing time spent in the Strela's engagement envelope nonetheless continued to limit the effectiveness of US battlefield air operations until the end of US involvement in South-East Asia. The United States lost at least 10 AH-1 Cobras and several UH-1 Hueys to Strela-2/2M hits in South East Asia. From 28 January 1973 to July 1973, the Republic of Vietnam Air Force lost 8 aircraft and helicopter with 22 missile rounds used (1 A-37, 3 A-1, 1 F-5, 2 UH-1, 1 CH-47) From January 1973 to June 1974, the Republic of Vietnam Air Force lost at least 17 aircraft and helicopter by Strela-2 From 28 January 1973 to 31 December 1974, they lost at least 28 aircraft by Strela-2 and few dozen other were damaged. In
1975 spring offensive The 1975 spring offensive ( vi, chiến dịch mùa Xuân 1975), officially known as the general offensive and uprising of spring 1975 ( vi, Tổng tiến công và nổi dậy mùa Xuân 1975) was the final North Vietnamese campaign in the Vi ...
, few dozen aircraft and helicopter were shotdown by SA-7. On 14 April, one F-5 was shotdown In Ho Chi Minh campaign, PAVN claimed 34 aircraft and helicopter were shotdown by SA-7, including 9 were shotdown on 29 April In the late 1980s, Strela-2s were used against Royal Thai Air Force aircraft by Laotian and Vietnamese forces during numerous border clashes. An RTAF F-5E was damaged on 4 March 1987 and another F-5E was shot down on 4 February 1988 near the Thai-Cambodian border.


Western Asia


Afghanistan

Strela-2M was used also in Afghanistan during the
Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...
by the Mujahiddeen. The missiles were obtained from various sources, some from Egypt and China (locally manufactured Sakr Eye and HN-5 versions of the SAM), and the CIA also assisted the guerrillas in finding missiles from other sources. Results from combat use were not dissimilar from experiences with the Strela-2/2M from Vietnam: while 42 helicopters were shot down by various Strela-2 variants (including a few Mi-24s until exhaust shrouds made them next to invisible to the short-wavelength Strela-2 seeker) only five fixed-wing aircraft were destroyed with the weapon. Due to its poor kinematic performance and vulnerability to even the most primitive infra-red countermeasures, the guerrillas considered the Strela-2 suitable for use against helicopters and prop-driven transports, but not combat jets. However, the recent studies and interviews after the Cold war say that most Strelas sold to the Mujahiddeen on the black market were broken/damaged or faulty. This is possibly another reason why the Soviet army in Afghanistan didn't expect working anti-aircraft missiles like the Stinger to be used. On 22 July 2007 the first reported attack of the Taliban against a
coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...
aircraft using MANPADS was reported. The weapon was reported to be an SA-7 allegedly smuggled from Iran to the Taliban. The missile failed after the crew of the USAF C-130, flying over the
Nimroz province Nimruz or Nimroz (Dari: ; Balochi: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southwestern part of the country. It lies to the east of the Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran and north of Balochistan, Pakistan, also border ...
, launched flares and made evasive manoeuvers. However, most of the Strelas operated by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan are probably inherited from fighters that used it during the Soviet invasion. Most are probably faulty, broken or in other ways not usable (even from the beginning) against military helicopters, with the intercepts of NATO aviation by Stingers (acquired also during 80s) or other missiles.


Georgia

The SA-7 saw heavy usage by all sides during the Georgian Civil War. The first known loss to an SA-7 happened on 13 June 1993, when a GAF Su-25 was shot down by a Strela over Shubara. On two later occasions, Georgian airliners (a Tu-134A and a Tu-134B) were shot down by SA-7s, killing a total of 110 people.


Africa


Guinea-Bissau

When PAIGC rebels in Guinea began to receive SA-7s in early 1973, these immediately became a threat to Portuguese air supremacy. On 23 March 1973, two
Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...
(FAP) Fiat G.91s were shot down by SA-7s, followed six weeks later by another Fiat, and a Dornier Do 27.http://s188567700.online.de/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=220&Itemid=47


Mozambique

FRELIMO FRELIMO (; from the Portuguese , ) is a democratic socialist political party in Mozambique. It is the dominant party in Mozambique and has won a majority of the seats in the Assembly of the Republic in every election since the country's firs ...
fighters in
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
were also able to field some SA-7s with Chinese support, although the weapon is not known to have caused any losses to the FAP, even if it forced Portuguese pilots to change their tactics. In one case a
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...
carrying foreign military attaches and members of the senior Portuguese military command was hit by an SA-7 in one of the engines. The crippled plane managed to land safely and was later repaired.http://s188567700.online.de/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=139&Itemid=47


Angola

In Angola and Namibia, SA-7s were deployed against the South African Air Force with limited success. The SAAF lost Atlas Impalas to Strelas on 24 January 1980 and 10 October 1980. Another Impala was hit by an SA-7 on 23 December 1983, but the pilot was able to fly the aircraft back to Ondangwa AB.
UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...
also reportedly obtained 50 SA-7s that Israel had captured, via the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
. The first one was fired at Cuban aircraft by a French mercenary on 13 March 1976, but the missile failed to hit the target. The individual missiles may have been in poor condition, as none scored a direct hit.Angola since 1961
Retrieved 4 October 2011.
Additionally, it is claimed that UNITA used SA-7s to shoot down two
Transafrik International Transafrik International is a cargo airline based in Angola with its offices in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules The Lockheed L-100 Hercules is the civilian variant of the prolific C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft made by the Lockheed Corporation. Its first flight occurred in 1964. Longer L-100-20 and L-100-30 versions were developed. L-100 pro ...
flying UN charters, on 26 December 1998 and 2 January 1999, both near Huambo.


Sudan

Using an SA-7, the
Sudan People's Liberation Army The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the army of the Republic of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a ...
shot down a Sudan Airways Fokker F-27 Friendship 400M taking off from
Malakal Malakal is a city in South Sudan. It is the capital of Upper Nile State, South Sudan, along the White Nile River. It also serves as the headquarter of Malakal county and it used to be the headquarter of Upper Nile Region from 1970s to late 1990s ...
on 16 August 1986, killing all 60 on board. On 21 December 1989, an Aviation Sans Frontières Britten-Norman BN-2A-9 Islander (F-OGSM) was shot down by an SA-7 while taking off from Aweil Sudan, killing the four crew on board.


Western Sahara

The Polisario Front used SA-7s against the
Royal Moroccan Air Force The Royal Moroccan Air Force ( ar, القوات الجوية الملكية; ber, Adwas ujenna ageldan; french: Forces Royales Air) is the air force of the Moroccan Armed Forces. History The Moroccan air force was formed on 14 May 1956 as the ...
and Mauritanian Air Force during the Western Sahara War over the former Spanish colonies of the
Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
. The Mauritania Air Force lost a Britten-Norman Defender to a SA-7 fired by the Polisario on 29 December 1976. Between 1975 and 1991, the Royal Moroccan Air Force has lost several
Northrop F-5 The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models, the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants and t ...
A Freedom Fighters and Dassault Mirage F1s to SA-7s fired by the Polisario. In a case of mistaken identity, a
Dornier 228 The Dornier 228 is a twin- turboprop STOL utility aircraft, designed and first manufactured by Dornier GmbH (later DASA Dornier, Fairchild-Dornier) from 1981 until 1998. Two hundred and forty-five were built in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. In ...
owned by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research was shot down over the Western Sahara near Dakhla on 24 February 1985. Two Dornier 228s named Polar 2 and Polar 3 were on a return flight to Germany following a South Pole expedition. After having taken off from
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
,
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
, en route to
Arrecife Arrecife (; ; ) is the capital city and a municipality of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. It was made the island's capital in 1852. The city owes its name to the rock reef ("arrecife" being Spanish for "reef") which covers its local beach. It al ...
,
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to ...
, flying 5 minutes behind Polar 2 and at a lower altitude (9,000 feet), Polar 3 was shot down by a SA-7 fired by the Polisario. The crew of three was killed. In another incident, on 8 December 1988, two Douglas DC-7CFs flying at 11,000 feet from Dakar, Senegal to Agadir, Morocco for a locust control mission there, had SA-7s fired at them by the Polisario. One aircraft, N284, was hit and lost one of its engines and part of a wing. This led to the aircraft crashing, killing the crew of five. The other aircraft, N90804, also was hit and lost an engine along with suffering other damage, but it was able to land safely at Sidi Ifni Morocco.


Airliner attacks

During the
Rhodesian Bush War The Rhodesian Bush War, also called the Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Liberation, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country of Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe-Rh ...
, members of the military wing of the
Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), a Marxist–Leninist political party in Rhodesia. It participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule of Rhod ...
brought down two
Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...
civilian airliners near Kariba; the first in September 1978, the second in February 1979. There was great loss of life in both instances as the flights were returning from a well known tourist attraction. * Vickers Viscount, Flight RH825, 3 September 1978 – downed by a Strela missile near Kariba Dam. After initial impact, the pilot was able to make an emergency landing in a nearby field but the aircraft broke up on impact. Eighteen of the fifty-six passengers in the tail section survived the crash. Ten of these survivors were shot dead at the crash-site by insurgents, who later looted the bodies and wreckage. * Vickers Viscount, Flight RH827, 12 February 1979 – shot by down Strela missile near Kariba Dam; all 59 people on board were killed. UNITA claimed that they used one to shoot down a
TAAG TAAG Angola Airlines E.P. ( pt, TAAG Linhas Aéreas de Angola E.P.) is a state-owned airline and flag carrier of Angola. Based in Luanda, the airline operates domestic services within Angola, medium-haul services in Africa and long-haul service ...
Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...
-2M2 taking off from Lubango on 8 November 1983. A Lignes Aériennes Congolaises
Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller air ...
-30 taking off from Kindu was shot down by an SA-7 fired by rebel forces in 1998, killing all 41 on board. Two missiles were fired at a
Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978. The prototype completed its maid ...
during the
2002 Mombasa attacks The 2002 Mombasa attacks was a two-pronged terrorist attack on 28 November 2002 in Mombasa, Kenya against an Israeli-owned hotel and a plane belonging to Arkia Airlines. An all-terrain vehicle crashed through a barrier outside the Paradise Hote ...
in
Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
. Neither missile struck its target.


Latin America


Argentina

Strela-2M missiles were available to Argentinian troops in the Falkland Islands during the
Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial ...
. War Machine Encyclopedia shows no records of any launches, but several missiles were captured.War Machine, Italian version printed by De Agostini, Novara, 1983, p.155 The missiles were supplied by Libya.


Nicaragua

The Strela-2 was used by both Sandinista government forces and Contra insurgents during the 1979–1990 civil war. On 3 October 1983, at about 10:00 am, Sandinista soldier Fausto Palacios used a Strela to shoot down a Contra-operated
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...
that had taken off from Catamacas airport in
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
, carrying supplies, over the area of Los Cedros, in the Nueva Segovia Department. One crewman died in the crash and four were captured by government forces. The pilot, Major Roberto Amador Alvarez, as well as his co-pilot Capt. Hugo Reinaldo Aguilar were former members of the extinct National Guard of the former dictator
Anastasio Somoza Debayle Anastasio "Tachito" Somoza Debayle (; 5 December 1925 – 17 September 1980) was the President of Nicaragua from 1 May 1967 to 1 May 1972 and from 1 December 1974 to 17 July 1979. As head of the National Guard, he was ''de facto'' ruler of t ...
. On 27 August 1984, Sandinista soldier Fanor Medina Leyton shot down a Contra-operated
Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained ...
with a Strela. Sources differ over the attack and crash area: both a Russian source and Sandinista officials reported the Jinotega Department, while the Aviation Safety Network reports the Quilalí area in the Nueva Segovia department. All eight occupants were killed. The pilot, José Luis Gutiérrez Lugo, was reported as a former pilot for the Somoza family. Sandinista and Contra forces subsequently battled for the control of six packages dropped from the plane. On 5 October 1986 a Corporate Air Services C-123 Provider (HPF821, previously N4410F and USAF 54-679, (c/n 20128)) conducting a covert drop of arms to Contra fighters in
Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the coun ...
was shot down by Sandinista soldier José Fernando Canales Alemán, using an SA-7.
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
pilots William J. Cooper and Wallace "Buzz" Sawyer as well as radio operator Freddy Vilches were killed in the crash. Loadmaster Eugene Hasenfus parachuted to safety and was taken prisoner. He was later released in December 1986. The flight had departed
Ilopango Airport Ilopango International Airport is an airport located on the eastern part of the city of San Salvador, El Salvador, once serving the city as its international airport until it was replaced by the larger and more modern El Salvador International ...
,
El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south ...
loaded with 70 Soviet-made AK-47 rifles and 100,000 rounds of ammunition, rocket grenades and other supplies.


El Salvador

FMLN rebels acquired SA-7 missiles around 1989 and employed them extensively in the closing years of the
Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War ( es, guerra civil de El Salvador) was a twelve year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition or ...
, dramatically increasing the combat losses of Salvadoran Air Force aircraft. At least two O-2 Skymasters (on 26 September and 19 November 1990), one A-37 Dragonfly (on November 23, 1990), two
Hughes 500 500 may refer to: * 500 (number) * 500 BC * AD 500 Buildings and places * 500 Boylston Street of Boston * 500 Brickell in Miami * 500 Capitol Mall in Sacramento * 500 Fifth Avenue * 500 Renaissance Center, one of seven buildings in the GM Renai ...
helicopters (2 February and 18 May 1990), and two
UH-1H The Bell UH-1 Iroquois military helicopter, first introduced in 1959, is the first production member of the prolific Huey family of helicopters, and was itself developed in over twenty variants, which are listed below. XH-40 and YH-40 The firs ...
s were lost to SA-7s. One of the UH-1Hs (on 2 January 1991) was crewed by US Army personnel, while the other was operated by the Honduran Air Force.


Colombia

In late December 2012, a video showing FARC rebels attempting to shoot down a Colombian Air Force Arpía helicopter with an SA-7 in the Cauca raised the alarm in the Colombian military, though the missile failed. During that same month, a Strela was captured by the Colombian military. It is believed that they might came from Cuba, Nicaragua or Peru; the only Latin American operators of the type. Furthermore, the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
's motive to remove and destroy Chinese copies of the SA-7 (HN-5s) from Bolivia in 2005 was the fear of them reaching FARC rebels because, according to a US military magazine, “they used the HN-5 against Colombian-operated U.S-made helicopters”. The Ecuadorian Army captured an HN-5 allegedly destined for the FARC in the border province of Sucumbíos, near Colombia, in July 2013.


Europe


Northern Ireland

The
Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...
(IRA) acquired some missiles from Libya. One was reported to have been fired at a
British Army Air Corps The Army Air Corps (AAC) is a component of the British Army, first formed in 1942 during the Second World War by grouping the various airborne units of the British Army. Today, there are eight regiments (seven Regular Army and one Reserve) of ...
Lynx helicopter in July 1991 in South Armagh; however, it missed its target. To counter the new threat, the British helicopters flew in pairs below 15 meters (50 feet) or above 150 meters (500 feet).


Spain

In 2001, the Basque separatist group
ETA Eta (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἦτα ''ē̂ta'' or ell, ήτα ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative in most dialects, ...
tried on three occasions (29 April, 4 and 11 May) to use Strela 2 missiles to shoot down the Dassault Falcon 900 aircraft with the then-Spanish Prime Minister
Jose Maria Aznar Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...
on board. The attempts, which were made near the
Fuenterrabía es, fuenterribense , population_note = , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = Basque, Spanish , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , t ...
and Foronda airports, were unsuccessful as each time the missiles failed to launch. In 2004, several systems were captured by the
Civil Guard Civil Guard refers to various policing organisations: Current * Civil Guard (Spain), Spanish gendarmerie * Civil Guard (Israel), Israeli volunteer police reserve * Civil Guard (Brazil), Municipal law enforcement corporations in Brazil Historic ...
. Some Strela 2 missiles were bought from the IRA in 1999, while Libya was tracked as the original source used by the IRA.


Ukraine

During the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...
, Germany reversed its ban on weapon sales to provide Ukraine with military support. On 23 March 2022, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock confirmed the delivery of 500 Strela missiles from Germany.


Versions

* 9K32M Strela-2M: "SA-7b Grail" * Strela 2M/A: Yugoslav upgraded version with larger warhead * CA-94 and CA-94M: Romanian license-built versions of the 9K32 and 9K32M, respectively * HN-5: Chinese unlicensed copy * Anza Mk-I: Pakistani license-built copy of Chinese HN-5 * Ayn al Saqr (عين الصقر; "Hawk Eye"): Egyptian copy * Hwasung-Chong: North Korean license-built copy of Egyptian Ayn al Saqr system


Operators


Current operators

* Al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades * Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula * al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb * Al-Shabaab * * * * * *
Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...
* * * license-built * * * * * * * * Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda: 2 systems * * * * * * * Free Syrian Army * * * * * *
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni- Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qas ...
* Hezbollah * Hizbul Mujahideen * Houthis * * *
Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic ter ...
*
Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic ter ...
Sinai Province * * Jaish al-Islam * *
Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of south ...
(PKK) * * * * * Thomas W. Zarzecki, (2002). Arms Diffusion: The Spread of Military Innovations in the International System. Routledge *
Lord's Resistance Army The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), also known as the Lord's Resistance Movement, is a rebel group and heterodox Christian group which operates in northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the ...
* * * * * * *
Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (abbreviated MOJWA) or the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (abbreviated MUJWA; ar, جماعة التوحيد والجهاد في غرب أفريقيا ''Jamāʿat at-tawḥīd wal-jih ...
* * * National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad * * * * * Palestinian Islamic Jihad (also known as al-Quds Brigades) * *
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the tota ...
*
Popular Mobilization Units The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) ( ar, الحشد الشعبي ''al-Ḥashd ash-Shaʿbī''), also known as the People's Mobilization Committee (PMC) and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization ...
* *
Rally of Democratic Forces The Rally of Democratic Forces (french: Rassemblement des Forces Démocratiques, RFD), or Assembly of Democratic Forces, is a political party in Mauritania. It is led by Ahmed Ould Daddah. In October 2000, the Union of Democratic Forces-New Era ...
* * * * * *
Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...
* * * *
Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...
* * South Sudan Liberation Movement * * Sudan Revolutionary Front * * Tahrir al-Sham * * Taliban * * * * * * *
United Wa State Army The United Wa State Army (; my, ဝပြည် သွေးစည်းညီညွတ်ရေး တပ်မတော်, ), abbreviated as the UWSA or the UWS Army, is the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), the ''de facto' ...
* * * * *


Former operators

* Afghan Mujahideen *
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...
* Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a * Ansar al-Islam * Ansar al-Sharia (Libya) * * Armed Forces Revolutionary Council * Army of Republika Srpska * Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina * Al-Mourabitoun * : Phased out from active service. 29 disposed of. *
Caucasus Emirate The Caucasus Emirate ( ce, Имарат Кавказ, Imarat Kavkaz, IK; russian: Кавказский эмират, Kavkazskiy emirat), also known as the Caucasian Emirate, Emirate of Caucasus, or Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus, was a Jihadist ...
* Chadian Union of Forces for Democracy and Development * CNRDR *
Contras The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua, which came to power in 1979 foll ...
* * * * *
ETA Eta (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἦτα ''ē̂ta'' or ell, ήτα ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative in most dialects, ...
* Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) * FARC * (Strela-2M operated under designation 'ItO-78') *
Frelimo FRELIMO (; from the Portuguese , ) is a democratic socialist political party in Mozambique. It is the dominant party in Mozambique and has won a majority of the seats in the Assembly of the Republic in every election since the country's firs ...
* * Harkat ul-Ansar * * * Islamic Army in Iraq * Islamic Courts Union * Islamic State in Libya * Jaish al-Haramoun *
Jamiat-e Islami Jamayat-E-Islami (also rendered as Jamiat-e-Islami and Jamiati Islami; fa, جمعیت اسلامی افغانستان, lit=Islamic Society), sometimes shortened to Jamiat, is a predominantly Tajik political party in Afghanistan. It was origin ...
* * Jumbish-e-Mili * Kosovo Liberation Army * Kurdistan Democratic Party * *
Lebanese Forces The Lebanese Forces ( ar, القوات اللبنانية '')'' is a Lebanon, Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-based political party and Lebanese Forces (militia), former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 o ...
*
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
* Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy * Mujahideen Shura Council of Derna * National Congress for the Defense of the Congolese People * National Liberation Army *
Niger Movement for Justice The Nigerien's Movement for Justice (in French ''Mouvement des Nigériens pour la justice'', MNJ) is a largely Tuareg ethnic, northern Niger based militant group. But the MNJ also includes other nomadic ethnicities, within this area, such as the ...
* North Vietnam * North Yemen * PAIGC * Palestinian Authority *
Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and sta ...
factions in
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...
; likely As-Sa'iqa * Patriotic Movement of Côte d'Ivoire *
People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola The People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola ( pt, Forças Armadas Populares de Libertação de Angola) or FAPLA was originally the armed wing of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) but later (1975–1991) became Ango ...
*
People's Liberation Army (Lebanon) The People's Liberation Army – PLA (Arabic: جيش التحرير الشعبي , ''Jayish al-Tahrir al-Sha'aby'') or Armée de Libération Populaire (ALP) in French, also known as the Forces of the Martyr Kamal Jumblatt (Arabic: قوات ال ...
* (until 2018) * People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola * Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf *
Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...
* Revolutionary United Front *
Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat ( ar, الجماعة السلفية للدعوة والقتال), known by the French acronym GSPC ('), was an Algerian terrorist faction in the Algerian Civil War founded in 1998 by Hassan Hattab, a f ...
*
Sandinista National Liberation Front The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto ...
*
Shan State Army The Shan State Army ( my, သျှမ်းပြည်တပ်မတော်; abbreviated SSA) was one of the largest insurgent groups that fought government forces in Shan State, Myanmar (Burma). The SSA was founded in 1964 after the ...
* * Somali National Alliance * Somali Salvation Alliance * * * *
Sudan People's Liberation Army The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the army of the Republic of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a ...
Incorporated into government. *
UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...
* Viet Cong * White
mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes Pseudonym, also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a memb ...
in the CongoS. Boyne, "The White Legion: Mercenaries in Zaire", ''Jane's Intelligence Review'', London. June 1997, p. 279. * *
Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), a Marxist–Leninist political party in Rhodesia. It participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule of Rhod ...


See also

* List of Russian weaponry


References

*


External links


Training of Czech Air defence units – video
{{Russian and Soviet missiles, SAM Cold War surface-to-air missiles of the Soviet Union Surface-to-air missiles of Russia Surface-to-air missiles of the Soviet Union KB Mashinostroyeniya products Military equipment introduced in the 1960s