The_Soviet_Army_troops_organization_and_equi

DESCRIPTION:

The SA-2/GUIDELINE is a two-stage, radarguided SAM. It travels on a semitrailer towed by a truck or tractor to the launch site. The SA-2 has appeared in several versions. Most of these have HE warheads; however, one version, first seen in 1967, reportedly has a nuclear warhead.

CAPABILITIES:

The SA-2, with a slant range of 35 to 50 kilometers, can defend high-altitude approaches up to 28,000 meters. The weapon is a national-level asset

usually found in the rear area with the mission of defending static assets such a s supply and command installations. SA-2 units are not subordinate to the ground forces but to the air defense forces at the strategic level. However, the Soviets may incorporate them into the front air defense system to provide high-altitude air defense of front critical rear area assets.

An SA-2 regiment consists of three battalions, each having a single firing battery. Each battery has six launchers arranged in a star formation, a

SA-2/GUIDELINE (continued)

centrally located FAN SONG fire control radar, and a loading vehicle. Although the launchers are transportable, they normally deploy in fixed sites.

The two forward batteries usually locate 40 to 50 kilometers behind front lines; the third battery

locates 80 kilometers behind. The system normally i s integrated with other rear area air defense systems to permit redundant coverage.

LIMITATIONS:

Although the SA-2 is reportedly effective within its kill zone, it is unlikely to be very effective

against a n enemy employing sophisticated ECM equipment. Other drawbacks are t h e system's restricted mobility a n d i t s limited capability against low-altitude air targets.

REMARKS:

The SA-2 system, operational since 1959, is technologically obsolescent. The Soviets are gradually phasing it out of their inventory. The Soviet

d e s i g n a t i o n for t h e GUIDELINE missile i s

V7750VK; the complete SA-2 system is known as

V75SM.

The SA-3/GOA is a two-stage, solid-fuel, lowto medium-altitude SAM. Two ready missiles travel in tandem on a modified truck or tracked vehicle from which the crew loads the missiles onto a ground-mounted, trainable launcher for firing. Both twin a n d quadruple launchers are i n use. The truck-mounted FLAT FACE radar acquires the targets, while the LOW BLOW radar carries out the fire control function.

CAPABILITIES:

The SA-3 has automatic radio-command guidance. The weapon can engage air targets at altitudes between 100 and 25,000 meters a t slant

ranges of 6 to 25 kilometers. It is principally a point/small-area defense weapon. Along with the

S-60 and other AA guns, it may provide lowto medium-altitude air defense of front critical rear area assets as a complement to the high-altitude

capabilities of the SA-2. As with SA-2 units, SA-3 units are not normally subordinate to the ground forces, although they may be integrated into the front air defense system.

LZMITATIONS:

The SA-3 system is not mobile. It is movable, hut i t s displacement time is considerable.

REMARKS:

The Soviets introduced the SA-3 into service in 1961. Newer, more mobile systems with improved capabilities (for example, the SA-6 and SA-8)have replaced it in its original role as a low-altitude a i r defense weapon i n support of maneuver elements. However, it has continued in its role as a rear area air defense weapon. The Soviets introduced a quadruple launcher i n 1973 for t h i s purpose.

DESCRIPTION:

The SA-4/GANEF is a two stage, mediumto high-altitude SAM. It employs four wrap-around, solid-fuel boosters and a cruise-type liquid-fuel ramjet sustainer to attain long range. Guidance is radio-command with semiautomatic homing. The GANEF missiles travel in pairs on a tracked TEL with 360-degree traverse. The system includes the PAT HAND fire control radar and the necessary C2 and logistic support vehicles and equipment. The SA-4 brigade also has THIN SKIN heightfinding and LONG TRACK target acquisition radars. ZU-23 guns provide close-in air defense of the launchers.

When it appeared, the SA-4 TEL vehicle was a completely new design; t h a t is, i t was not a modification of any previous chassis or vehicle. A reload vehicle based on the SA-4 chassis carries two additional missiles a n d follows the TEL vehicle.

CAPABILITIES:

The SA-4 has a slant range of 80 to 100 kilometers and a kill zone at altitudes between 100 and 25,000 meters. The LONG TRACK radar, which also supports other missiles, provides longrange surveillance while the PAT HAND radar provides target acquisition and fire control.

A total of 27 SA-4 TELs are organic to a front/army SAM brigade. The brigade comprises

three battalions with three batteries each. Each battery has three twin launchers, one PAT HAND radar, and one loader vehicle. All are tracked. Besides providing high-altitude air defense for a n advancing army, the system's excellent mobility allows some batteries to support the army's forward maneuver elements, filling gaps between low-altitude SA-6 or SA-8 batteries. Thus, three SA-4 batteries might typically follow about 10 kilometers behind the army's foward forces, with the other batteries moving in a belt 25 kilometers

SA-4/GANEF (continued)

behind t h e front lines. The SA-4 TEL is a i r - transportable in the An-22 transport aircraft.

LIMZTATZONS:

The SA-4 system is vulnerable to suppressive

fires and ECM. Its capabilities are significantly reduced when the system is on the move. The TEL

has no on-board radar.

REMARKS:

The SA-4 was the Soviets' first mobile SAM system. The original SA-4a/GANEFwas first seen

i n 1964. I t entered service i n the Soviet Army

around 1967. An improved version, designated SA-4b/GANEFMod 1, was first seen in 1974. The

SA-4bfeatures a shorter nose, with approximately two feet of the missile forebody removed, as well

as a modified TEL.

The SA-11 and SA-12 systems are replacing the SA-4 in nondivisional air defense units. The Soviets have deployed the SA-11 in army-level SAM brigades; they have initially deployed the SA-12 in front-level SAM brigades.

DESCRIPTION:

The GAINFUL is a two-stage, solid-fuel, low-

altitude SAM. It has radio-command guidance with semiactiveradar terminal homing. Three missiles

are carried and launched from a threerail mount with 360-degree traverse. The SA-6a launcher is

mounted on a modified PT-76 tank chassis similar to the ZSU-23-4.Like the ZSU-23-4,the SA-6aTEL

is not amphibious. In travel position, the threemissile launcher normally is lowered with the missiles facing toward the rear. The SA-6bsystem mounts three GAINFUL missiles on a different type of tracked chassis with an on-board radar. For either variant of the SA-6 system, a truck-based reload vehicle carries three additional missiles.

The associated STRAIGHT FLUSH r a d a r vehicle uses the same chassis as the SA-6aTEL. The LONG TRACK target acquisition radar is also associated with the SA-6 system.

CAPABILITIES:

The SA-6 can deliver extremely responsive fires with a slant range of 24 kilometers and a kill zone from 50 to 12,000 meters in altitude. After the SA-6 regiment's LONG TRACK surveillance r a d a r acquires target data, t h e STRAIGHT FLUSH missile site radars take over target acquisition and fire control. Target tracking is on a single beam; final intercept is by semiactive radar homing, using continuous-wave radar. In ECM conditions, the crew can perform tracking optically.

The SA-6 regiments organic to MRDs and TDs consist of 20 TELs in five batteries. Each battery has four triple launchers, one STRAIGHT FLUSH vehicle, and two reload vehicles. Normally, three of these batteries are deployed 5 kilometers behind the front line; the remaining two are deployed about 10 kilometers farther back, filling the gaps between the three forward batteries.

SA-6/GAINFUL (continued)

Division-level SA-6s may be used to supplement the air defense assets of maneuver regiments. This is due to their excellent mobility.

LIMITATIONS:

Besides being vulnerable to suppressive fires and ECM, the system is slaved to the STRAIGHT FLUSH target acquisition and tracking radar. Without it, the SA-6 battery depends heavily on target acquisition data provided by the LONG TRACK regimental radar.

REMARKS:

The Soviets first displayed the SA-6ain Moscow in November 1967. The Soviet Army placed it in

service around 1970. Either the SA-6 or SA-8 has replaced S-60 AA guns in most divisional air defense regiments.

Around 1979, the SA-6b began to appear alongside the SA-6a in batteries of divisional SAM regi- m e n t s . I n s u c h configurations, a s e p a r a t e STRAIGHT FLUSH radar can perform target acquisition; or, the SA-6b system, with its integrated transporter-erector-launcher and radar (TELAR), can operate independently for surveillance, as does the SA-8. This gives a higher degree of autonomy and mobility to the very limited number of SA-6b-equipped units.

DESCRIPTION:

The SA-7/GRAIL is a man-portable, shoulder-

fired, low-altitude SAM system similar to the US Army's Redeye. The missile has an HE warhead

and passive infrared homing guidance. The system comprises the missile, a reloadable gripstock, and

a thermal battery. There are two versions: the SA-7aand SA-7b.

CAPABILITIES:

Every MRB and airborne battalion h a s a n organic air defense platoon in which nine SA-7

operators with gripstocks are transported by the platoon's three BTRs, BMPs, or BMDs. A SAM

section consisting of one vehicle and three SA-7 gripstocks normally attaches to each of the battalion's three MRCs. Similar air defense platoons are organic at battalion level in air assault and airmobile assault units.

The SA-7a has a slant range of 3.6 kilometers and a kill zone between 15 and 3,500 meters in altitude. Its speed is about 470 meters per second (Mach 1.4).

The uprated version SA-7b differs from the SA-7a primarily by using a boosted propellant

charge to increase range and speed. This gives the SA-7b a slant range of about 5.5 kilometers, a ceiling of about 4,500 meters, and a speed of about 580 meters per second (Mach 1.75). However, the burn time has not increased.

Both the SA-7a and the SA-7b are tail chase missile systems. An identification, friend or foe (IFF) system can be fitted to the operator's helmet. The operator uses a permanent gripstock with attachable canister-tube stored missiles. Each operator carries a gripstock with one missile; up to four additional missiles are carried in each vehicle.

The effectiveness of the SA-7 depends on its ability to lock onto the heat source of targets, usually low-flying fixed-and rotary-wing aircraft. Although the SA-7 is limited in range, speed, and altitude, it forces enemy pilots to fly above Soviet minimum radar limitations. This results in detection and vulnerability to regimental and divisional air defense systems.

The operator engages a target by pointing the tube at the target, partially depressing the trigger,

a n d waiting for the red indicator light to turn green. When the green light indicates that the IR seeker h a s locked onto the target, the operator depresses the trigger completely to fire the missile.

If an SA-7 misses its target, it will self-destruct 15 seconds after launch, or about 6.4 kilometers downrange. If this occurs close to a n aircraft, severe damage can result despite the miss.

LIMITATIONS:

The SA-7 is susceptible to suppressive fires and

battlefield obscurations. Its gunner also must have line-of-sightto his target. This may cause. him to

be exposed in relatively open terrain. High-intensity flares ejected from aircraft under attack were once successful countermeasures against the SA-7; however, the infrared guidance system of later models has a filter to screen out decoy flares.

REMARKS:

The SA-7a, introduced in 1969, is called Strela-2 (arrow) by the Soviets. The SA-7b was introduced in 1972. Over the years, both the Soviets and their allies have tried to develop additional launch configurations for the SA-7. In 1979, the East German Army developed its own truck-mounted quadruple SA-7 launcher, which it uses to defend airfields.

The SA-14/GREMLIN man-portable SAM i s replacing the SA-7. The SA-14 entered service in 1978 and is similar to the SA-7b. Unlike the SA-7a and SA-7b, however, it can engage targets head-on at ranges of up to 4,000 meters. In 1986, the Soviets introduced yet another hand-held SAM, the highly accurate SA-16, which is also replacing the SA-7 in tactical units. The Soviet nickname for the SA-16 is Igla (needle).