9K34 Strela-3

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The 9K34 "Strela-3" (Russian 9К34 "Стрела-3" - arrow, NATO reporting name SA-14 "Gremlin") man-portable air defence missile system (MANPADS) was developed in Soviet Union as a response to the poor performance of the earlier 9K32 "Strela-2" (NATO reporting name SA-7 "Grail") system. The missile was largely based on the earlier Strela-2, and thus development proceeded rapidly. The new weapon was accepted to service in the Soviet Army in January 1974.

The most significant change was the introduction of an all-new infra-red homing seeker head. The new seeker worked on FM modulation (con-scan) principle, which is less vulnerable to jamming and decoy flares than the earlier AM (spin-scan) seekers, which were easily fooled by flares and even the most primitive infra-red jammers. Most importantly, the new seeker also introduced detector element cooling in the form of a pressurized nitrogen bottle attached to the launcher.

The effect of cooling was to expand the seeker's lead sulphide detector element's sensitivity range to longer wavelengths (slightly over 4 µm as opposed to 2.8 µm of uncooled PbS elements). In practise this made possible the tracking of cooler targets over longer ranges, and enabled forward-hemisphere engagement of jets under favourable circumstances.

The seeker also had better tracking rate, enabling the missile to track maneuvering or fast and approaching targets.

Strela-3 missiles have been exported to over 30 countries.

The original Strela-3 missile was the 9M36. The follow-on to the Strela-3 was Igla.

The naval version of this missile has the NATO reporting name of SA-N-8.

[edit] Comparison chart

System	9K32M "Strela-2M" (missile: 9M32M)	9K36 "Strela-3" (missile: 9M36)	FIM-43C "Redeye"
Service entry	1970	1974	1968
Weight, full system, ready to shoot	15 kg	17 kg	13.3 kg
Weight, missile	9.8 kg	10.1 kg	8.3 kg
Length	1.44 m	1.47 m	1.40 m
Warhead	1.15 kg (0.37 kg TNT) directed-energy blast fragmentation.	2 kg (0.39 kg TNT) directed-energy blast fragmentation. A secondary charge sets off remaining propellant	1.06 kg M222 blast fragmentation
Seeker type	AM-modulated (spin scan), uncooled PbS detector element (1–2.8 µm sensitivity range). Tail-chase only.	FM-modulated (con scan), nitrogen-cooled PbS detector element (2–4.3 µm sensitivity range). Limited forward hemisphere ("all-aspect") capability	AM-modulated, uncooled PbS detector element. Tail-chase only.
Maximum range	4200 m	4100 m	4500 m
Speed	500 m/s	470 m/s	580 m/s
Target's maximum speed, approaching/receding	150/260 m/s	310/260 m/s	?