| 9K34 Strela-3 | |
|---|---|
A 9K34 Strela-3 (SA-14) missile and launch tube. |
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| Type | Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | KBM, Kolomna |
The 9K34 Strela-3 (Russian: 9К34 «Стрела-3»; English: arrow) man-portable air defence missile system (MANPADS) was developed in the Soviet Union as a response to the poor performance of the earlier 9K32 Strela 2 (SA-7 Grail) system. "9K34" is its GRAU designation and its NATO reporting name is SA-14 Gremlin. 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 infrared 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 practice 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 of fast and approaching targets.
A negative side effect from the aforementioned improvements was increased missile weight, which caused a slight decrease in the kinematic performance of the original Strela-2 (SA-7). Against relatively slow, low-altitude battlefield air threats the overall effectiveness was much improved.
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.
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One BAE Sea Harrier was shot down during its attack on Serbian tank T-55 in Bosnia in 1994.
It is reported that one Su-27 in the process of landing, was shot down by an Strela-3 fired by UNITA forces on 19 November 2000.
An Airbus A300 cargo plane was hit by a Strela-3 missile after takeoff from Baghdad International Airport, and despite losing hydraulic power managed to land safely.
| System | 9K32M Strela-2M (missile: 9M32M) | 9K34 Strela-3 (missile: 9M36) [1] | FIM-43C Redeye[2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service entry | 1968 | 1974 | 1968 |
| Mass, full system, ready to shoot | 15 kg | 16 kg | 13.3 kg |
| Weight, missile | 9.8 kg | 10.3 kg | 8.3 kg |
| Length | 1.44 m | 1.47 m | 1.40 m |
| Warhead | 1.15 kg (0.37 kg HMX) directed-energy blast fragmentation | 1.17 kg (0.39 kg HMX) directed-energy blast fragmentation, including a 20g secondary charge to set off remaining propellant | 1.06 kg M222 (0.36 kg HTA-3) 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 | 430 m/s | 410 m/s | 580 m/s |
| Target's maximum speed, approaching/receding | 150/260 m/s | 310/260 m/s | –/225 m/s |
| Engagement altitude | 0.05-2.3 km | 0.03-2.3 km | 0.05-2.7 km |