SA-16(18) Gimlet(Grouse) / 9K310(9K38) Igla

RANZHIR-M UNIFIED AD BATTERY COMMAND POST

The IGLA man-portable surface-to-air missile system is designed to engage low-flying approaching and receding fixed/rotary aircraft and to ensure pin-point anti-aircraft protection of installations and units in the battlefield..
The system comprises a tiring set, target designation aids, maintenance facilities, and training equipment. The firing set includes a 9M39 homing missile kept in a launch tube, a grip-stock launching mechanism, and a ground power supply source.


Nikolai Tsaryov · Deputy Technical Director of the Izmeritel Plant

During Desert Storm, Fox in Desert, Decisive Power and other military operations, means of air attack (aircraft and cruise missiles) were mostly employed at night.

Portable SAM systems are known to have limited or no night fighting capability owing to surveillance and aiming problems at night. Therefore, the Kolomna-based KBM Engineering Design Bureau has developed and tested a night fire equipment package for all types of portable SAM systems (Strela-2M, Strela-3, Igla, Igla-1) enabling them to operate both in the daytime and at night.

Under a contract with the KBM Design Bureau the Smolensk-based Izmeritel plant launched production development and manufacture of this equipment. Guided by the Izmeritel Director General Vadim Lyssenko, a team of highly proficient specialists was formed capable of developing modern, effective and competitive products. Within a short period, the plant’s designers headed by Gennady Boldyrev, chief designer of night fire equipment package, fulfilled the task specified by the KBM Design Bureau. For the first time in Russia and abroad, a night fire equipment package for portable SAM systems was developed providing them with new capabilities.

Designers implemented a principally new solution: they provided gunners with targeting data fed directly to their night vision sights. This enables a squad leader to receive warning about the approaching targets (directly or via a general warning network), distribute targets for individual gunners and then, following target detection, enable them to aim, track, lock-on and launch missiles.


The 9S520 night fire equipment package (SOSN) is designed for fire control of an element of portable SAM gunners (comprising up to four men) in the day and night conditions. The 9S520 package provides for:

- reception of telecoded warning information from the Sborka (9S-80M), Ranzhir (9S737), PU-12 (9S482 M6, M7), MP-22R, P-19 (radar) (1RL134Sh3) control posts;

- display of the position and composition of targets, as well as IFF information, on the indicator of a portable electronic panel;

- inputting topographic and geodetic control information, including satellite data, to the portable electronic panel;

- magnetic azimuth orientation of reference points;

- recalculation of current target coordinates displayed on the portable electronic panel with reference to gunners’ positions;

- direct transmission of target distribution information and targeting data (azimuth and target range) to gunners through a cable over a distance of up to 50 m;

- target search and detection, as well as SAM aiming at air targets in any time of the day;

- improving target detection probability and range in the daytime;

- decreasing gunners’ physical and psychological fatigue during combat duty and in battle;

• capability of firing from support devices from shelters and open launch sites.

This package can be carried by any means of transport and inside APC or IFV crew compartments.

The 9S520 consists of:

- a portable electronic panel, including a radio set and a micro-electronic terminal used to convert telecoded information received from a 9S482M4-type control post; display target position and composition (a single target or a group of targets), as well as IFF information, on its indicator; and transmit target distribution and targeting data to the gunner’s support device;

- group of support devices spaced up to 50 m from each other. Each of them is a collapsible tripod with a rack with points for attaching a portable SAM system equipped with individual means of targeting and connected by individual communications lines with the micro-electronic terminal;

- individual means of targeting, including an angular position sensor, electronic units and a night-vision sight. These convey sound and light information about emerging targets, their flight direction and range;

- special containers for storage, carriage and transportation (by all means of transport) of the 9S520 package components.

According to military experts, owing to these characteristics, the 9S520 package reduces the response time of SAM systems, provides for their day and night fighting capability, and enhances the overall effectiveness of all types of portable SAM systems.

The 9S520 components have been developed by Izmeritel using advanced design techniques which allow automated machining centers to employ modern manufacturing technologies and significantly increase labor productivity and improve product quality.



The missile’s optical seeker contains a logic selection unit to enhance system's acquisition capability when engaging targets using IR decoys. A man-portable electronic plotting board serves as the target designator for the IGLA system. It acquires data from automated theatre-range AD control posts and displays location, direction and identity of aerial targets within a 12.5 km distance. The plotting board is able to track up to four targets. The system can be interfaced with an IFF interrogator.

The SA-16 feattures a new seeker and modified launcher nose cover. Whereas the the SA-18 9M39 missile is fitted with an aerodynamic spike on the nose, the 9M310 missile of the SA-16 has the spike


replaced with an aerodynamic cone held in place with a wire tripod.
On the SA-18 the protective cover of the seeker is conical, on the SA-16 it is tubular with a prominent lip at the forward edge. The 9M313 missile of the SA-16 employs an IR guidance system using proportional convergence logic, and an improved two-color seeker, presumably IR and UV). The seeker is sensitive enough to home in on airframe radiation, and the two-color sensitivity is designed to minimize vulnerability to flares. The SA-16 has a maximum range of 5000 meters and a maximum altitude of 3500 meters.

Igla-Super Manportable SAM System

· Nikolai Gushchin · Head and Chief Designer of the KBM Engineering Design Bureau
· Valery Kashin · Deputy Chief Designer
· Ruslan Fokin · Section Chief Designer
· Alexander Smirnov · Section Deputy Head

The Igla-S is the forerunner for a new generation of domestic manportable SAM systems. It offers broader prospects for use against both traditional air targets (fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters) where it replaces two or three SAM systems of the Igla type, and new targets (cruise missiles), replacing larger systems that are usually expensive and small in number.

Large–scale operations recently conducted during various military conflicts are distinguished by massive use of aviation. It is only natural that in some conflicts aviation was the main striking force that finally caused the enemy’s defeat. Therefore, building an air defense system capable of effectively protecting troops, as well as stationary military and civil facilities, became paramount for strengthening the defense capability of any country.

Traditionally, such a system envisages several lines of defense using different AD assets. The last ditch line has a very short (close-in protection) range of up to 5 km where manportable SAM systems currently play the primary role. In Russia, they are developed by the KBM Engineering Design Bureau (Kolomna, Moscow Region).

Since the 1970s, the KBM Bureau has developed and fielded several generations of manportable shoulder-launched SAM systems whose missiles are fitted with IR homing heads. Each subsequent model considerably outperformed its forerunner responding to the upgraded design of air vehicles, changes in the tactics of their employment and the advent of effective AD system countermeasures.

The first Russian Strela-2 and Strela-2M SAM systems engaged receding fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. The second generation Strela-3 and Igla-1 SAM systems could defeat approaching targets, which considerably increased the air target engagement envelope. The third–generation Igla SAM system successfully gets through natural (background) and artificial interference (IR decoys), and is currently one of the best systems in its class.



Fig.4 Results of engaging small targets by Igla-S system missiles
Owing to the high mobility, ease of operation, reliability and effectiveness, as well as unique combination of weight and dimensions, these weapons rank high in AD systems of many countries. Their good performance in local conflicts brought them the renown of formidable weapons (more than three hundred fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters were downed).

In the opinion of many military experts, manportable SAM systems are now the most effective air defense assets intended to counter air raids because they are difficult to detect on the terrain by reconnaissance means, are employed surprisingly using the hit-and-run tactics, and feature high firing accuracy. In this context, it is very difficult for a pilot to react and evade the threat, especially as the aircraft has few counteracting weapons aboard while the available ones are not always effective. As a result of mass employment of manportable SAM systems, military aviation cannot gain superiority at altitudes of up to 3,500 m, from which ground targets are attacked with high precision.

The real danger of manportable SAM systems was not comprehended at once. However, the situation is quite different now. Military specialists and developers of air vehicles took measures to reduce the lethality of SAM systems. The most vulnerable units of modern air vehicles are now reinforced or protected by other structural members, spaced apart in the machine or duplicated. Several missiles or more powerful warheads are now required to attain high kill probability. The air raid tactics has also changed. Fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters avoid entering areas that be covered by SAM systems and launch air-to-surface missiles at standoff ranges. Air raids are preceded by thorough detection and suppression of AD assets and are carried out in heavy ECM environments, mainly at night with the maximum adaptation to the terrain.

The massive use of exceptionally accurate cruise missiles began to bring the desired results. All this has sharply decreased the effectiveness of existing AD systems. To counter the attacks of cruise missiles, it is necessary to position, at dangerous avenues of their approach, a sufficient number of launchers with a total number of missiles outnumbering attacking cruise missiles by two to three times. Given that more than 2,000 cruise missiles were launched during a recent military conflict, a total ammunition allowance for their destruction would be several thousand missiles. Few countries can afford such expenditures, let alone the economic feasibility of destroying cruise missiles by large SAMs whose cost equals or sometimes exceeds that of an air target.



The developers of AD systems came to the conclusion that fighting cruise missiles should require weapons which outnumber enemy cruise missiles several times, possess high hit probability, have a relatively low cost and are capable of rapid displacement and deployment. Manportable SAM systems meet these requirements to a large extent. The possibility of their use against cruise missiles was demonstrated during the above-mentioned military conflict when first-generation manportable SAM systems downed about 200 cruise missiles. But in this case a new system was required, the one capable of effectively engaging modern traditional air targets and, above all, possessing considerably higher potentialities (compared to existing manportable SAM systems) to destroy cruise missiles.

The KBM Engineering Design Bureau developed such a new-generation SAM system, the Igla-S. Conceived as an enhanced effectiveness weapon, it has completely lived up to its developers’ expectations.

Exactly as its predecessors, the Igla-S is a portable shoulder-launched weapon. But unlike previous systems, it is distinguished by a considerably increased explosive charge and a number of fragments. It is also fitted with a contact/proximity fuze whose functioning algorithm ensures the optimum moment of warhead explosion in the contact and non-contact modes of operation. Besides, the system features absolutely new principles of control system construction, compared to that of the Igla SAM system, which substantially improves the missile accuracy characteristics.

As a result, the effectiveness of the system, compared to its counterparts (Igla, Stinger), has been considerably increased to reach the level corresponding to heavier manportable SAM systems of the Mistral type. At the same time, the target engagement range, now being 6 km, went up by 15 percent.

Fig. 1 illustrates relative effectiveness of the Igla and Igla-S systems in firing at fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles (CM) and remotely piloted vehicles (RPV).

Yet, this is not the main advantage of the system. For the first time a guided missile of such caliber is fitted with a proximity fuze ensuring warhead explosion at a near miss. The possibility of engaging small targets, such as CMs and RPVs has been thereby much increased. The results are beyond expectation. Of course, contact fuze missiles of manportable SAM systems are capable of directly hitting and destroying small targets. Efficiency of these systems has been repeatedly confirmed during demonstration launches at air target simulators and, as mentioned above, in actual combat actions. It is noteworthy that the Igla-S system’s missiles practically never fail to destroy these targets, and their expenditure is much less than that of the Igla SAM system.

So, the Igla-S manportable SAM system, which is a true mass-employed and comparatively cheap AD asset, is an answer to the problem of guaranteed effective defense against cruise missiles, given a requisite SAM stock.

Structurally, the new Igla-S manportable SAM system is traditional for Russia as it comprises:

- combat assets:

- a missile kept in a launch tube which mounts a disposable ground power supply source and a bottle with coolant for the homing head photodetector (a spare ground power source is supplied with a missile as part of the single SPTA set and can be readily installed instead of the used one should the gunner abort the launch for some reasons);

- a multiple launching mechanism to provide for missile launch preparation and firing;

- maintenance facilities intended for regular checks of the SAM system’s combat assets:

- a mobile test station;

- test equipment for bases and arsenals;

- training aids developed for the new SAM system, which include instructional placards, sectionalized items, and full-size mockups.

This manportable SAM system additionally mounts a removable night sight that enables the gunner to detect and identify targets, take aim and track them till the missile launch. As night raids have lately become commonplace during combat actions, the night sight significantly expands the system capabilities and allows its use at night.

At the same time, the operation mode of the Igla-S, Igla-1 and Igla SAM systems is similar. The dimensions of the new SAM system and its packings, its mounting seats remain the same. The Igla-S system’s missile can be readily packed into available stowage places of former missiles and installed on previously developed Igla-1 and Igla launchers, such as the Jigit supportable launcher. The Igla-1 and Igla missiles can be launched with the use of the launching mechanism of the Igla-S system, while the launching mechanism of the Igla system permits the use of the Igla-S missiles with virtually no limitations. The power supply sources of these systems are interchangeable. The night sights have attachment hardware and may therefore be installed on the Igla-1 and Igla systems.

The new manportable SAM system retains the procedures for launch preparation, firing and maintenance. So, an experienced gunner does not need retraining to operate the new system. Trainers developed for the Igla system can be used to train Igla-S gunners. At the same time, a new Konus universal combined indoor trainer has been developed to instruct and drill gunners of the Igla-S system in detection, aiming and firing at various approaching and receding targets. It includes training facilities for the missiles of the Igla-S, Igla-1 and Igla systems.

State tests of the new system carried out by military experts have confirmed its high operational characteristics which are inherent for all Russian systems. The Igla-S manportable SAM system reliably functions at extreme temperatures and in high humidity conditions, during sharp changes of ambient temperature and fall of condensed precipitants, after immersion into water and ascent in an unpressurized aircraft cabin to an altitude of up to 12 km, after prolonged shipment by any type of transport, including wheeled and tracked vehicles, on any roads and off-road. The system is not affected by rain, dust, sand or sun rays. If a packed weapon is dropped from a height of up to 2 m on a concrete surface, it is still fit for combat employment. The missile can be shoulder-launched by the gunner from any unorganized open site, trench, moving motor vehicle’s body, railway flatcar, and even from a body of water.

The Igla-S SAM system meets the latest requirements for possible use of manportable systems’ missiles with ground, sea and air carriers. These requirements have been incorporated in light mobile guided missile systems. On the one hand, there is strong demand for low-weight and small-size missiles, which allow to substantially increase the ammunition load and fire power of the carrier. On the other hand, performance characteristics of manportable SAM systems, as stated above, have brought them to the level of short-range AD systems capable of accomplishing a wider range of missions. Currently, some projects are being considered for use of manportable missiles for building self-propelled SAM systems with more covert employment, light shipboard SAM systems, and air-to-air missile systems for helicopters. That is why the developers of the Igla-S SAM system have introduced a number of innovations that much facilitated the installation of the missile on a carrier and automate the process of fire preparation, aiming, and launch.

In conclusion, it is important to emphasize one more aspect of the Igla-S system: for the first time in Russia the entire system’s development has been carried out by leading industrial enterprises completely on their own.

Manportable SAM systems are now the most effective air defense assets intended to counter air raids because they are difficult to detect on the terrain by reconnaissance means, are employed surprisingly using the hit-and-run tactics and feature high firing accuracy. In this context, it is very difficult for a pilot to react and evade the threat, especially as the aircraft has few counteracting weapons aboard while the available ones are not always effective. As a result of mass employment of manportable SAM systems, military aviation cannot gain superiority at altitudes of up to 3,500 m, from which ground targets are attacked with high precision.