9K34 Strela-3
A 9K34 Strela-3 (SA-14) missile and launch tube.
Type	Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS)
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1974–present
Used by	See Operators
Wars	Iran–Iraq War Salvadoran Civil War War in Abkhazia (1992–1993) Yugoslav Wars Second Congo War Afghan Civil War Iraq War
Production history
Manufacturer	KBM, Kolomna
Specifications
Mass	Missile weight: 10.3 kilograms (23 lb) Full system: 16.0 kg (35.3 lb)
Length	1.47 metres (4.8 ft)
Operational range	4,500 metres (14,800 ft)
Flight altitude	1,800 metres (5,900 ft) vs. jets 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) vs. slow moving targets
Maximum speed	470 metres per second (1,700 km/h; 1,100 mph)

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 Strela-2 (SA-7 Grail) system. The missile was largely based on the earlier Strela 2, and thus development proceeded rapidly. The new weapon was accepted into service in the Soviet Army in January 1974.

Description

The most significant change over the Strela 2 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. 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).^{[citation needed]} Against relatively slow, low-altitude battlefield air threats the overall effectiveness was much improved.^{[citation needed]}

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.

Operational history

Iraq

On 22 November 2003 an Airbus A300 cargo plane was hit by a Strela-3 missile after takeoff from Baghdad International Airport, but managed to land safely despite losing hydraulic power.

On 6 May 2006, a British Westland Lynx AH.7 of the Royal Navy from 847 Squadron was shot down with a Strela-3 over Basra, killing five crewmen and crashing into a house.^[1]

Georgia

During the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), a Russian Mi-8 helicopter was shot down by a Georgian Army SA-14 on December 14, 1992, resulting in the death of 3 crew and 58 passengers, most of them Russian refugees. A Georgian Air Force Su-25 was shot down over Nizhnaya Eshera on 4 July 1993 by SA-14,^[2] and several other aircraft on both sides may have been shot down by SA-14s.^[3]

Former Yugoslavia

A British Sea Harrier FRS1 of 801 Naval Air Squadron, operating from aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal on 16 April 1994, was shot down during its attack on two Republika Srpska T-55 tanks in Bosnia. The pilot, Lieutenant Nick Richardson, ejected and landed in territory controlled by friendly Bosnian Muslims.

DRC Congo

A Zimbabwe Air Force Il-76 was shot down by Congolese rebels using an SA-14 on 11 October 1998 during the Second Congo War, resulting in the death of 40 troops and crew.^[4]

Afghanistan

SA-14s used by the Northern Alliance are credited with having shot down 8 Taliban MiG-21 and Su-22 fighters during the Taliban's 2000 offensive against Taloqan.^[5]

Turkey

A SA-14 (9K34 Strela-3) MANPADS was found during Operation Claw (2019-2020) in June 2019 in the Hakurk region of northern Iraq belonging to the PKK.^{[citation needed]}

Operators

Current operators

•  Afghanistan
  • Jamiat-e Islami^[6]
•  Angola^[7]
  • UNITA^[6] – captured from MPLA and Cuban forces in late 1987.^[8]
•  Azerbaijan^[7]
•  Bosnia and Herzegovina^[7]
•  Bulgaria^[9]
•  Croatia^[7]
•  Cuba^[7]
•  Georgia – used during Georgian civil war.^[3]
• Hezbollah^[6]
•  Iran^[7]
•  Jordan^[7]
•  Kurdistan^[10]
•  Kazakhstan^[11]
• Kurdistan Workers' Party^[12]
•  Nicaragua^[7]
•  North Korea^[7]
•  Peru^[7]
•  Russia^[7]
•  Serbia
•  Sierra Leone
  • Revolutionary United Front^[6]
•  Syria^[7]
•  Turkmenistan^[7]
•  Ukraine^[13]
• Houthis^[14]

Former operators

•  Czechoslovakia – never acquired to military service^[9]
•  East Germany – never acquired to military service^[9]
•  Finland^[8]
• FMLN^[8]
•  India^[8]
•  Iraq^[8]
•  Hungary – never acquired to military service^[9]
•  Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam^[6]
•  Poland – 100 bought in the 1980s, but never acquired to military service.^[9]
•  Soviet Union^[15]
•  United Arab Emirates – Used by the Abu Dhabi Royal Guard.^[8]

Comparison chart