SA-7 (Grail) / 9K32 Strela-2

History

The SA-7 (NATO codename "Grail" or Soviet codename "Strela-2") is a MANPAD system - a man-portable shoulder-fired air defense weapon system. The lethality of such a system lies in the agility of the gunner to show up at the seemingly opportune time and engage low-flying aircraft.

The effect of this element is twofold, as it forces the target aircraft out of the weapon's range, exposing it to the dangers of enemy radars or stronger surface-to-air defenses. If the aircraft continues to fly within the range of a weapon like the Holy Grail, it has a greater calculated risk of being shot down by smaller enemies below or behind the aircraft.

Similar in many respects to the US Red Eye surface-to-air missile system, the SA-7 Holy Grail has proven to be very accurate against low-flying aircraft and helicopters, the only major disadvantage is that once the missile is launched, it must be performed on a consistent heat source Train to kill. The weapon's hit rate remained around 90%, although the HE (High Explosive) warhead reportedly didn't do much damage - a case in which some damaged Israeli fighter jets were able to return to friendly air bases after taking a direct hit The proof comes from the Holy Grail - Ground Forces during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.

Nonetheless, if a critical system is compromised or damaged, the system can still be considered lethal - on an aircraft it could be the cockpit, avionics or engine components, on a rotorcraft it could be Cockpit, tail rotor assembly or main rotor components. Regardless, even with the most basic trained hands, deploying the SA-7 Gral should still be considered a potential enemy threat.

Specification

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Changes