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- The NATO codename for the SA-2 medium/high level surface-to-air missile is
- "Guideline". The missile is mounted on an articulated trailer, towed by a ZIL
- 157 truck. It has been in service since the 1950s and there are a variety of
- different versions of it. The Guideline missile has poor cross-country ability
- and is not deployed in forward areas.
-
- The SA-8 is a low level air defense system designed to bridge the gap be-
- tween the very low/low level SA-7 and SA-9 systems, and the low/medium
- level SA-6 system. It first appeared in public in the November 1975 parade
- in Moscow. The entire system, consisting of four missiles, search and
- tracking radars, and a fire control unit, is mounted on one six-wheeled
- vehicle. The positioning of the radar dishes and antennae indicates that its
- guidance system is probably semi-automatic command to line of sight, si-
- milar to those of Roland and Rapier, and it's performance is likely to be
- much the same. The SA-8 has an all-weather 24 hour capability, and is a
- useful addition to the already powerful Russian air defense inventory.
-
- The SA-9, NATO codename Gaskin, is a mobile low level missile system,
- which was introduced to the Soviet Army to complement the ZSU-23-4 gun
- for forward area defense. When in opposition, it uses the ZSU-23-4 Gundish
- radar for local warning and fire control. Four missiles are mounted on a
- modified BRDM-2 with twin elevating launchers on either side of the opera-
- tor's sight. The turret has a 360 degree traverse. The missile is an im-
- proved version of the SA-7. Both missiles use the infra-red homing head.