Igla-S: Hand-Held Anti-Aircraft Missiles
Russia recently signed a contract to supply Igla-S hand-held anti-aircraft missiles to India and has allowed the production of the Igla under license.
- Igla-S is a man-portable air defence system (MANPADS) developed by Russia.
- It is known in the West as SA-24 Grinch.
- It entered service with the Russian Army in 2004.
- It can be fired by an individual or crew to bring down an enemy aircraft.
- It has the capability of bringing down low-flying aircraft. It can also identify and neutralise air targets, such as cruise missiles and drones.
- The Igla-S system comprises of combat equipment, including the 9M342 missile and the 9P522 launching mechanism, along with maintenance equipment, including the 9V866-2 mobile test station and the 9F719-2 test set.
- It has an effective range upto 6 km.
- The limiting altitude of effective target destruction for the “Igla-S” complex is 3.5 km.
- It has a heavier, more powerful warhead to maximize damage capabilities, as well as contact and timed fuzes for increased attack range.
- The warhead is a high-explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) and weighs 2.5 kg.
