S-75 Dvina
Encyclopedia
The S-75 Dvina is a Soviet-designed, high-altitude, command guided
, surface-to-air missile
(SAM) system. Since its first deployment in 1957, it has become the most widely-deployed and -used air defense missile in history, scoring the first successful engagement of an enemy aircraft by a SAM ever, shooting down a Taiwan
ese RB-57D over China, on October 7, 1959 by hitting it with three V-750 (1D) missiles at an altitude of 20 km (65,600 ft); at the time the success was attributed to Chinese fighters, in order to keep the S-75 program secret.
This system first gained international fame when an S-75 battery, using the newer, longer range and higher altitude V-750VN (13D) missile shot down the U-2 of Francis Gary Powers overflying the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960. The systems was also deployed in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis
, where on October 27, 1962, it shot down the U-2 flown by Rudolf Anderson, almost precipitating a nuclear war. Later, North Vietnamese forces used the S-75 extensively during the Vietnam War
to defend Hanoi and Haiphong. It has also been locally produced in the People's Republic of China
using the names HQ-1 and HQ-2. Other nations have produced so many local variants combining portions of the S-75 system with both indigenously-developed components or third-party systems, that it has become virtually impossible to find a pure S-75 system today.
rapidly accelerated its development of long-range jet bombers carrying nuclear weapons. The USAF program led to the deployment of Boeing
B-47 Stratojet
supported by aerial refueling
aircraft to extend its range deep into the Soviet Union. The USAF quickly followed the B-47 with the development of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, which had greater range and payload than the B-47. The range, speed, and payload of these U.S. bombers posed a significant threat to the Soviet Union in the event of a war between the two countries.
Consequently, the Soviets initiated the development of improved air defense systems. Although the Soviet Air Defence Forces had large numbers of anti-aircraft artillery (AAA), including radar-directed batteries, the limitations of guns versus high-altitude jet bombers was obvious. Therefore, the Soviet Air Defense Forces began the development of missile systems to replace the World War II-vintage gun defenses.
In 1953, KB-2 began the development of what became the S-75 under the direction of Pyotr Grushin. This program focused on producing a missile which could bring down a large, non-maneuvering, high-altitude aircraft. As such it did not need to be highly maneuverable, merely fast and able to resist aircraft counter-measures. For such a pioneering system, development proceeded rapidly, and testing began a few years later. In 1957, the wider public first became aware of the S-75 when the missile was shown at that year's May Day
parade in Moscow
.
, but it did replace high-altitude anti-aircraft guns, such as the 130 mm KS-30
and 100 mm KS-19. Between mid-1958 and 1964, U.S. intelligence assets located more than 600 S-75 sites in the USSR. These sites tended to cluster around population centers, industrial complexes, and government control centers. A ring of sites was also located around likely bomber routes into the Soviet heartland. By the mid-1960s, the Soviet Union had ended the deployment of the S-75 with perhaps 1,000 operational sites.
In addition to the Soviet Union, several S-75 batteries were deployed during the 1960s in East Germany to protect Soviet forces stationed in that country. Later the system was sold to most Warsaw Pact
countries and was provided to China, North Korea, and eventually, North Vietnam.
. In this case, the aircraft was hit by a Chinese-operated S-75 site near Beijing
on October 7, 1959. Over the next few years, the Taiwanese ROCAF
would lose a number of aircraft to the S-75: both RB-57s and various drones
. On May 1, 1960, Gary Powers's U-2 was shot down while flying over the testing site near Sverdlovsk
, although it is thought to have taken 14 missiles to hit his high-flying plane. That action led to the U-2 Crisis of 1960
. Additionally, Chinese S-75s downed five ROCAF-piloted U-2s based in Taiwan.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis
, a U-2 piloted by USAF Major Rudolf Anderson was shot down over Cuba by an S-75 in October 1962.
In 1965, North
Vietnam
asked for some assistance against American airpower, which they were essentially defenseless against at the time. After some discussion it was agreed to supply the PAVN with the S-75. The decision was not made lightly, because it greatly increased the chances that one would fall into US hands for study. Site preparation started early in the year, and the US detected the program almost immediately on April 5, 1965. While military planners pressed for the sites to be attacked before they could become operational, their political leaders refused, fearing that Soviet technical staff might be killed.
On July 24, 1965, a USAF F-4C aircraft was shot down by an SA-2. Three days later, the US responded with Operation Iron Hand
to attack the other sites before they could become operational. Most of the S-75 were deployed around the Hanoi
-Haiphong
area and were off-limits to attack (as were local airfields) for political reasons. President Lyndon Johnson announced on public TV that one of the other sites would be attacked the next week. The Vietnamese removed the missiles and replaced them with decoys, while moving every available anti-aircraft gun
into the approach routes. The tactic worked, causing American casualties.
The missile system was used widely throughout the world, especially in the Middle East
, where Egypt
and Syria
used them to defend against the Israeli Air Force
, with the air defense net accounting for the majority of the downed Israeli aircraft. The last apparent success seems to have occurred during the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)
, when Georgian missiles shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-27
fighter near Gudauta on March 19, 1993.
The standard S-75 SAM can also be used against land targets. Recent pictures have shown Iranian S-75s fired in surface-to-surface mode.
aircraft, which were fitted with anti-radiation air-to-surface missile systems made to home in on the radar from the threat. This freed them to shoot the sites with Shrikes of their own.
The Soviets and Vietnamese, however, were able to adapt to some of these tactics. The USSR upgraded the radar several times to improve ECM resistance. They also introduced a passive guidance mode, whereby the missile could lock on the jammer itself. This had an added advantage, because the radar had to be turned off, which prevented Shrikes from being fired. Moreover, some new tactics were developed to combat the Shrike. One of them was to point the radar to the side and then turn it off briefly. Since the Shrike was a relatively primitive anti-radiation missile, it would follow the beam away from the radar and then simply crash when it lost the signal (after the radar was turned off). Another was a "false launch" in which the tracking radar was turned on, but the missiles were not actually fired. This allowed the missile crew to see if the target was equipped with a Shrike. If the aircraft fired one, the Shrike could be neutralized with the above technique without sacrificing any S-75s.
Despite these advances, the US was able to come up with effective ECM packages for the B-52E models. These planes were able to fly raids against Hanoi with relatively few losses (though still significant enough to cause some concern; see Operation Linebacker II
).
The S-75 remains in widespread service throughout the world, with some level of operational ability in 35 countries. Vietnam and Egypt are tied for the largest deployments at 280 missiles each, while North Korea has 270, and Poland has 240. The Chinese also deploy the HQ-2, an upgrade of the S-75, in relatively large numbers.
s and coordinate battalion actions. The battalions will contain several batteries with their associated acquisition and targeting radars.
s near the center of the site.
A current example of a site can be seen here just to the west of the junction to Bosra
on the M5 motorway in Syria
, south of Damascus
. This location covers the borders with both Israel
and Jordan
, so it is of strategic importance.
missile consisting of a solid-fuel booster and a storable liquid-fuel upper stage, which burns red fuming nitric acid
as the oxidizer and kerosene as the fuel. The booster fires for about 4–5 seconds and the main engine for about 22 seconds, by which time the missile is traveling at about Mach 3
. The booster mounts four large, cropped-delta wing
fins that have small control surfaces in their trailing edges to control roll. The upper stage has smaller cropped-deltas near the middle of the airframe, with a smaller set of control surfaces at the extreme rear and (in most models) much smaller fins on the nose.
The missiles are guided using radio control
signals (sent on one of three channels) from the guidance computers at the site. The earlier S-75 models received their commands via two sets of four small antennas in front of the forward fins, while the D model and later models used four much larger strip antennas running between the forward and middle fins. The guidance system at an S-75 site can handle only one target at a time, but it can direct three missiles against it. Additional missiles could be fired against the same target after one or more missiles of the first salvo had completed their run, freeing the radio channel.
The missile typically mounts a 195 kg (429.9 lb) fragmentation warhead, with proximity, contact, and command fusing. The warhead has a lethal radius of about 65 m (213.3 ft) at lower altitudes, but at higher altitudes the thinner atmosphere allows for a wider radius of up to 250 m (820.2 ft). The missile itself is accurate to about 75 m (246.1 ft), which explains why two were typically fired in a salvo. One version, the SA-2E, mounted a 295 kg (650.4 lb) nuclear warhead of an estimated 15 Kiloton
yield or a conventional warhead of similar weight.
Typical range for the missile is about 45 km (28 mi), with a maximum altitude around 20000 m (65,616.8 ft). The radar and guidance system imposed a fairly long short-range cutoff of about 500 to 1000 m (1,640.4 to 3,280.8 ft), making them fairly safe for engagements at low level.
The S-75 typically uses the Spoon Rest early warning radar which has a range of about 275 km (170.9 mi). The Spoon Rest provides early detection of incoming aircraft, which are then handed off to the acquisition Fan Song radar. These radars, having a range of about 65 km (40.4 mi), are used to refine the location, altitude, and speed of the hostile aircraft. The Fan Song system consists of two antennas operating on different frequencies, one providing elevation (altitude) information and the other azimuth (bearing) information. Regimental headquarters also include a Spoon Rest, as well as a Flat Face long-range C-band radar and Side Net height-finder. Information from these radars is sent from the regiment down to the battalion Spoon Rest operators to allow them to coordinate their searches. Earlier S-75 versions used a targeting radar known as Knife Rest, which was replaced in Soviet use, but can still be found in older installations.
As previously mentioned, most nations with S-75s have matched parts from different versions or third-party missile systems, or they have added locally produced components. This has created a wide variety of S-75 systems which meet local needs.
Current - 4 - 250 - 18 - 240, Tayer el-Sabah variant - 300+ Launchers, HQ-2J
and indigenous Sayyad-1/1A & 2. - few Free Libyan Air Force
- 48 next 250 in 2008 - up to 270 - 275 - few - 280
Former operators - 23 - passed on to successor states - passed on to successor states, but retired shortly afterwards - not operational
Command guided
Command guidance is a type of missile guidance in which a ground station or aircraft relay signals to a guided missile via radio and tell the missile where to steer in order to intercept its target. Additionally, it is possible to send a command to the missile to detonate, even if the missile...
, surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
(SAM) system. Since its first deployment in 1957, it has become the most widely-deployed and -used air defense missile in history, scoring the first successful engagement of an enemy aircraft by a SAM ever, shooting down a Taiwan
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
ese RB-57D over China, on October 7, 1959 by hitting it with three V-750 (1D) missiles at an altitude of 20 km (65,600 ft); at the time the success was attributed to Chinese fighters, in order to keep the S-75 program secret.
This system first gained international fame when an S-75 battery, using the newer, longer range and higher altitude V-750VN (13D) missile shot down the U-2 of Francis Gary Powers overflying the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960. The systems was also deployed in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
, where on October 27, 1962, it shot down the U-2 flown by Rudolf Anderson, almost precipitating a nuclear war. Later, North Vietnamese forces used the S-75 extensively during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
to defend Hanoi and Haiphong. It has also been locally produced in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
using the names HQ-1 and HQ-2. Other nations have produced so many local variants combining portions of the S-75 system with both indigenously-developed components or third-party systems, that it has become virtually impossible to find a pure S-75 system today.
Development
In the early 1950s, the United States Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
rapidly accelerated its development of long-range jet bombers carrying nuclear weapons. The USAF program led to the deployment of Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
B-47 Stratojet
B-47 Stratojet
The Boeing Model 450 B-47 Stratojet was a long-range, six-engined, jet-powered medium bomber built to fly at high subsonic speeds and at high altitudes. It was primarily designed to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union...
supported by aerial refueling
Aerial refueling
Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling , air-to-air refueling or tanking, is the process of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight....
aircraft to extend its range deep into the Soviet Union. The USAF quickly followed the B-47 with the development of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, which had greater range and payload than the B-47. The range, speed, and payload of these U.S. bombers posed a significant threat to the Soviet Union in the event of a war between the two countries.
Consequently, the Soviets initiated the development of improved air defense systems. Although the Soviet Air Defence Forces had large numbers of anti-aircraft artillery (AAA), including radar-directed batteries, the limitations of guns versus high-altitude jet bombers was obvious. Therefore, the Soviet Air Defense Forces began the development of missile systems to replace the World War II-vintage gun defenses.
In 1953, KB-2 began the development of what became the S-75 under the direction of Pyotr Grushin. This program focused on producing a missile which could bring down a large, non-maneuvering, high-altitude aircraft. As such it did not need to be highly maneuverable, merely fast and able to resist aircraft counter-measures. For such a pioneering system, development proceeded rapidly, and testing began a few years later. In 1957, the wider public first became aware of the S-75 when the missile was shown at that year's May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
parade in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
Initial deployment
Wide-scale deployment started in 1957, with various upgrades following over the next few years. The S-75 was never meant to replace the S-25 Berkut surface-to-air missile sites around MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, but it did replace high-altitude anti-aircraft guns, such as the 130 mm KS-30
KS-30
The Soviet 130mm anti-aircraft gun KS-30 appeared in the early 1950s, closely resembling the German wartime 12.8 cm FlaK 40 antiaircraft gun. The KS-30 was used for the home defense forces of the USSR and some other Warsaw Pact countries...
and 100 mm KS-19. Between mid-1958 and 1964, U.S. intelligence assets located more than 600 S-75 sites in the USSR. These sites tended to cluster around population centers, industrial complexes, and government control centers. A ring of sites was also located around likely bomber routes into the Soviet heartland. By the mid-1960s, the Soviet Union had ended the deployment of the S-75 with perhaps 1,000 operational sites.
In addition to the Soviet Union, several S-75 batteries were deployed during the 1960s in East Germany to protect Soviet forces stationed in that country. Later the system was sold to most Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
countries and was provided to China, North Korea, and eventually, North Vietnam.
Employment
While the shooting down of Francis Gary Powers' U-2 in 1960 is the first publicized success for the S-75, the first aircraft actually shot down by the S-75 was a Taiwanese RB-57 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraftReconnaissance aircraft
A reconnaissance aircraft is a manned military aircraft designed, or adapted, to carry out aerial reconnaissance.-History:The majority of World War I aircraft were reconnaissance designs...
. In this case, the aircraft was hit by a Chinese-operated S-75 site near Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
on October 7, 1959. Over the next few years, the Taiwanese ROCAF
Republic of China Air Force
The Republic of China Air Force is the aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The ROCAF's primary mission is the defense of the airspace over and around Taiwan...
would lose a number of aircraft to the S-75: both RB-57s and various drones
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
. On May 1, 1960, Gary Powers's U-2 was shot down while flying over the testing site near Sverdlovsk
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
, although it is thought to have taken 14 missiles to hit his high-flying plane. That action led to the U-2 Crisis of 1960
U-2 Crisis of 1960
The 1960 U-2 incident occurred during the Cold War on May 1, 1960, during the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower and during the leadership of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, when a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down over the airspace of the Soviet Union.The United States government at...
. Additionally, Chinese S-75s downed five ROCAF-piloted U-2s based in Taiwan.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
, a U-2 piloted by USAF Major Rudolf Anderson was shot down over Cuba by an S-75 in October 1962.
In 1965, North
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
asked for some assistance against American airpower, which they were essentially defenseless against at the time. After some discussion it was agreed to supply the PAVN with the S-75. The decision was not made lightly, because it greatly increased the chances that one would fall into US hands for study. Site preparation started early in the year, and the US detected the program almost immediately on April 5, 1965. While military planners pressed for the sites to be attacked before they could become operational, their political leaders refused, fearing that Soviet technical staff might be killed.
Operation Iron Hand
Operation Iron Hand was a US military operation conducted during the Vietnam War. It was intended to suppress Soviet-supplied surface-to-air missile systems in North Vietnam before they became operational. Operation Iron Hand was in conjunction with Wild Weasel I. Iron Hand was to suppress and...
to attack the other sites before they could become operational. Most of the S-75 were deployed around the Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
-Haiphong
Haiphong
, also Haiphong, is the third most populous city in Vietnam. The name means, "coastal defence".-History:Hai Phong was originally founded by Lê Chân, the female general of a Vietnamese revolution against the Chinese led by the Trưng Sisters in the year 43 C.E.The area which is now known as Duong...
area and were off-limits to attack (as were local airfields) for political reasons. President Lyndon Johnson announced on public TV that one of the other sites would be attacked the next week. The Vietnamese removed the missiles and replaced them with decoys, while moving every available anti-aircraft gun
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
into the approach routes. The tactic worked, causing American casualties.
The missile system was used widely throughout the world, especially in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, where Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
used them to defend against the Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
, with the air defense net accounting for the majority of the downed Israeli aircraft. The last apparent success seems to have occurred during the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)
War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)
The War in Abkhazia from 1992 to 1993 was waged chiefly between Georgian government forces on one side and Abkhaz separatist forces supporting independence of Abkhazia from Georgia on the other side. Ethnic Georgians, who lived in Abkhazia fought largely on the side of Georgian government forces...
, when Georgian missiles shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-27
Sukhoi Su-27
The Sukhoi Su-27 is a twin-engine supermanoeuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large United States fourth generation fighters, with range, heavy armament, sophisticated avionics and high manoeuvrability...
fighter near Gudauta on March 19, 1993.
The standard S-75 SAM can also be used against land targets. Recent pictures have shown Iranian S-75s fired in surface-to-surface mode.
Countermeasures and counter-countermeasures
Between 1965 and 1966, the US delivered a number of solutions to the S-75 problem. The Navy soon had the Shrike missile in service and mounted their first offensive strike on a site in October 1965. The Air Force responded by fitting B-66 bombers with powerful jammers (that blinded the early warning radars) and by developing smaller jamming pods for fighters (that denied range information to the radars). Later developments included the Wild WeaselWild Weasel
A Wild Weasel is an aircraft specially equipped with radar seeking missiles, and tasked with destroying the radars and SAM installations of enemy air defence systems....
aircraft, which were fitted with anti-radiation air-to-surface missile systems made to home in on the radar from the threat. This freed them to shoot the sites with Shrikes of their own.
The Soviets and Vietnamese, however, were able to adapt to some of these tactics. The USSR upgraded the radar several times to improve ECM resistance. They also introduced a passive guidance mode, whereby the missile could lock on the jammer itself. This had an added advantage, because the radar had to be turned off, which prevented Shrikes from being fired. Moreover, some new tactics were developed to combat the Shrike. One of them was to point the radar to the side and then turn it off briefly. Since the Shrike was a relatively primitive anti-radiation missile, it would follow the beam away from the radar and then simply crash when it lost the signal (after the radar was turned off). Another was a "false launch" in which the tracking radar was turned on, but the missiles were not actually fired. This allowed the missile crew to see if the target was equipped with a Shrike. If the aircraft fired one, the Shrike could be neutralized with the above technique without sacrificing any S-75s.
Despite these advances, the US was able to come up with effective ECM packages for the B-52E models. These planes were able to fly raids against Hanoi with relatively few losses (though still significant enough to cause some concern; see Operation Linebacker II
Operation Linebacker II
Operation Linebacker II was a US Seventh Air Force and US Navy Task Force 77 aerial bombing campaign, conducted against targets in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam during the final period of US involvement in the Vietnam War...
).
Replacement systems
Soviet Air Defence Forces started to replace the S-75 with the vastly superior SA-10 and SA-12 systems in the 1980s. Today only a few hundred, if any, of the 4,600 missiles are still in Russian service, even though they underwent a modernization program as late as 1993.The S-75 remains in widespread service throughout the world, with some level of operational ability in 35 countries. Vietnam and Egypt are tied for the largest deployments at 280 missiles each, while North Korea has 270, and Poland has 240. The Chinese also deploy the HQ-2, an upgrade of the S-75, in relatively large numbers.
Soviet doctrinal organization
The Soviet Union used a fairly standard organizational structure for S-75 units. Other countries that have employed the S-75 may have modified this structure. Typically, the S-75 is organized into a regimental structure with three subordinate battalions. The regimental headquarters will control the early-warning radarRadar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
s and coordinate battalion actions. The battalions will contain several batteries with their associated acquisition and targeting radars.
Site layout
Each battalion will typically have six, semi-fixed, single-rail launchers for their V-750 missiles positioned approximately 60 metre apart from each other in a hexagonal "flower" pattern, with radars and guidance systems placed in the center. It was this unique "flower" shape that led to the sites being easily recognizable in reconnaissance photos. Typically another six missiles are stored on tractor-trailerSemi-trailer truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or articulated truck or articulated lorry, is an articulated vehicle consisting of a towing engine , and a semi-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) articulated truck...
s near the center of the site.
A current example of a site can be seen here just to the west of the junction to Bosra
Bosra
Bosra , also known as Bostra, Busrana, Bozrah, Bozra, Busra Eski Şam, Busra ash-Sham, and Nova Trajana Bostra, is an ancient city administratively belonging to the Daraa Governorate in southern Syria...
on the M5 motorway in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, south of Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. This location covers the borders with both Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, so it is of strategic importance.
Missile
The V-750 is a two-stageMultistage rocket
A multistage rocket is a rocket that usestwo or more stages, each of which contains its own engines and propellant. A tandem or serial stage is mounted on top of another stage; a parallel stage is attached alongside another stage. The result is effectively two or more rockets stacked on top of or...
missile consisting of a solid-fuel booster and a storable liquid-fuel upper stage, which burns red fuming nitric acid
Red fuming nitric acid
Red fuming nitric acid is a storable oxidizer used as a rocket propellant. It consists mainly of nitric acid , also containing 13% dinitrogen tetroxide and 3% water. The dissolved nitrogen dioxide is very concentrated and can be found at room temperature...
as the oxidizer and kerosene as the fuel. The booster fires for about 4–5 seconds and the main engine for about 22 seconds, by which time the missile is traveling at about Mach 3
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
. The booster mounts four large, cropped-delta wing
Delta wing
The delta wing is a wing planform in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta .-Delta-shaped stabilizers:...
fins that have small control surfaces in their trailing edges to control roll. The upper stage has smaller cropped-deltas near the middle of the airframe, with a smaller set of control surfaces at the extreme rear and (in most models) much smaller fins on the nose.
The missiles are guided using radio control
Radio control
Radio control is the use of radio signals to remotely control a device. The term is used frequently to refer to the control of model vehicles from a hand-held radio transmitter...
signals (sent on one of three channels) from the guidance computers at the site. The earlier S-75 models received their commands via two sets of four small antennas in front of the forward fins, while the D model and later models used four much larger strip antennas running between the forward and middle fins. The guidance system at an S-75 site can handle only one target at a time, but it can direct three missiles against it. Additional missiles could be fired against the same target after one or more missiles of the first salvo had completed their run, freeing the radio channel.
The missile typically mounts a 195 kg (429.9 lb) fragmentation warhead, with proximity, contact, and command fusing. The warhead has a lethal radius of about 65 m (213.3 ft) at lower altitudes, but at higher altitudes the thinner atmosphere allows for a wider radius of up to 250 m (820.2 ft). The missile itself is accurate to about 75 m (246.1 ft), which explains why two were typically fired in a salvo. One version, the SA-2E, mounted a 295 kg (650.4 lb) nuclear warhead of an estimated 15 Kiloton
TNT equivalent
TNT equivalent is a method of quantifying the energy released in explosions. The ton of TNT is a unit of energy equal to 4.184 gigajoules, which is approximately the amount of energy released in the detonation of one ton of TNT...
yield or a conventional warhead of similar weight.
Typical range for the missile is about 45 km (28 mi), with a maximum altitude around 20000 m (65,616.8 ft). The radar and guidance system imposed a fairly long short-range cutoff of about 500 to 1000 m (1,640.4 to 3,280.8 ft), making them fairly safe for engagements at low level.
| Missile | Factory index | Character |
|---|---|---|
| V-750 | 1D | Firing range 7–29 km; Firing altitude 3,000–23,000 m |
| V-750V | 11D | Firing range 7–29 km; Firing altitude 3,000–25,000 m; Weight 2,163 kg; Length 10,726 mm; Warhead weight 190 kg; Diameter 500 mm / 654 mm |
| V-750VK | 11D | Modernized missile |
| V-750VM | 11DM | Missile for firing to aircraft - jammer |
| V-750VM | 11DU | Modernized missile |
| V-750VM | 11DА | Modernized missile |
| V-750M | 20ТD | No specific information available |
| V-750SM | - | No specific information available |
| V-750VN | 13D | Firing range 7–29 km / 7–34 km; Firing altitude 3,000–25,000 m / 3,000–27,000 m; Length 10,841 mm |
| - | 13DА | Missile with new warhead weight 191 kg |
| V-750АK | - | No specific information available |
| V-753 | 13DM | Missile from naval SAM system M-2 Volkhov-M (SA-N-2 Guideline) |
| V-755 | 20D | Firing range 7–43 km; Firing altitude 3,000–30,000 m; Weight 2,360–2,396 kg; Length 10,778 mm; Warhead weight 196 kg |
| V-755 | 20DP | Missile for firing on passive flight-line, Firing range 7–45 km active, 7–56 km passive; Firing altitude 300–30,000 m / 300–35,000 m |
| V-755 | 20DА | Missile with expired guarantee period and remodeled to 20DS |
| V-755OV | 20DO | Missile for taking air samples |
| V-755U | 20DS | Missile with selective block for firing to target in low altitude (under 200 m); Firing altitude 100–30,000 m / 100–35,000 m |
| V-755U | 20DSU | Missile with selective block for firing to target in low altitude (under 200 m) and shortening time preparation missile to fire; Firing altitude 100–30,000 m / 100–35,000 m |
| V-755U | 20DU | Missile with shortening time preparation missile to fire |
| V-759 | 5Ja23 (5V23) | Firing range 6–56 km / 6–60 km / 6–66 km; Firing altitude 100–30,000 m / 100–35,000 m; Weight 2,406 kg; Length 10,806 mm; Warhead weight 197–201 kg |
| V-760 | 15D | Missile with nuclear warhead |
| V-760V | 5V29 | Missile with nuclear warhead |
| V-750IR | - | Missile with pulse radiofuse |
| V-750N | - | Test missile |
| V-750P | - | Experimental missile - with rotate wings |
| V-751 | KM | Experimental missile - flying laboratory |
| V-752 | - | Experimental missile - boosters at the sides |
| V-754 | - | Experimental missile - with semi-active homing head |
| V-757 | 17D | Experimental Missile - with scramjet |
| - | 18D | Experimental Missile - with scramjet |
| V-757Kr | 3M10 | Experimental Missile - version for 2K11 Krug (SA-4 Ganef) |
| V-758 (5 JaGG) | 22D | Experimental Missile - three-stage missile; Weight 3,200 kg; Speed 4.8 mach (1,560 m/s, 5,760 km/h) |
| Korshun | - | Target missile |
| RM-75MV | - | Target missile - for low altitude |
| RM-75V | - | Target missile - for high altitude |
| Sinitsa-23 | 5Ja23 | Target missile |
Radar
Major variants
Upgrades to anti-aircraft missile systems typically combine improved missiles, radars, and operator consoles. Usually missile upgrades drive changes to other components to take advantage of the missile's improved performance. Therefore, when the Soviets introduced a new S-75, it was paired with an improved radar to match the missile's greater range and altitude.- SA-2A; SA-75 Dvina ( - Dvina RiverDvinaDvina may refer to:* Daugava river, also known as "Western Dvina", a river in Russia, Belarus, and Latvia.* Northern Dvina, a river in northern Russia.* R-12 Dvina, a theatre ballistic missile from the Soviet Union....
) with Fan Song-A guidance radar and V-750 or V-750V missiles. Initial deployment began in 1957. The combined missile and booster was 10.6 m (34.8 ft) long, with a booster having a diameter of 0.65 m (25.6 in), and the missile a diameter of 0.5 m (19.7 in). Launch weight is 2287 kg (5,042 lb). The missile has a maximum effective range of 30 km (18.6 mi), a minimum range of 8 km (8,000 m), and an intercept altitude envelope of between 450 and 25000 m (1,476.4 and 82,021 ft). - SA-N-2A; S-75M-2 Volkhov-M (Russian - Volkhov RiverVolkhov RiverVolkhov is a river in Novgorod Oblast and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia.-Geography:The Volkhov flows out of Lake Ilmen north into Lake Ladoga, the largest lake of Europe. It is the second largest tributary of Lake Ladoga. It is navigable over its whole length. Discharge is highly...
): Naval version of the A model fitted to the Sverdlov Class cruiser Dzerzhinski. Generally considered unsuccessful and not fitted to any other ships. - SA-2B; S-75 Desna (Russian - Desna RiverDesna RiverDesna is a river in Russia and Ukraine, left tributary of the Dnieper. The word means "right hand" in the Old East Slavic language. Its length is , and its drainage basin covers ....
). This version featured upgraded Fan Song-B radars with V-750VK and V-750VN missiles. This second deployment version entered service in 1959. The missiles were slightly longer than the A versions, at 10.8 m (35.4 ft), due to a more powerful booster. The SA-2B could engage targets at altitudes between 500 and 30000 m (1,640.4 and 98,425.2 ft) and ranges up to 34 km (21.1 mi).
- SA-2C; S-75M Volkhov. Once again, the new model featured an upgraded radar, the Fan Song-C, mated to an improved V-750M missile. The improved -2B was deployed in 1961. The V-750M was externally identical to the V-750VK/V-750VN, but it had improved performance for range up to 43 km (26.7 mi) and reduced lower altitude limits of 400 m (1,312.3 ft).
- SA-2D; Fan Song-E radar and V-750SM missiles. The V-750SM differed significantly from the A/B/C versions in having new antennas and a longer barometric nose probe. Several other differences were associated with the sustainer motor casing. The missile is 10.8 m (35.4 ft) long and has the same body diameters and warhead as the SA-2C, but the weight is increased to 2450 kg (5,401.3 lb). The effective maximum range is 43 km (26.7 mi), the minimum range is 6 km (3.7 mi), and the intercept altitude envelope is between 250 and 25000 m (820.2 and 82,021 ft). Improved aircraft counter measures led to the development of the Fan Song-E with its better antennas which could cut through heavy jamming.
- SA-2E: Fan Song-E radar and V-750AK missiles. Similar rocket to the D model, but with a bulbous warhead section lacking the older missile's forward fins. The SA-2E is 11.2 m (36.7 ft) long, has a body diameter of 0.5 m (19.7 in), and weighs 2450 kg (5,401.3 lb) at launch. The missile can be fitted with either a command-detonated 15 kt nuclear warhead or a 295 kg (650.4 lb) conventional HE warhead.
- SA-2F: Fan Song-F radar and V-750SM missiles. After watching jamming in Vietnam and the Six-Day WarSix-Day WarThe Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
render the SA-2 completely ineffective, the existing systems were quickly upgraded with a new radar system designed to help ignore wide-band scintillationScintillation (radar)Scintillation is a fluctuation in the amplitude of a target on a radar display. It is closely related to target glint, or wander, an apparent displacement of the target from its mean position. This effect can be caused by a shift of the effective reflection point on the target, but has other causes...
jamming. The command system also included a home-on-jam mode to attack aircraft carrying strobe jammers, as well as a completely optical system (of limited use) when these failed. Fs were developed starting in 1968 and deployed in the USSR later that year, while shipments to Vietnam started in late 1970. - SA-2 FC: Latest Chinese version. It can track six targets simultaneously and is able to control 3 missiles simultaneously.
- S-75M Volga (Russian - Volga RiverVolga RiverThe Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...
). Version from 1995.
As previously mentioned, most nations with S-75s have matched parts from different versions or third-party missile systems, or they have added locally produced components. This has created a wide variety of S-75 systems which meet local needs.
- HQ-1 (Hong Qi, Red Flag): Chinese version of SA-2 with additional ECCM electronics to counter the System-12 ECMElectronic countermeasuresAn electronic countermeasure is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar or other detection systems, like infrared or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting information to an enemy...
aboard U-2s flown by the Republic of China Air ForceRepublic of China Air ForceThe Republic of China Air Force is the aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The ROCAF's primary mission is the defense of the airspace over and around Taiwan...
Black Cat SquadronBlack Cat SquadronThe Black Cat Squadron was a squadron of the Republic of China Air Force that flew the U-2 surveillance plane out of Taoyuan Airbase in northern Taiwan, from 1961 to 1974. The formal designation of the squadron was the 35th Squadron, operating under the cover of a high altitude weather research...
. - HQ-2: Upgraded HQ-1 with additional ECCM capability to counter the System-13 ECM aboard U-2s flown by Republic of China Air Force Black Cat Squadron. Upgraded HQ-2s remain in service today, and the latest version utilizes passive phased arrayPhased arrayIn wave theory, a phased array is an array of antennas in which the relative phases of the respective signals feeding the antennas are varied in such a way that the effective radiation pattern of the array is reinforced in a desired direction and suppressed in undesired directions.An antenna array...
radar designated SJ-202, which is able to simultaneously track and engage multiple targets at 115 km (71.5 mi) and 80 km (49.7 mi), respectively. The adoption of multifunction SJ-202 radar has eliminated the need to have multiple, single-function radars, and thus greatly improved the overall effectiveness of the HQ-2 air defense system. A target drone version is designated BA-6.
Operators
HQ-2J
HQ-2J or Hongqi-2 are anti-aircraft missiles mounted on the Type 77 transporter launcher. It is an upgraded version of the HQ-2 system. The HQ-1/HQ-2 are developed from the Soviet S-75 Dvina SAM system...
and indigenous Sayyad-1/1A & 2. - few Free Libyan Air Force
Free Libyan Air Force
The Free Libyan Air Force is the air force of the National Transitional Council, a collection of defected Loyalist Military personnel and captured aircraft that have aligned themselves with the Anti-Gaddafi forces of the 2011 Libyan civil war.-Operations:...
- 48 next 250 in 2008 - up to 270 - 275 - few - 280
Former operators - 23 - passed on to successor states - passed on to successor states, but retired shortly afterwards - not operational
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