As a consequence of their widespread availability and large numbers, the Strela system has seen use in conflicts across the globe.
Middle East Egypt The first combat use of the missile is credited as being in 1969 during the
War of Attrition by Egyptian soldiers. The first "kill" was claimed on 19 August 1969. An Israeli
102 Squadron A-4H Skyhawk was hit with a shoulder-fired missile west of the Suez Canal and pilot SqL Nassim Ezer Ashkenazi captured. Between this first firing and June 1970 the Egyptian army fired 99 missiles resulting in 36 hits. The missile proved to have poor kinematic reach against combat jets, and also poor lethality as many aircraft that were hit managed to return safely to base. The missile was used later in the
Yom Kippur War, where 4,356 Strelas were fired, scoring few hits and just 2
Syria The Strela was deployed by
Syrian forces occupying Lebanon, along with other Soviet air-defence systems that challenged U.S., French and Israeli airpower in the aftermath of the
1982 conflict and the deployment of the
Multinational Force in Lebanon during that year. On 10 November 1983, an SA-7 was fired at a French
Super Etendard near
Bourj el-Barajneh while flying over
Druze People's Liberation Army (PLA) positions. On 3 December, more Strelas and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) were fired at
United States Navy F-14 Tomcats flying a reconnaissance mission. The Americans responded with a large strike package of 12
A-7 Corsairs and 16
A-6 Intruders (supported by a single
E-2C Hawkeye, two
EA-6B Prowlers and two F-14As) launched from the carriers and sailing in the Mediterranean. The aircraft were to bomb Syrian installations, AAA sites and weapons depots near Falouga and
Hammana, some north of
Beirut-
Damascus highway, when they were received by a volley of (possibly up to 40) Syrian SAMs, one of which hit a Corsair (AE305 of the
VA-15), forcing the pilot to eject over the sea before being rescued by a USN
search and rescue mission. A second Corsair, searching for the downed Intruder crew, was later hit by an SA-7. The pilot, Cdr. Edward Andrews, managed to eject over the sea near Beirut and was rescued by a fisherman and his son who in turn handed him over to the
U.S Marines.
Lebanon On 24 June 1974, Palestinian guerrillas operating in southern Lebanon fired two SA-7s against invading
Israel Air Force (IAF) aircraft, though no hits were scored. The Lebanese
Al-Mourabitoun militia received either from Syria or the PLO a number of SA-7s, which they employed against
Israeli Air Force (IAF)
fighter-bomber jets during the
1982 Lebanon War. During the 1983–84
Mountain War, the
Druze People's Liberation Army (PLA) militia received from Syria a number of Strela missiles, which were used to bring down two
Lebanese Air Force Hawker Hunter fighter jets and one Israeli
IAI Kfir fighter-bomber aircraft, on 20 November over the mountainous
Chouf district southeast of
Beirut (the pilot was rescued by the
Lebanese Army). The
Christian Maronite Lebanese Forces militia (LF) also received from Iraq a number of Strela missiles in 1988–89. The
Shiite Hezbollah guerrilla group also acquired some Strelas in the late 1980s and fired them against Israeli aircraft in November 1991. Since then, they have fired many Strelas against Israeli aircraft, including two against Israeli warplanes on 12 June 2001 near
Tyre, but have never scored a hit.
Iraq In the early dawn of 31 January 1991 during the
Battle of Khafji in
Operation Desert Storm, an Iraqi soldier shot down an American
AC-130H gunship with a Strela 2, killing all 14 crewmembers. Strela-2 missiles have been used against
Turkish Army helicopters by the
PKK in northern
Iraq. During
Operation Hammer; on 18 May 1997, a Strela-2 missile was used to shoot down an
AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopter. On 4 June 1997, another Strela was used to bring down a Turkish Army
AS-532UL Cougar transport helicopter in the
Zakho area, killing the 11 soldiers on board. The video of the first attack was used extensively for PKK propaganda and eventually released to the Internet. Greece and
Serbia's intelligence services, as well as Iran, Syria, Armenia, and Cyprus were traced as possible sources of the missiles. A Strela-2 missile is said to have been used in April 2005, when members of the insurgents shot down an
Mi-8 helicopter operated by
Blackwater, killing all 11 crew members. The
Islamic Army in Iraq took responsibility for the action and a video showing the downing was released on the Internet. The missile launcher is not visible on the video, however, making it impossible to confirm the type of MANPADS used. The spate of helicopter shoot-downs during 2006 and 2007 in Iraq has been partly attributed to the prevalence of the Strela amongst Sunni insurgent groups of that time; while
al Qaeda is said to have produced an hour-long training video on how to use SA-7s.
Gaza During October 2012, militants in Gaza fired a Strela at an
IDF helicopter. During
Operation Pillar of Defense,
Hamas released a video purporting to be a Strela missile launch at an
IAF target. In March 2013, one was also reportedly fired from Gaza at an IAF helicopter.
Yemen Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula allegedly shot down a UAE Mirage fighter jet with a Strela during the
Yemeni Civil War (2014–present).
Houthi rebels were seen carrying 9K32 Strela-2s.
Southeast Asia The Strela-2 system was also given to
North Vietnam, where along with the more advanced Strela-2M it achieved 204 hits out of 589 firings against US and
South Vietnamese aircraft between 1972 and 1975 according to Russian sources. The internet site Arms-expo.ru states 14 fixed-wing aircraft and 10 helicopters were shot down with 161 missile rounds used between 28 April and 14 July 1972. The difference in fixed-wing losses may be at least partly due to South Vietnamese aircraft shot down by the weapon. The table shows heavy losses particularly in the beginning of May, with especially lethal results on the 1st and 2nd, where the shootdown of the O-2 FAC led to further losses when a rescue operation was attempted. After these initial losses, changes in tactics and widespread introduction of decoy flares helped to counter the threat, but a steady flow of attrition and necessity of minimizing time spent in the Strela's engagement envelope nonetheless continued to limit the effectiveness of US battlefield air operations until the end of US involvement in South-East Asia. The United States lost at least 10 AH-1 Cobras and several UH-1 Hueys to Strela-2/2M hits in South East Asia. From 28 January 1973 to July 1973, the Republic of Vietnam Air Force lost 8 aircraft and helicopter with 22 missile rounds used (1 A-37, 3 A-1, 1 F-5, 2 UH-1, 1 CH-47) In
Ho Chi Minh campaign, PAVN claimed 34 aircraft and helicopter were shot down by SA-7s, including 9 on 29 April Vietnam claims that throughout the war, PAVN gunner Hoàng Văn Quyết fired 30 missiles and shotdown 16 aircraft. In the late 1980s, Strela-2s were used against
Royal Thai Air Force aircraft by Laotian and Vietnamese forces during numerous border clashes. An RTAF F-5E was damaged on 4 March 1987 and another F-5E was shot down on 4 February 1988 near the Thai-Cambodian border.
Western Asia Afghanistan with a Strela 2 In 1977, the
Republic of Afghanistan received the Strela-2M for use by the
Afghan Army. The Strela-2M was used also in Afghanistan during the
Soviet–Afghan War by the Mujahiddeen. The missiles were obtained from various sources, some from Egypt and China (locally manufactured Sakr Eye and HN-5 versions of the SAM), and the CIA also assisted the guerrillas in finding missiles from other sources. Results from combat use were not dissimilar from experiences with the Strela-2/2M from Vietnam: while 42 helicopters were shot down by various Strela-2 variants (including a few Mi-24s until exhaust shrouds made them next to invisible to the short-wavelength Strela-2 seeker) only five fixed-wing aircraft were destroyed with the weapon. Due to its poor kinematic performance and vulnerability to even the most primitive infra-red countermeasures, the guerrillas considered the Strela-2 suitable for use against helicopters and prop-driven transports, but not combat jets. However, the recent studies and interviews after the Cold war say that most Strelas sold to the Mujahiddeen on the black market were broken/damaged or faulty. This is possibly another reason why the Soviet army in Afghanistan didn't expect working anti-aircraft missiles like the
Stinger to be used. On 22 July 2007 the first reported attack of the
Taliban against a
coalition aircraft using MANPADS was reported. The weapon was reported to be an SA-7 allegedly smuggled from Iran to the Taliban. The missile failed after the crew of the USAF C-130, flying over the
Nimroz province, launched flares and made evasive manoeuvers. However, most of the Strelas operated by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan are probably inherited from fighters that used it during the Soviet invasion. Most are probably faulty, broken or in other ways not usable (even from the beginning) against military helicopters, with the intercepts of NATO aviation by Stingers (acquired also during 80s) or other missiles.
Chechnya Chechen forces had access to old Soviet stockpiles of Strela-2M and Igla missiles, as well former Soviet Army personnel trained to operate them. In the
First Chechen War Russian forces lost about 38 aircraft of which 15 were caused by MANPADS with another 10 probably caused by MANPADS, while the rest were caused by other anti-aircraft weapons. During the
Second Chechen war the Russians lost 45 helicopters and 8 fixed-wing aircraft, the majority presumably caused by MANPADS.
Georgia The SA-7 saw heavy usage by all sides during the
Georgian Civil War. The first known loss to an SA-7 happened on 13 June 1993, when a GAF
Su-25 was shot down by a Strela over Shubara. On two later occasions, Georgian airliners (a Tu-134A and a Tu-134B) were shot down by SA-7s, killing a total of 110 people.
Africa Guinea-Bissau PAIGC rebels
fighting for independence from Portugal began to receive SA-7s in early 1973, a development that immediately became a threat to Portuguese air supremacy. On 23 March 1973, two
Portuguese Air Force (FAP)
Fiat G.91s were shot down by SA-7s, followed six weeks later by another Fiat, and a
Dornier Do 27.
Mozambique FRELIMO fighters in
Mozambique were also able to field some SA-7s with Chinese support, although the weapon is not known to have caused any losses to the FAP, even if it forced Portuguese pilots to change their tactics. In one case a
Douglas DC-3 carrying foreign military attaches and members of the senior Portuguese military command was hit by an SA-7 in one of the engines. The crippled plane managed to land safely and was later repaired.
Angola In Angola and Namibia, SA-7s were deployed against the
South African Air Force with limited success. The SAAF lost
Atlas Impalas to Strelas on 24 January 1980 and 10 October 1980. Another Impala was hit by an SA-7 on 23 December 1983, but the pilot was able to fly the aircraft back to Ondangwa AB.
UNITA also reportedly obtained 50 SA-7s that Israel had captured, via the
CIA. The first one was fired at Cuban aircraft by a French mercenary on 13 March 1976, but the missile failed to hit the target. The individual missiles may have been in poor condition, as none scored a direct hit. Additionally, it is claimed that UNITA used SA-7s to shoot down two
Transafrik International Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules flying UN charters, on 26 December 1998 and 2 January 1999, both near Huambo.
Sudan Using an SA-7, the
Sudan People's Liberation Army shot down a
Sudan Airways Fokker F-27 Friendship 400M taking off from
Malakal on 16 August 1986, killing all 60 on board. On 21 December 1989, an
Aviation Sans Frontières Britten-Norman BN-2A-9 Islander (F-OGSM) was shot down by an SA-7 while taking off from
Aweil Sudan, killing the four crew on board. Between 1975 and 1991, the Royal Moroccan Air Force has lost several
Northrop F-5A Freedom Fighters and
Dassault Mirage F1s to SA-7s fired by the Polisario. In a case of mistaken identity, a
Dornier 228 owned by the
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research was shot down over the Western Sahara near
Dakhla on 24 February 1985. Two Dornier 228s named Polar 2 and
Polar 3 were on a return flight to Germany following a South Pole expedition. After having taken off from
Dakar,
Senegal, en route to
Arrecife,
Canary Islands, flying 5 minutes behind Polar 2 and at a lower altitude of , Polar 3 was shot down by a SA-7 fired by the Polisario. The crew of three was killed. In another incident, on 8 December 1988, two
Douglas DC-7CFs flying at from Dakar, Senegal to
Agadir, Morocco for a locust control mission there, had SA-7s fired at them by the Polisario. One aircraft, N284, was hit and lost one of its engines and part of a wing. This led to the aircraft crashing, killing the crew of five. The other aircraft, N90804, also was hit and lost an engine along with suffering other damage, but it was able to land safely at
Sidi Ifni Morocco. • Vickers Viscount,
Flight RH825, 3 September 1978 – downed by a Strela missile near Kariba Dam. After initial impact, the pilot was able to make an emergency landing in a nearby field but the aircraft broke up on impact. Eighteen of the fifty-six passengers in the tail section survived the crash. Ten of these survivors were shot dead at the crash-site by insurgents, who later looted the bodies and wreckage. A
Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727-30 taking off from
Kindu was shot down by an SA-7 fired by rebel forces in 1998, killing all 41 on board.
Latin America Argentina Strela-2M missiles were available to Argentinian troops in the Falkland Islands during the
Falklands War. War Machine Encyclopedia shows no records of any launches, but several missiles were captured.
Nicaragua The Strela-2 was used by both
Sandinista government forces and
US-backed Contra insurgents during the
1979–1990 civil war. On 3 October 1983, at about 10:00 am, Sandinista soldier Fausto Palacios used a Strela to shoot down a Contra-operated
Douglas DC-3 that had taken off from Catamacas airport in
Honduras, carrying supplies, over the area of Los Cedros, in the
Nueva Segovia Department. One crewman died in the crash and four were captured by government forces. The pilot, Major Roberto Amador Alvarez, as well as his co-pilot Capt. Hugo Reinaldo Aguilar were former members of the extinct
National Guard of the former dictator
Anastasio Somoza Debayle. On 27 August 1984, Sandinista soldier Fanor Medina Leyton shot down a Contra-operated
Douglas C-47 Skytrain with a Strela. Sources differ over the attack and crash area: both a Russian source and Sandinista officials reported the
Jinotega Department, while the
Aviation Safety Network reports the
Quilalí area in the Nueva Segovia department. All eight occupants were killed. The pilot, José Luis Gutiérrez Lugo, was reported as a former pilot for the Somoza family. Sandinista and Contra forces subsequently battled for the control of six packages dropped from the plane. On 5 October 1986 a Corporate Air Services C-123 Provider (HPF821, previously N4410F and USAF 54-679, (c/n 20128)) conducting a covert drop of arms to
Contra fighters in
Nicaragua was shot down by Sandinista soldier José Fernando Canales Alemán, using an SA-7.
CIA pilots William J. Cooper and Wallace "Buzz" Sawyer as well as radio operator Freddy Vilches were killed in the crash. Loadmaster
Eugene Hasenfus parachuted to safety and was taken prisoner. He was later released in December 1986. The flight had departed
Ilopango Airport,
El Salvador loaded with 70 Soviet-made
AK-47 rifles and 100,000 rounds of ammunition, rocket grenades and other supplies. On 15 June 1987, a Contra-operated
Beechcraft Baron 56TC (reg. N666PF, msn. TG-60) was hit by Sandinista anti-aircraft fire over the Nueva Segovia Department. The (formerly civilian) light
utility aircraft, which was removed from the US registry two years before, and was reportedly modified to carry
rockets for use in an
air-to-ground light
strike role, was downed after an attack that reportedly included
dropping leaflets and, possibly, reconnaissance. The aircraft crashed inside
Honduras, in an area known as
Cerro El Tigre and its three occupants, all former military elements of the
Somoza dictatorship, were injured and captured after the crash landing and were treated in Honduras. The pilot, Juan Gomez, a former colonel in Somoza's
National Guard was also reported to be the head of the Contra air force. A
Russian source credits the Baron's downing to an Strela-2 fired from
Murra by Sandinista soldier Jose Manuel Rodriguez.
El Salvador FMLN rebels acquired SA-7 missiles around 1989 and employed them extensively in the closing years of the
Salvadoran Civil War, dramatically increasing the combat losses of
Salvadoran Air Force aircraft. At least two
O-2 Skymasters (on 26 September and 19 November 1990), one
A-37 Dragonfly (on 23 November 1990), two
Hughes 500 helicopters (2 February and 18 May 1990), and two
UH-1Hs were lost to SA-7s. One of the UH-1Hs (on 2 January 1991) was crewed by US Army personnel, while the other was operated by the
Honduran Air Force.
Colombia In late December 2012, a video showing
FARC rebels attempting to shoot down a
Colombian Air Force Arpía helicopter with an SA-7 in the
Cauca raised the alarm in the Colombian military, though the missile failed. During that same month, a Strela was captured by the Colombian military. It is believed that they might came from Cuba, Nicaragua or Peru; the only Latin American operators of the type. Furthermore, the
CIA's motive to remove and destroy Chinese copies of the SA-7 (HN-5s) from Bolivia in 2005 was the fear of them reaching FARC rebels because, according to a US military magazine, "they used the HN-5 against Colombian-operated U.S-made helicopters". The
Ecuadorian Army captured an HN-5 allegedly destined for the FARC in the border province of
Sucumbíos, near Colombia, in July 2013.
Europe Bosnia The
Army of Republika Srpska, backed by the
Armed Forces of Serbia and Montenegro, used Strela-2M and upgraded Strela-2M/A missiles against Bosnian, Croatian, and NATO forces. On 3 September 1992, an
Italian Air Force G.222 transport was presumably shot down by an Strela-2M during a United Nations relief mission near Sarajevo. Serbian forces shot down a
Croatian Air Force MiG-21 in September 1993 with a Strela-2M. On 17 December 1994, a
French Navy Dassault Étendard IVP was hit by a Strela-2M, but managed to return to its carrier. During
Operation Deliberate Force, NATO pilots were instructed to fly in medium altitudes to avoid Bosnian Serb MANPADS, such as the Strela-2 and the more modern Igla, although on 30 August 1995 a
French Air Force Mirage 2000N was shot down by a Bosnian Serb MANPADS and its crew captured, the only aircraft lost during the campaign due hostile fire.
Northern Ireland The
Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) acquired some missiles from Libya. One was reported to have been fired at a
British Army Air Corps Lynx helicopter in July 1991 in
South Armagh; however, it missed its target. To counter the new threat, the British helicopters flew in pairs below 15 meters (50 feet) or above 150 meters (500 feet).
Spain In 2001, the Basque separatist group
ETA tried on three occasions (29 April, 4 and 11 May) to use Strela 2 missiles to shoot down the
Dassault Falcon 900 aircraft with the then-Spanish Prime Minister
Jose Maria Aznar on board. The attempts, which were made near the
Fuenterrabía and
Foronda airports, were unsuccessful as each time the missiles failed to launch. In 2004, several systems were captured by the
Civil Guard. Some Strela 2 missiles were bought from the IRA in 1999, while Libya was tracked as the original source used by the IRA.
Ukraine During the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany reversed its ban on weapon sales to provide Ukraine with military support. On 23 March 2022, German Foreign Minister
Annalena Baerbock confirmed the delivery of 500 Strela-2 missiles which were part of former
East German arsenals. == Versions ==