SA-6 GAINFUL

Low altitude, forward deployed, mobile radar guided surface to air missile.

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Description

The SA-6 is a low altitude surface to air missile dependent on radio command guidance immediately after launch and switching to semi-active radar homing in the terminal phase. In the event of jamming or radar shut down the SA-6 may be guided optically and acquire its target after launch. The SA-6 is a two-stage missile armed with a 56kg fragmentation warhead, with contact and proximity detonation capability.

The first stage of the missile is a solid rocket motor located inside the main body, near the tail fins. When this motor expends its fuel, it is ejected out of the tail and the cavity created by its absence becomes the combustion chamber for a ramjet sustainer. Ramjets are technically simple and relatively fuel efficient, allowing good performance and range. The rocket booster is needed to get the missile up to a speed that allows sufficient airflow to sustain combustion in the ramjet.

An SA-6 battery consists of four launchers, each armed with 3 missiles, a command vehicle equipped with a STRAIGHT FLUSH fire control radar, and missile reloads carried on modified 6x6 wheeled vehicles. The STRAIGHT FLUSH radar is capable of acquiring targets at 75km and can begin tracking and target illumination at 28km. The radar can only track a single target at a time, but can guide three missiles at a time. Normal practice is to volley fire a number of missiles from one or more launchers at each target to better ensure target destruction.

At the Regimental level a LONG TRACK target acquisition radar may be used to acquire and track targets at high altitude. While the STRAIGHT FLUSH radar is capable of engaging targets detected by the LONG TRACK radar at low altitude (via target data hand off) the SA-6 is dependent upon the LONG TRACK for target tracking and guidance at higher altitudes. When electronically guided the SA-6 has a minimum altitude of 100m and 80m when optically guided. The SA-6 is highly mobile and can be displaced to a new location within 15 minutes after system shut down.

Martin D. King contributed to this file.