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Alternate Name:	SA-3 Goa, Pechora-2M
Country:	Russia
Warhead:	HE
Basing:	Land

Details

The S-125 (NATO: SA-3 Goa) is a low-altitude surface-to-air missile system developed, manufactured, and deployed by the Russians. Designed to track and destroy low-altitude targets such as aircraft, helicopters, and cruise missiles, the system has been proliferated to over 30 countries in recent years.

 

In 1954, the Soviet Union deployed what would become its primary surface-to-air missile system through the 1980s, the medium- to high-altitude S-75 (NATO: SA-2 Guideline). In order to provide an additional layer of defense against low-altitude targets, the Soviets developed a short-range missile system known as the S-125, which was completed and deployed in March 1961.(1) The S-125 featured a smaller interceptor missile: 6.70 meters long, 0.60 meters in diameter, with a launch weight of 400 kilograms. Unlike the S-75, it was armed with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead (rather than a nuclear weapon).(2)

 

During the 1960s and 1970s, the Soviets proliferated the S-125 throughout Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, where it was used by enemies of the United States against low-flying aircraft and helicopters. Most notably, the system was deployed by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War, and also by the Egyptians during the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973; the system proved remarkably effective against low-altitude targets in both conflicts.(3) During this period, the Soviets proliferated the S-125 to at least 34 countries.(4)

 

By the 1980s, however, the S-125 had become outdated within the Soviet Union’s military arsenal. In order to keep pace with the expanding military power of the United States, Moscow decided to replace its S-75 and S-125 systems with a new pair of surface-to-air missiles: the S-300P (NATO: SA-10 Grumble) and the S-300V (NATO: SA-12A Gladiator and SA-12B Giant). Deployed during the 1980s, the S-300P and the S-300V featured expanded ranges, altitudes, and kill zones, as well as higher levels of mobility.(5)

 

As the Soviets began removing the S-125 from service, they increased the system’s exportation to Third World nations, a trend that continued after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the Russians relied on weapons sales to boost their ailing economy.(6) It was during this period, for instance, that Yugoslavia built up a sizable arsenal of S-125 missiles: 14 batteries and 60 launchers. In 1999, 40 of these batteries were still operational, as demonstrated when Serbia used an S-125 to shoot down an American F-177A Stealth bomber.(7)

 

In 2000, the Russians decided to modernize the obsolete S-125 system to make it more attractive to customer nations. The S-125 Pechora-2M, as the upgrade became known, featured a new booster, an improved radar fuse, a longer range (27 kilometers), an increased kill probability, better resistance to jamming, and the ability to engage multiple targets.(8) It also had an increased capability against cruise missiles, as witnessed in 2003 when the Pechora-2M was tested against the medium-range Strizh-2 and the low-altitude Strizh-3 target missiles.(9)

 

Through the Pechora-2M, the Russians created a “promising and profitable” export market.(10) They stressed the system’s enhanced ability against U.S. targets, thus increasing its value among rogue nations and terrorist-sponsoring regimes. According to Viktor Vishchuk, First Deputy Director General of Defense Systems OJSC: “Local conflicts, especially those involving American aircraft, demand new qualities from contemporary air defense systems.”(11) In other words, older surface-to-air missiles were not performing as well as they used to against U.S. targets, and needed to be upgraded.

 

In September 2002, U.S. intelligence discovered that Iraq had acquired the Pechora-2M. In aerial photographs taken by Coalition aircraft, it was determined that Iraq had deployed several of the upgraded missiles along with its older S-125s. It turned out that the Iraqis had been firing the enhanced Pechora-2Ms at U.S. and British aircraft patrolling the no-fly zones in the north and south of the country. It was not known how Iraq had managed to obtain the missiles.(12)

 

More recently, the U.S. mission in Iraq has led to an increased demand for Pechora-2M missiles in the Middle East. According to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov: “Applications for Russian weapons systems have soared … Thank you for the free advertisement.”(13) Defense analysts have speculated that Russia has sold the upgraded S-125 to Syria, Iran, and perhaps the United Arab Emirates.(14) This trend will most likely continue.

 

 

 

 

Footnotes

 

1. Michal Fiszer and Jerzy Gruszczynski, “Castles in the Sky,” Journal of Electronic Defense, 1 February 2002; William T. Lee, The ABM Treaty Charade: A Study in Elite Illusion and Delusion (Washington, DC: Council for Social and Economic Studies, 1997), 25; Pavel Podvig, ed., Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces (Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press, 2001), 405.
2. Lee, 73; Podvig, 405; “Anti-Aircraft Missile Complexes of the Ground Forces,” Tekhnika i Vooruzenie 6, 2003, pp. 1-40; GlobalSecurity.org.
3. Vladimir Isachenkov, “Iraq’s Soviet-Made Weapons Useless in Desert but Could Be Deadly in Street Fighting,” The Associated Press, 17 March 2003; “Egypt Prepares for Russian-Made S-125 Upgraded Systems,” Al-Bawaba News, 23 September 2001. 
4. “Russian Official Upbeat on Upgraded Pechora-2M Tests,” Interfax-AVN, 24 April 2002; “‘Russia Day’ Marked at Arms Exhibition in Belarusian Capital, Minsk,” Channel One TV (Moscow), 14 May 2003.
5. Fiszer and Gruszczynski, “Castles in the Sky.”
6. “Russia to Sell Obsolete Aircraft, Missiles,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, 1 July 1998, 7.
7. Yuri Avdeyev, “Surprise for Stealths,” Krasnaya Zvezda, 25 December 2003, 3; James Hasik, “Air Defenses after Kosovo,” Proceedings (United States Naval Institute), 1 December 2001; Steven J. Zaloga, “The Evolving SAM Threat: Kosovo and Beyond,” Journal of Electronic Defense, 1 May 2000. 
8. Michal Fiszer and Jerzy Gruszczynski, “Modernized Pechora-2M in Iraq?” Journal of Electronic Defense, 1 December 2002; David C. Isby, “Pechora-2M Test Successful,” Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, 1 December 2001.
9. David C. Isby, “Pechora-2M Shows Anti-Cruise Missile Capability,” Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, 1 May 2003.
10. Vladislav Kuznetsov, “Russia Agency to Modernize Exported Air Defense Means,” ITAR-TASS, 4 July 2003.
11. Yuri Avdeyev, “Surprise for Stealths,” Krasnaya Zvezda, 25 December 2003, p. 3.
12. Fiszer and Gruszczynski, “Modernized Pechora-2M in Iraq?;” “Iraq Using New Mobile Missile Launchers,” Agence France-Presse, 1 July 2002; David C. Isby, “Iraq Adds Booster to Some V-750 SAMs,” Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, 1 January 2003; Tim Ripley, “Iraq Deploys Mobile S-125 Launcher System,” Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, 1 August 2002; Tim Ripley, “UK Identifies New Iraqi SAM Launcher,” Jane’s Intelligence Review, 1 July 2002.
13. Lyuba Pronina, “Russia Sees War as a Free Ad for Arms,” The Moscow Times, 15 April 2003.
14. “Russia to Deliver Improved Air-Defence System to Middle East,” Interfax-AVN, 10 June 2003.

Russia Pechora Defense Passes Test Against Cruise Missiles

July 15, 2005 :: Interfax :: News

The Russian Pechora 2-M surface-to-air missile has completed its field testing, reports Interfax-AVN. The Pechora 2-M is an upgraded version of the older S-125 (SA-3) system, largely designed to appeal to the export market. Notably, the Pechora features an increased capability against cruise missiles, as witnessed in 2003 when the missile was tested against the medium-range Strizh-2 and the low-altitude Strizh-3 target missiles. According to a statement by Russia’s Oboronitelnyye Sistemy company, the Pechora 2-M is now “ready for series production as a complete set in the interests of the Russian Defense Ministry and foreign customers.” The report specifies that over 70 missiles were launched during the test period, each allegedly hitting its target. (Article, Link) 

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