9K35 Strela - 10 The 9K35 " Strela - 10 " ( ; ) is a highly mobile , visually aimed , optical / infra - red guided , low - altitude , short - range surface to air missile system . " 9K35 " is its GRAU designation ; its NATO reporting name is SA - 13 " Gopher " . Development . The 9K35 is the successor of the 9K31 Strela - 1 ( SA - 9 " Gaskin " ) and can also use the Strela - 1 ' s missiles in place of the 9M37 . Development of the 9K37 Strela - 10SV system was initiated July 24 , 1969 . The decision to begin the development of a new non - all - weather system was taken despite the simultaneous development of an all - weather hybrid gun / missile system 9K22 " Tunguska " mainly as an economical measure . It was also seen as advantageous to have a system capable of fast reaction times and immunity to heavy radio - frequency jamming . Rather than being mounted on an amphibious but lightly armoured BRDM chassis like the SA - 9 , the SA - 13 is mounted on a more mobile tracked , modified MT - LB , with more room for equipment and missile reloads . Provision for amphibious capability is provided in some variants in the form of polyurethane - filled floats . The Strela - 10SV system and its 9M37 missile were tested in Donguzkom range from 1973 to 1974 , but the results were disappointing : the system was found deficient in terms of missile probability of kill , vehicle reliability , among other things . Acceptance to service was thus delayed until May 16 , 1976 , by which time improvements had been introduced to the system . Development of the system continued throughout the years through Strela - 10M , - 10M2 and - 10M3 variants introducing among other things improved radio communications and provision for better integration to the Soviet integrated air defence system air picture data . Also improved missiles ( 9M37M and 9M333 ) have been developed . and by September 2007 the 9K35M3 - K Kolchan variant , mounted on a BTR - 60 wheeled chassis , was displayed for the first time at the Moscow Air Show MAKS 2007 . Description . Associated systems and vehicles . The 9K35 is a SAM system with electro - optical guidance . It has the capability to use radars for target acquisition and range . Some vehicles have a pintle - mounted PKT 7 . 62 mm machine gun in front of the forward hatch for local protection . Other vehicles have been seen with additional support railings for the system on the rear deck . The following is a list of associated equipment : Missiles . The Strela - 10 system was originally designed to use the 9M37 missile as its primary weapon , but its launch system was designed to be also backwards compatible with the 9M31M missile of the earlier 9K31 Strela - 1 ( SA - 9 " Gaskin " ) system . Each 9M37 missile is 2 . 2 m ( 7 . 2 ft ) long , weighs 40 kg ( 88 pounds ) and carries a 3 . 5 kg ( 7 - 15 pound ) warhead . The maximum speed of the missile is near Mach 2 , engagement range is from 500 . . . 800 to 5000 m ( 0 . 3 – 3 miles ) and engagement altitude is between 10 and 3500 m ( 33 - 11 , 500 ft ) . ( The ranges define the zone of target intercept , minimum and maximum launch distances are longer for approaching and shorter for receding targets , depending on the target ' s speed , altitude and flight direction . ) Four missiles are mounted on the turret in boxes , ready to launch , and eight more are carried inside the vehicle as reloads . Reloading takes around 3 minutes . The 9M37 was quickly replaced with a slightly improved 9M37M ( main improvement was in more efficient autopilot system for missile flight path control ) , and later the more significantly upgraded 9M333 , which introduced : All missiles — 9M31M , 9M37 , 9M37M and 9M333 — are equipped with optical homing heads utilizing reticle - based photocontrast and / or infrared homing . 9M333 is said to have particularly good countermeasures resistance due to its triple - channel homing head , while the photocontrast channel of 9M37 / 9M37M is described as back - up method to the IR channel . All main variants — Strela - 10SV , Strela - 10M , Strela - 10M2 and Strela - 10M3 — can use all aforementioned missile types . The main characteristics of the missiles are listed in the table below , based on source number , unless otherwise noted . For comparison purposes data for nearest western equivalent , the somewhat larger and heavier MIM - 72 Chaparral , is also provided . ( * ) Contract for production of MIM - 72G by retrofitting new components was awarded in late 1982 , with all missile in US service upgraded by late 1980s . New production of MIM - 72G missiles started in 1990 . As the photocontrast channel provides effective head - on engagement ability , firing range against an approaching target can be considerably longer than the maximum ranges listed above , likewise maximum firing range would be considerably less than the maximum range of target destruction against a receding target . Definition of range and effective ceiling for MIM - 72 is unknown and the figures are therefore not directly comparable . Combat use . Operation Desert Storm . Iraq had several operational Strela - 10 systems in the beginning of the 1991 operation to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation , most if not all of which were organized as part of the battlefield air defence systems of the Republican Guard divisions . During the operation , a total of 27 coalition aircraft are believed to have been hit by Iraqi IR - homing SAMs , resulting in a total of 14 aircraft losses . Some of the aircraft losses were shot down on the spot , while others , such as the OA - 10A 77 - 0197 , managed to return to base only to be lost on a crashed landing . Others still landed safely but were since written off as total losses . At least two of the losses are believed to have been due to Strela - 10 hits : on Feb 15th an A - 10A Warthog 78 - 0722 of 353rd TFS / 354th TFW was hit by a SAM believed to be Strela - 10 some 60 miles north west of Kuwait city while attacking Republican Guard targets . Pilot Lt James Sweet ejected and was made a Prisoner of War . While attempting to protect Sweet on the ground , his wingman Steven Phyllis flying A - 10A 79 - 0130 was also hit by what is believed to have been a missile from a Strela - 10 . Phyllis was killed in the incident . Kosovo . One , possibly two OA - 10A Thunderbolt II aircraft are believed to have been hit by Serbian Strela - 10 SAMs . Both aircraft landed safely and were repaired and returned to service .