Munitions

3M8 anti-aircraft guided missile

Also known as
  • 3M8
  • 3M8M
  • 3M8M1
  • 3M8M2
  • 3M8M3
  • 9M8
  • 9M8M1
  • 9M8M2
  • SA-4 Ganef missile
  • Krug missile

The 3M8 is the large Soviet surface-to-air missile built for the 2K11 Krug / SA-4 Ganef tracked air-defense system. It combined four solid-fuel launch boosters with a kerosene ramjet sustainer, a heavy fragmentation warhead, and command-guidance integration with Krug radars and launchers. In the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict record, direct public evidence is limited to captured 3M8 missiles documented with abandoned Armenian Krug equipment after the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive.

3M8 anti-aircraft guided missile, Soviet ramjet-powered surface-to-air missile carried and launched by the 2K11 Krug system, Munitions
Image source: 3M8 surface-to-air missile '3M8M3K0215' at the Swabian Farmers and Technology Museum. 23-4-2023 (54810356270).jpg

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Soviet Union
Type
Soviet ramjet-powered surface-to-air missile carried and launched by the 2K11 Krug system
Service note
Cold War missile retained with legacy Krug systems
Designer
Lyulev OKB / OKB-8
Designed
Late 1950s to mid-1960s
Produced
1960s-1970s
Developed from
2K11 Krug / SA-4 Ganef

Specifications

Propulsion
Four solid-fuel boosters followed by a kerosene-powered ramjet sustainer
Guidance/control
Radio-command guidance through the Krug system; sources differ on planned or variant terminal-homing details
Warhead
About 135-150 kg high-explosive fragmentation warhead with radio/proximity fuze
Launch weight
About 2,450-2,455 kg
Range
Baseline about 11-45 km; later Krug variants reached roughly 50-55 km depending on source and missile fit
Engagement altitude
Baseline about 3-23.5 km; later Krug-M1 envelope about 0.15-24.5 km
Length
About 8.4 m
Diameter
About 850 mm
Control surfaces
Mid-body movable wings with tail stabilizers around the ramjet body
Missile Architecture

The 3M8 was built around a large ramjet body rather than a compact rocket motor. Public technical sources describe four detachable solid-fuel boosters for launch acceleration, a kerosene ramjet sustainer for the main flight, and a central intake body that housed the warhead, fuze, and pressure equipment.

Launch sequence

Boosters accelerated the missile before the ramjet sustainer took over.

System dependency

The missile depended on the Krug launcher and radar chain rather than operating as an independent round.

Evidence limit

Conflict evidence here documents captured 3M8 missiles with Krug equipment, not confirmed missile firings.

Variants

Sources use both 3M8 and later 9M8-style designations for Krug missiles. The family rows below keep the catalog's 3M8 naming while noting the Krug system versions that public sources tie to the missile improvements.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
3M8M / Krug-A missile fitDead-zone reduction upgrade

Krug-A reduced the system's minimum engagement altitude and minimum range compared with the original Krug version.

Sources: 2K11 anti-aircraft missile system Krug, The Saving Circle: how the world's first self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system was created

3M8M1 / Krug-M missile fitRange and altitude improvement

Krug-M is described with an improved far boundary of about 50 km and an upper engagement boundary around 24.5 km.

Sources: 2K11 anti-aircraft missile system Krug

3M8M2 / 3M8M3 / Krug-M1 missile fitLow-altitude and close-range improvement

Krug-M1 lowered the close engagement boundary to roughly 150 m altitude and 6-7 km range; sources also identify later missile references as 9M8M2/3M8M2 or museum-displayed 3M8M3 rounds.

Sources: 2K11 anti-aircraft missile system Krug, SA-4 GANEF, 2K11 Krug anti-aircraft missile system. 2022

Launch Platform

The 3M8 was the missile carried and fired by the tracked 2K11 Krug surface-to-air missile complex.

LauncherLauncher typeLaunch evidence
2K11 Krug / SA-4 Ganef, Tracked medium-range surface-to-air missile system, Air Defense2K11 Krug / SA-4 GanefTracked surface-to-air missile system

Krug documentation identifies 3M8 as the missile carried on 2P24 launchers and launched as part of the wider air-defense complex.

Sources: 2K11 Krug (SA-4 Ganef), 2K11 anti-aircraft missile system Krug, Legacy Air Defence System Vehicles

Timeline

3M8 anti-aircraft guided missile Key Events

  1. Krug development work begins

    Soviet work on the mobile Krug air-defense complex began with NII-20 leading the system and OKB-8/Lyulyev developing the 3M8 missile.

    Sources: 2K11 anti-aircraft missile system Krug, The Saving Circle: how the world's first self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system was created

  2. Krug accepted into service

    VPK/TASS reporting says the 2K11 Krug complex was accepted into Soviet service by USSR Ministry of Defense order.

    Sources: The Saving Circle: how the world's first self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system was created

  3. Krug-A modernization enters service

    Krug-A reduced the system dead zone, lowering the minimum range and minimum altitude for engagements.

    Sources: 2K11 anti-aircraft missile system Krug, The Saving Circle: how the world's first self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system was created

  4. Krug-M improves envelope

    Krug-M improved the far and upper boundaries of the engagement zone for the missile system.

    Sources: 2K11 anti-aircraft missile system Krug

  5. Krug-M1 lowers close engagement limits

    Krug-M1 further reduced the system's low-altitude and close-range engagement limits.

    Sources: 2K11 anti-aircraft missile system Krug, The Saving Circle: how the world's first self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system was created

  6. 3M8 missiles reported seized in Karabakh

    Azerbaijan's defense ministry said abandoned Armenian Krug equipment near Khojaly included 2P24 launchers with 3M8 guided anti-aircraft missiles.

    Sources: Qarabag abandoned air-defense position video

Media

3M8 anti-aircraft guided missile Videos

3M8 anti-aircraft guided missile Images

3M8 anti-aircraft guided missile, Soviet ramjet-powered surface-to-air missile carried and launched by the 2K11 Krug system, Munitions - view 1
Source: 2P24 Transporter-Erector-Launcher with two 3M8 missiles of 2K1 surface-to-air missile complex «Krug» in Military-historical Museum of Artillery, Engineer and Signal Corps in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. Left view.jpg
Related Weapon Systems
2K11 Krug / SA-4 Ganef, Tracked medium-range surface-to-air missile system, Air DefenseAir Defense2K11 Krug / SA-4 GanefTracked medium-range surface-to-air missile systemThe 2K11 Krug, NATO reporting name SA-4 Ganef, is a Soviet tracked medium-range surface-to-air missile system built around 2P24 launchers, 3M8-series missiles, and separate acquisition and guidance radars. Successive Krug-A, Krug-M, and Krug-M1 updates reduced the system's dead zone and improved parts of its engagement envelope. In the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict record, public evidence documents Armenian and Artsakh Krug equipment as legacy air defense and later as damaged, captured, or seized materiel rather than confirmed missile firings.
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2K12 Kub / Kvadrat / SA-6 Gainful, Tracked medium-range surface-to-air missile system, Air DefenseAir Defense2K12 Kub / Kvadrat / SA-6 GainfulTracked medium-range surface-to-air missile systemThe 2K12 Kub, exported as Kvadrat and known to NATO as SA-6 Gainful, is a Soviet tracked medium-range surface-to-air missile system built around 3M9 missiles, 2P25 launch vehicles, and the 1S91 Straight Flush radar. Its conflict record spans the 1973 Yom Kippur War, where Egyptian and Syrian SA-6 batteries became a central air-defense problem for Israeli aviation, and later legacy use or transfer in Ukraine, Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh, Libya, and Yemen.
9M528 high-explosive fragmentation rocket, 300 mm high-explosive fragmentation rocket, MunitionsMunitions9M528 high-explosive fragmentation rocket300 mm high-explosive fragmentation rocketThe 9M528 is a Russian 300 mm high-explosive fragmentation artillery rocket for the 9K58/BM-30 Smerch family. It is the unitary blast-fragmentation option in the Smerch ammunition set, carrying a 243 kg warhead with 95 kg of explosive and 800 preformed fragments to a reported 90 km maximum range. Human Rights Watch linked the designation to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh fighting after Azerbaijan's mine-action agency identified a 9M528 rocket at Ayrija in Goranboy district.

Sources

The Saving Circle: how the world's first self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system was createdPublisher: VPK.name / TASS | Note: Supports 3M8 background, development chronology, Krug modernization context, and specifications including boosters, ramjet sustainer, missile dimensions, and warhead mass. | Accessed: 2026-07-032K11 Krug (SA-4 Ganef)Publisher: U.S. Army ODIN Worldwide Equipment Guide | Note: Supports 3M8 background, the Krug system relationship, and the launcher-and-missile arrangement used by the complex. | Accessed: 2026-07-033M8 anti-aircraft missilePublisher: Missilery.info | Note: Supports 3M8 missile architecture, propulsion details, dimensions, launch weight, warhead, fuze, and control-surface layout. | Accessed: 2026-07-032K11 anti-aircraft missile system KrugPublisher: Missilery.info | Note: Supports Krug development chronology, OKB-8/Lyulyev assignment, Plant No. 8 serial-production context, 3M8 system composition, and version engagement-envelope data. | Accessed: 2026-07-03SA-4 GANEFPublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports alternate 9M8-style missile designations, selected variant distinctions, propulsion, warhead, and guidance context. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Legacy Air Defence System VehiclesPublisher: Air Power Australia | Note: Supports 3M8 relationship to the 2K11 Krug system, 2P24 launcher, 1S12 acquisition radar, 1S32 Pat Hand guidance radar, and broad variant context. | Accessed: 2026-07-032K11 Krug anti-aircraft missile system. 2022Publisher: Polot | Note: Supports museum-display context for a 3M8M3 missile and secondary specification details for later Krug missile equipment. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Qarabag abandoned air-defense position videoPublisher: Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense | Note: Supports 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict direct-use context: Azerbaijan reported 3M8 guided anti-aircraft missiles seized from an abandoned Armenian air-defense position after the September 2023 Nagorno-Karabakh offensive. | Accessed: 2026-07-033M8 surface-to-air missile '3M8M3K0215' at the Swabian Farmers and Technology Museum. 23-4-2023 (54810356270).jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a preserved 3M8 missile display. | Accessed: 2026-07-032P24 Transporter-Erector-Launcher with two 3M8 missiles of 2K1 surface-to-air missile complex «Krug» in Military-historical Museum of Artillery, Engineer and Signal Corps in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. Left view.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for 3M8 missiles mounted on a Krug launcher. | Accessed: 2026-07-03