The 9A316M is the tracked transporter erector launcher used with Russia's 9K317M Buk-M3 medium-range surface-to-air missile system. It carries a larger ready missile load than the radar-equipped 9A317M TELAR but depends on a 9A317M firing vehicle or 9S36M illumination and guidance radar for target and launch data; Ukraine-war reporting has identified a Russian 9A316M TEL operating with a 9A317M TELAR in Kursk Oblast.
Euromaidan Press, citing Militarnyi's review of strike footage from Kursk Oblast, reported that Ukrainian forces found two Russian Buk-M3 vehicles: a 9A316M TEL and a 9A317M TELAR, with one launcher directly hit by a GMLRS rocket.
Role detailsOpen sources distinguish the domestic 9A316M launcher from the 9A316ME export Viking launcher, while both are non-radar Buk-M3-family TEL vehicles that receive fire-control data from a firing vehicle or illumination radar.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| 9A316M | Domestic Buk-M3 launcher | Missilery.info lists 9A316M self-propelled launchers in the 9K317M Buk-M3 composition and says they can be assigned to a 9A317M firing vehicle or a 9S36M radar. Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info |
| 9A316ME | Export Viking launcher | Rosoboronexport describes the 9A316ME launcher as an attached launcher receiving information, commands, and signals from the 9A317ME self-propelled firing unit; Commons identifies the primary image as a 9A316ME at Army-2022. Sources: Viking - Rosoboronexport, File:9A316ME Buk-M3 Viking at ARMY-2022.jpg |
The 9A316M is a high-capacity launcher without the 9A317M TELAR's onboard engagement radar, so public Buk-M3 sources describe it through the firing vehicles and radars that feed it launch data.
| Compatible item | Item type | Compatibility evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Buk-M3 self-propelled firing vehicle | Missilery.info says each 9A317M firing vehicle can be assigned one 9A316M launcher, and Rosoboronexport says the 9A317ME export firing unit transfers information, commands, and signals to an attached 9A316ME launcher. Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info, Viking - Rosoboronexport |
 | Buk-M3 illumination and guidance radar | Missilery.info says a 9S36M illumination and guidance radar can be assigned two 9A316M launchers in a Buk-M3 configuration. Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info |
| Launched item | Item type | Launch evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Buk-family surface-to-air missile | Missilery.info ties the 9A316M launcher to the Buk-M3 missile branch and describes the 9M317M as the missile developed for Buk-M3, while the linked catalog record covers the broader 9M317 family context. Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info |
The 9A316M is the Buk-M3 launcher vehicle, while the 9A317M is the radar-equipped firing vehicle. That boundary matters because reports may describe both as Buk-M3 launchers, but only the TELAR carries its own engagement radar.
Missilery.info lists up to twelve 9A316M launchers in a Buk-M3 complex, and Army Recognition describes the 9A316M TEL as carrying twelve missiles.
A 9A316M launcher can be assigned to a 9A317M firing vehicle or to a 9S36M illumination and guidance radar, which provide the fire-control path the launcher itself lacks.
The 9A316ME export launcher appears in Rosoboronexport Viking material and in an open-license Army-2022 image on Wikimedia Commons.
Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info; Viking - Rosoboronexport; Buk-M3 Viking 9K317M - Army Recognition; File:9A316ME Buk-M3 Viking at ARMY-2022.jpg.
Missilery.info says the 9K317M Buk-M3 system was adopted in 2016 and that the first Buk-M3 division was supplied to Russian armed forces in October 2016.
Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info
Wikimedia Commons identifies a Russian Ministry of Defence image as a 9A316M Buk-M3 launcher photographed during a Caspian Flotilla air-defense exercise report.
Sources: File:9A316M Buk-M3 Launcher Mil.ru.jpg
Euromaidan Press reported Militarnyi's identification of a Russian 9A316M TEL and 9A317M TELAR in footage of a Ukrainian strike on a Buk-M3 force package in Kursk Oblast.
Sources: Ukraine Degrades Russian Air Defense - Euromaidan Press
