9A317M TELAR

Also known as

Buk-M3 TELAR
9K317M Buk-M3 TELAR
9A317M Buk-M3
9A317ME
9A317ME TELAR
Viking TELAR
Buk-M3 Viking TELAR
SA-27 Gollum TELAR

The 9A317M TELAR is the autonomous tracked firing vehicle for Russia's 9K317M Buk-M3 medium-range surface-to-air missile system. Open technical sources describe it as a six-canister, radar-equipped self-propelled firing unit able to receive target designation, track targets, prepare missile flight tasks, illuminate targets, and launch 9M317M-family missiles; Ukraine-war reporting and loss documentation identify Russian 9A317M TELARs and Buk-M3 launchers as battlefield air-defense targets.

9A317M TELAR, Tracked Buk-M3 transporter erector launcher and radar, Air Defense

Image source: File:9A317ME Buk-M3-Viking ARMY-2022.jpg

Role in Conflicts

Side: Russia

Russian 9A317M TELARs and 9K317M Buk-M3 launchers are documented in Ukraine-war reporting and loss tracking: The War Zone reported Russian Buk-M3 activity in Ukraine in March 2022, Espreso reported a Russian 9A317M of the 9K317M Buk-M3 destroyed in Kherson region, Euromaidan Press cited footage of a Russian Buk-M3 force package in Kursk Oblast that included a 9A317M TELAR, Ukrainska Pravda reported a Ukrainian intelligence strike on a Russian 9K317M Buk-M3 in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and WarSpotting lists multiple Russian 9A317M TELAR losses.

Role details

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin: Russia
Built by: Almaz-AnteyUlyanovsk Mechanical Plant
Type: Tracked Buk-M3 transporter erector launcher and radar
Service note: Buk-M3 generation firing vehicle adopted by Russia in 2016 and documented during the full-scale phase of the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.
Designer: V. V. Tikhomirov Scientific Research Institute of Instrument Design (NIIP)
Designed: Buk-M3 development under chief designer E. A. Pigin from 2007 in Missilery.info's summary
Produced: Adopted and first supplied to Russian forces in 2016; serial production organized at Ulyanovsk Mechanical Plant

Specifications

Parent system: 9K317M Buk-M3 medium-range surface-to-air missile system
Vehicle role: Autonomous self-propelled firing unit / TELAR with onboard target detection, tracking, illumination, missile flight-task preparation, launch, and radio-correction functions
Ready missiles: Six 9M317M-family missiles in transport-launch containers on the 9A317M TELAR
Missile family: 9M317M for Buk-M3; export 9M317ME in Viking references
Chassis: GM-5969 tracked chassis in Missilery.info's 9A317M description; Army Recognition describes a GM-569/GM-569A tracked armored chassis for Buk-M3/Viking
Crew: 4 in Army Recognition's Buk-M3 vehicle specifications
Engagement range: 2.5-70 km for Buk-M3 target range in Missilery.info; Rosoboronexport lists up to 65 km slant range for Viking against aircraft with 2 m2 RCS
Target kill altitude: 0.015-35 km in Missilery.info's Buk-M3 characteristics
Simultaneous targets: Up to six targets for a 9A317M firing unit; up to 36 air targets for a full Buk-M3 configuration
Radar sector: 9A317M illumination/guidance station sector listed by Missilery.info as +/-45 degrees azimuth and up to +70 degrees elevation, expanding after target track setup
Maximum target speed: 3,000 m/s in Missilery.info's Buk-M3 characteristics; Rosoboronexport lists up to 4,800 m/s for Viking targets
Vehicle dimensions: Army Recognition lists about 9.3 m length, 3.25 m width, and 3.8 m height
Road speed and range: Army Recognition lists 70 km/h maximum road speed and 500 km road range

Variants

Variant	Configuration	Designation notes
9A317ME TELAR	Export Viking self-propelled firing unit	Rosoboronexport's Viking export page describes the 9A317ME self-propelled firing unit, while Commons identifies the primary image as a 9A317ME TELAR at Army-2022. Sources: Viking - Rosoboronexport, File:9A317ME Buk-M3-Viking ARMY-2022.jpg
9A317 TELAR	Earlier Buk-M2 TELAR	The 9A317M succeeds the Buk-M2 generation 9A317 firing vehicle with a six-canister Buk-M3 launch arrangement and updated radar/fire-control functions. Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info, Buk-M3 Viking 9K317M - Army Recognition

Variant

Configuration

Designation notes

9A317ME TELAR

Export Viking self-propelled firing unit

Rosoboronexport's Viking export page describes the 9A317ME self-propelled firing unit, while Commons identifies the primary image as a 9A317ME TELAR at Army-2022.

Sources: Viking - Rosoboronexport, File:9A317ME Buk-M3-Viking ARMY-2022.jpg

9A317 TELAR

Earlier Buk-M2 TELAR

The 9A317M succeeds the Buk-M2 generation 9A317 firing vehicle with a six-canister Buk-M3 launch arrangement and updated radar/fire-control functions.

Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info, Buk-M3 Viking 9K317M - Army Recognition

Launched Missiles

The 9A317M is documented with the Buk-M3 missile branch in sealed transport-launch containers.

Launched item	Item type	Launch evidence
9M317 surface-to-air missile	9M317 family missile record	Missilery.info identifies the 9M317M missile as part of Buk-M3 and describes it as a longer-range development of the 9M317 missile; the linked catalog record covers the broader 9M317 family context. Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info

Launched item

Item type

Launch evidence

9M317 surface-to-air missile

9M317 family missile record

Missilery.info identifies the 9M317M missile as part of Buk-M3 and describes it as a longer-range development of the 9M317 missile; the linked catalog record covers the broader 9M317 family context.

Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info

Fire-Control Radar

Buk-M3 sources place the radar-equipped 9A317M firing vehicle inside a wider fire-control architecture that can also use a separate illumination and guidance radar.

Compatible item	Item type	Compatibility evidence
9S36M radar	Buk-M3 illumination and guidance radar	Missilery.info lists 9S36M illumination and guidance radars in the same Buk-M3 combat composition as 9A317M firing vehicles, says a 9S36M can support two 9A316M launchers, and describes the 9A317M illumination and guidance station as similar in design to the 9S36M radar; Rosoboronexport describes the related 9S36ME radar as performing target illumination and missile-command tasks in the Viking export system. Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info, Viking - Rosoboronexport

Compatible item

Item type

Compatibility evidence

9S36M radar

Buk-M3 illumination and guidance radar

Missilery.info lists 9S36M illumination and guidance radars in the same Buk-M3 combat composition as 9A317M firing vehicles, says a 9S36M can support two 9A316M launchers, and describes the 9A317M illumination and guidance station as similar in design to the 9S36M radar; Rosoboronexport describes the related 9S36ME radar as performing target illumination and missile-command tasks in the Viking export system.

Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info, Viking - Rosoboronexport

Attached Launcher

Buk-M3 battery descriptions pair the radar-equipped TELAR with a separate high-capacity launcher that relies on a firing vehicle or radar for launch data.

Compatible item	Item type	Compatibility evidence
9A316M launcher	Buk-M3 transporter erector launcher	Missilery.info says each 9A317M self-propelled firing vehicle can be assigned one 9A316M launcher, and Rosoboronexport says the 9A317ME export firing unit transfers the information, commands, and signals needed to form a flight task to an attached 9A316ME launcher. Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info, Viking - Rosoboronexport

Compatible item

Item type

Compatibility evidence

9A316M launcher

Buk-M3 transporter erector launcher

Missilery.info says each 9A317M self-propelled firing vehicle can be assigned one 9A316M launcher, and Rosoboronexport says the 9A317ME export firing unit transfers the information, commands, and signals needed to form a flight task to an attached 9A316ME launcher.

Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info, Viking - Rosoboronexport

Buk-M3 Firing-Unit Context

The 9A317M is the radar-equipped firing vehicle inside the Buk-M3 battery, not the entire 9K317M system. That distinction matters because battlefield reports may name a Buk-M3 system, a launcher, or a specific TELAR depending on the evidence visible in the imagery.

Firing unit

Missilery.info describes the 9A317M autonomous self-propelled firing unit with a multichannel illumination and guidance station, digital computer, communications, launch automation, and six transport-launch containers for 9M317M missiles.

Export label

Rosoboronexport uses 9A317ME for the Viking export self-propelled firing unit and describes it as able to engage up to six targets from its own launcher and an attached 9A316ME launcher.

Launcher split

Army Recognition and Missilery.info distinguish the six-missile TELAR from the 9A316M/ME launcher, which carries twelve missiles but receives launch data from a firing unit or illumination radar.

Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info; Viking - Rosoboronexport; Buk-M3 Viking 9K317M - Army Recognition.

Timeline

9A317M TELAR Key Events

Jan 1, 2007
Buk-M3 development context
Missilery.info says Buk-M3 development under chief designer E. A. Pigin began in 2007 at the Tikhomirov institute.
Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info
Jan 1, 2016
Adoption and first Russian delivery
Missilery.info places Buk-M3 adoption in 2016 and says the first Buk-M3 division was supplied to Russian armed forces in October 2016.
Sources: 9K317M Buk-M3 - Missilery.info
Aug 23, 2018
Buk-M3 Viking shown publicly
MDAA's Army Recognition summary reported Almaz-Antey's Army-2018 presentation of the Buk-M3 Viking and described a battery with two 9A317M TELARs and one 9A316M TEL.
Sources: Almaz-Antey Presents Buk-M3 Viking - MDAA
Mar 21, 2022
Buk-M3 elements reported around Ukraine
The War Zone reported footage of Buk-M3 elements in Ukraine or near its borders, then updated the article to note a Russian Ministry of Defence video purporting to show a Buk-M3 system in action somewhere in Ukraine.
Sources: Buk-M3 Appears In Ukraine - The War Zone
Nov 30, 2023
9A317M Buk-M3 vehicle destroyed in Kherson region
Espreso reported that Southern Defense Forces showed the destruction of a Russian launcher in Kherson region and identified the destroyed vehicle as a 9A317M of the 9K317M Buk-M3 complex.
Sources: Russian 9A317M Buk-M3 Destroyed in Kherson Region - Espreso
Sep 24, 2024
9A317M TELAR identified in Kursk strike footage
Euromaidan Press cited Militarnyi's review of strike footage showing a Russian Buk-M3 package in Kursk Oblast with a 9A316M TEL and a 9A317M TELAR.
Sources: Ukraine Degrades Russian Air Defense - Euromaidan Press
Sep 14, 2025
Ukrainian intelligence reports Buk-M3 strike
Ukrainska Pravda reported that Ukrainian Defence Intelligence struck a Russian 9K317M Buk-M3 system near Oleksandrivka in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Sources: Russian Buk-M3 Destroyed in Zaporizhzhia - Ukrainska Pravda