During the 2023 Israel-Hamas War, AP-reviewed body-camera imagery showed Hamas fighters carrying and firing the Russian-designed 9M32 Strela-2 at Israeli aircraft.
Role detailsAir Defense
9M32 Strela-2 / SA-7 MANPADS
Also known as
- 9K32 Strela-2
- Strela-2
- SA-7
- SA-7 Grail
- 9M32
- 9K32
- 9M32M Strela-2M
- SA-7b Grail
The 9M32 Strela-2, NATO SA-7 Grail, is a Soviet infrared-guided MANPADS whose compact shoulder-fired design spread widely through state arsenals, proxy forces, and armed groups. Its conflict record ranges from confirmed launch reports to delivery, capture, or displayed-materiel evidence in the Soviet-Afghan War, Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Sinai, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Gaza.
Role in Conflicts
During the 2019 Tripoli campaign, GNA-aligned forces reported downing an LNA MiG-23 near the Yarmouk frontline; video reviewed by The Aviationist appeared to show GNA fighters firing a 9K32 Strela-2, while the source cautioned that the clip did not prove the missile caused the loss.
- Side
- Ukraine
Germany's official Ukraine military-support list records delivery of 2,700 Strela man-portable air-defense systems to Ukraine; the source supports transfer into the conflict, not a specific launch event.
Role details
Small Arms Survey assessed that Syrian armed groups acquired and used MANPADS during the civil war, including Strela-2 / Strela-2M examples documented through online imagery and reporting.
Role details
Azerbaijan's official postwar accounting said its forces seized six Strela-2 portable air-defense systems and launchers including Strela-2 from Armenian / Artsakh forces after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war; this documents fielded MANPADS materiel, not a confirmed launch.
During the 2011 Sinai Insurgency, Small Arms Survey assessed a 2015 Wilayah Sinai-linked image of a militant carrying a blurred launch tube and gripstock as physically consistent with a Strela-2 pattern MANPADS; the source documents displayed or fielded materiel, not a confirmed launch.
RAF-published analysis states that Afghan Mujahideen began receiving SA-7 MANPADS in 1982 and were able to use them against Soviet and Afghan government air forces, including a reported Grail hit on a Soviet transport aircraft in October 1984.
Profile / Specs
Profile
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Built by
- KBM Kolomna
- Type
- Man-portable surface-to-air missile system
- Service note
- Cold War
- Designer
- KBM Kolomna
- Designed
- c. 1964
- Developed into
- 9K34 Strela-3 / SA-14 Gremlin
Specifications
- Weight
- 9.15 kg
- Length
- 1.42 m
- Diameter
- 72 mm
- Range
- 0.8 to 3.4 km
- Ceiling
- 50 m to 1.5 km
- Guidance
- Single-channel passive infrared homing
- Warhead
- 1.17 kg high-explosive fragmentation
- Missile speed
- 430 m/s for Strela-2; 500 m/s for Strela-2M
- Engagement limits
- First-generation Strela-2-pattern MANPADS are generally tail-chase weapons and remain vulnerable to flares and other basic countermeasures
Design And Proliferation Notes
Strela-2 is useful to read as both a missile family and a proliferation case. The same compact launcher concept appears in state stocks, naval or vehicle mounts, and armed-group holdings, but the source trail varies from confirmed launches to captured or displayed materiel.
Guidance
The family uses single-channel passive infrared homing, making it compact and fire-and-forget while also shaping later countermeasure limits.
Family split
The Strela-2 / SA-7 family grouping covers the original 9M32 and the improved Strela-2M / SA-7b, while Strela-3 is a separate successor family.
Aging stocks
Small Arms Survey's 2024 MENA report found that Strela-2-pattern systems remain common in illicit circulation, while age, storage, batteries, and handling make functionality a case-by-case question.
Variants
The entry covers the Strela-2 / SA-7 family rather than a single launcher serial. The 9M32M Strela-2M was the main improved SA-7b missile, while Strela-3 became the next Soviet shoulder-fired family.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| 9M32M Strela-2M / SA-7b Grail | Improved Strela-2-family missile | Weaponsystems.net treats Strela-2M as the improved SA-7b member of the same family, while East German naval references document 9M32M missiles in FASTA-4M fits. Sources: 9K32 Strela-2, East German Navy - Naval Encyclopedia |
 | Successor MANPADS family | Weaponsystems.net describes Strela-3 as the later Soviet MANPADS known by NATO as SA-14 Gremlin; the linked catalog record covers that follow-on family separately. Sources: 9K34 Strela-3 |
Launch Platforms
The Strela-2 family was documented on East German FASTA-4M mounts used on ships, boats, and LO1800 vehicles.
| Launcher | Launcher type | Launch evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Quadruple launcher | RWD describes FASTA-4 as a four-launcher system for the 9K32 complex, Naval Encyclopedia documents East German Frosch-class landing ships carrying a quadruple Fasta-4M SAM fit with sixteen 9M32M missiles, and NavWeaps lists FASTA-4M as a German-designed four-barrel launcher for Strela-2 and Strela-3. Sources: Fla-Raketen-Startanlage FASTA-4, East German Navy - Naval Encyclopedia, Naval Missiles of Russia/USSR |
Timeline
9M32 Strela-2 / SA-7 MANPADS Key Events
Strela-2 enters Soviet service
Weaponsystems.net places the 9K32 Strela-2 / SA-7 family in Soviet service from 1968.
Sources: 9K32 Strela-2
SA-7 reaches Afghan resistance forces
RAF analysis says Afghan Mujahideen began receiving SA-7 MANPADS in 1982, adding a shoulder-fired missile threat to Soviet and Afghan government aircraft.
Sources: The Experiences of the Soviet Air Force in Afghanistan 1979-1989
Syrian armed-group MANPADS holdings assessed
Small Arms Survey published its Syria issue brief documenting armed-group acquisition and use of MANPADS, including Strela-2-family systems.
Sources: Fire and Forget: The Proliferation of Man-portable Air Defence Systems in Syria
German Strela deliveries to Ukraine
Germany's official support list records 2,700 Strela MANPADS delivered to Ukraine during the Russia-Ukraine War.
Sources: Military support for Ukraine
Media
9M32 Strela-2 / SA-7 MANPADS Videos
9M32 Strela-2 / SA-7 MANPADS Images
Related Weapon Systems
Sources
9K32 Strela-2Publisher: Weaponsystems.net | Note: Supports the Soviet origin, KBM Kolomna developer, service entry, and core specifications for the 9K32 Strela-2 / SA-7 family. | Accessed: 2026-07-08ODIN 9K32 Strela-2Publisher: U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command ODIN | Note: Supports U.S. Army reference context for the 9K32 Strela-2 as a Russian man-portable air-defense system and corroborates general system background. | Accessed: 2026-07-08Hamas fights with a patchwork of weapons built by Iran, China, Russia and North KoreaPublisher: Associated Press | Note: 2023 Israel-Hamas War: Hamas fighters were seen carrying and firing a Russian-designed 9M32 Strela in AP-reviewed body-camera imagery. | Accessed: 2026-07-08Libyan National Army Air Force MiG-23ML Shot Down By MANPADS Near TripoliPublisher: The Aviationist | Note: 2014 Second Libyan Civil War: GNA-aligned forces were reported to have used and fired a 9K32 Strela-2 MANPADS during the December 2019 LNA MiG-23 loss near Tripoli; the article cautions that the video does not conclusively prove the Strela caused the hit. | Accessed: 2026-07-08Accident Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23ML(AE) 26144Publisher: Aviation Safety Network | Note: 2014 Second Libyan Civil War: GNA forces were reported to have fired a Strela-2M missile at an LNA MiG-23 over the Yarmouk frontline in southern Tripoli. | Accessed: 2026-07-08Military support for UkrainePublisher: Federal Government of Germany | Note: 2014 Russia-Ukraine War: Germany's official military-support list records delivery of 2,700 Strela man-portable air-defense systems to Ukraine. | Accessed: 2026-07-08Fire and Forget: The Proliferation of Man-portable Air Defence Systems in SyriaPublisher: Small Arms Survey | Note: 2011 Syrian Civil War: assesses Syrian armed-group acquisition and use of MANPADS, including Strela-2 / Strela-2M examples documented through imagery, media reporting, and official statements. | Accessed: 2026-07-08Patriotic WarPublisher: Official web-site of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan | Note: 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: Strela-2 portable air-defense systems were fielded by Armenia / Artsakh and seized from those forces by the Azerbaijani Army after the 2020 war. | Accessed: 2026-07-08Missing Missiles: The Proliferation of Man-portable Air Defence Systems in North AfricaPublisher: Small Arms Survey | Note: 2011 Sinai Insurgency: Strela-2 pattern MANPADS were fielded by Islamic State Sinai Province-linked militants in a 2015 image assessed as physically consistent with the system; the source does not document a confirmed launch. | Accessed: 2026-07-08The Experiences of the Soviet Air Force in Afghanistan 1979-1989Publisher: Royal Air Force Centre for Air and Space Power Studies | Note: 1979 Soviet-Afghan War: documents Mujahideen receipt and use of SA-7 / Grail MANPADS against Soviet and Afghan government air forces. | Accessed: 2026-07-08Strela-2 MANPADS -01Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for the primary Strela-2 museum photograph used in this entry. | Accessed: 2026-07-08Sa-7.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for the SA-7 launcher image used in the gallery. | Accessed: 2026-07-08SA-7a components.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for the public-domain component diagram used in the gallery. | Accessed: 2026-07-08Fla-Raketen-Startanlage FASTA-4Publisher: Raketen- und Waffentechnischer Dienst im Kdo. MB III | Note: Supports FASTA-4M as a four-launcher East German mount for the 9K32 complex and the vehicle/ship use context for the launcher family. | Accessed: 2026-07-08Naval Missiles of Russia/USSRPublisher: NavWeaps | Note: Supports FASTA-4M as a German-designed four-barrel launcher for Strela-2 and Strela-3. | Accessed: 2026-07-08East German Navy - Naval EncyclopediaPublisher: Naval Encyclopedia | Note: Supports East German naval use of FASTA-4M on Frosch-class landing ships carrying Strela-2M missiles. | Accessed: 2026-07-089K34 Strela-3Publisher: Weaponsystems.net | Note: Supports the Strela-3 / SA-14 Gremlin successor-family context linked from the Strela-2 entry. | Accessed: 2026-07-08Persistent Perils: Illicit MANPADS in the MENA RegionPublisher: Small Arms Survey | Note: Supports background context on the prevalence, age, functionality caveats, and countermeasure limits of Strela-2-pattern MANPADS in illicit and armed-group circulation. | Accessed: 2026-07-08