Munitions

9M33 Osa

Also known as
  • 9M33
  • 9M33M
  • 9M33M1
  • 9M33M2
  • 9M33M3
  • SA-8 Gecko missile
  • SA-N-4 Gecko missile
  • Osa missile

The 9M33 Osa is the Soviet command-guided missile family fired by land-based 9K33 Osa vehicles and naval M-4 Osa-M point-defense launchers. The family spans exposed-rail early rounds, naval 9M33M/9M33M1 missiles, canistered 9M33M2 rounds for Osa-AK vehicles, and the later 9M33M3 missile associated with Osa-AKM. Direct conflict evidence is narrow but present: Bellingcat documented Jaish al-Islam launches of 9M33 missiles from captured Osa systems during the Syrian Civil War.

9M33 Osa, Command-guided short-range surface-to-air missile family, Munitions
Image source: File:9M33M3U Ostrava 2019.jpg

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Soviet Union
Type
Command-guided short-range surface-to-air missile family
Service note
Developed in the 1960s; adopted for land and naval Osa-family systems in the early 1970s
Produced
Early 1970s-present?

Specifications

Length
3.158 m
Diameter
0.206 m body
Wingspan
0.65 m
Weight
128 kg for 9M33/9M33M family figures in WeaponSystems.net; GlobalSecurity lists about 130 kg for the early SA-8a missile
Guidance
Radio command guidance
Warhead
19 kg HE-fragmentation warhead with contact and radio proximity fuze
Propulsion
Single-stage solid-propellant rocket motor
Speed
About 500 m/s in WeaponSystems.net technical data; GlobalSecurity lists Mach 2.4 for the early 9M33
Baseline range
2-9 km for 9M33/9M33M in WeaponSystems.net data
Improved range
1.5-10 km for 9M33M1/M2 in WeaponSystems.net data; up to 15 km for SA-8b / Gecko Mod 1 in GlobalSecurity data
Minimum altitude
50 m over land for early 9M33/9M33M data; 25 m over land for 9M33M1/M2 and later low-altitude improvements
Variants

9M33 family designations separate the original land missile from naval, canistered, and later improved Osa-AK/Osa-AKM rounds.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
9M33Original land-based missile

WeaponSystems.net describes the baseline 9M33 as the early rail-launched missile for the original land-based 9K33 Osa system.

Sources: 9M33 Osa

9M33MNaval Osa-M missile

WeaponSystems.net identifies 9M33M as the Osa-M naval missile used with the M-4 / 4K33 system, which NATO reported as SA-N-4 Gecko.

Sources: 9M33 Osa, M-4 Osa-M

9M33M1Improved naval missile

WeaponSystems.net describes 9M33M1 as an improved naval round for Osa-MA, retaining the naval fixed-wing form while adding improvements parallel to the land 9M33M2.

Sources: 9M33 Osa, M-4 Osa-M

9M33M2Canistered Osa-AK missile

WeaponSystems.net identifies 9M33M2 as the first 9M33 variant carried in a launch canister for the six-missile 9K33M2 Osa-AK launcher.

Sources: 9M33 Osa

9M33M3Later Osa-AKM missile

WeaponSystems.net links 9M33M3 to the land-based 9K33M3 Osa-AKM and describes a larger warhead and low-altitude fuze improvements; GlobalSecurity lists the 1980 SA-8b / Gecko Mod 1 range increase.

Sources: 9M33 Osa, SA-8 GECKO / 9K33 Osa

Launch Platforms

The 9M33 missile family was built around Osa-family launch systems rather than independent shoulder-fired or aircraft-carried use.

LauncherLauncher typeLaunch evidence
9K33 Osa, Short-range self-propelled surface-to-air missile system, Air Defense9K33 OsaSelf-propelled SAM system

WeaponSystems.net says the 9M33 missile was introduced on the land-based 9K33 Osa, while 9M33M2 and 9M33M3 rounds served the improved Osa-AK and Osa-AKM launch vehicles.

Sources: 9M33 Osa

Naval Osa-M branch

The naval M-4 / 4K33 Osa-M branch fired 9M33M and 9M33M1 missiles from the ZIF-122 twin-rail launcher; no separate public Osa-M catalog entry existed during this enrichment pass.

Sources: 9M33 Osa, M-4 Osa-M

Naval Host Classes

Some Soviet ship classes carried Osa-M or Osa-MA point-defense systems whose missile fit is listed as 9M-33 / SA-N-4.

CarrierCarrier typeCarriage evidence
Project 1124 Albatros / Grisha-class anti-submarine corvette, Anti-submarine corvette class, Naval SystemsProject 1124 Albatros / Grisha-class anti-submarine corvetteAnti-submarine corvette family

GlobalSecurity's Project 1124 specifications list Osa-M SAM systems with 4K-33 or 9M-33 / SA-N-4 missiles on Grisha-family variants.

Sources: Project 1124 Albatros Grisha class

Project 1135 Burevestnik / Krivak-class frigate and derivatives, Anti-submarine frigate family, Naval SystemsProject 1135 Burevestnik / Krivak-class frigate and derivativesFrigate family

GlobalSecurity's Project 1135 specifications list Osa-MA SAM systems with 4K-33 / SA-N-4 missiles, and one branch with 20 9M-33 / SA-N-4 missiles.

Sources: Project 1135 Burevestnik Krivak class

Class-level caveat

These are class-family relationships; individual hulls and later refits did not always carry the same Osa-M or Osa-MA fit.

Sources: Project 1124 Albatros Grisha class, Project 1135 Burevestnik Krivak class

Family Roles

The missile family divides cleanly by launch environment and stowage method: exposed early land rounds, fixed-wing naval missiles, and later canistered Osa-AK/Osa-AKM rounds.

Land Osa

Original 9K33 Osa vehicles used rail-launched 9M33 missiles; later Osa-AK and Osa-AKM vehicles carried canistered 9M33M2 and 9M33M3 rounds.

Sources: 9M33 Osa; SA-8 Gecko 9K33 OSA.

Naval Osa-M

The M-4 / 4K33 Osa-M system fired 9M33M-family missiles from a retractable ZIF-122 twin-rail launcher with a below-deck magazine.

Sources: M-4 Osa-M; 9M33 Osa.

Conflict evidence

The supported missile-specific conflict row is limited to Jaish al-Islam's documented 9M33 launches from captured Osa systems in Eastern Ghouta.

Source: Jaish al-Islam's 9K33 Osa SAMs.

Timeline

9M33 Osa Key Events

  1. Osa-family development begins

    WeaponSystems.net places 9M33 development in the 1960s for both land-based and naval Osa-family air-defense use.

  2. Land and naval service roles appear

    WeaponSystems.net says the 9M33 missile was introduced on the 9K33 Osa, while the naval M-4 Osa-M used the 9M33M missile in the same early-1970s period.

  3. Canistered Osa-AK round introduced

    The 9M33M2 brought the canistered missile layout for the six-round 9K33M2 Osa-AK launcher.

  4. Osa-AKM missile update

    The 9M33M3 became the later land-based Osa-AKM missile, with sources tying it to improved low-altitude engagement and an expanded SA-8b engagement envelope.

Media

9M33 Osa Videos

9M33 Osa Images

9M33 Osa, Command-guided short-range surface-to-air missile family, Munitions - view 1
Source: File:ParkPatriot2015part8-46.jpg
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Sources

Jaish al-Islam's 9K33 Osa SAMsPublisher: Bellingcat | Note: Supports 2011 Syrian Civil War direct conflict use by opposition forces: documents Jaish al-Islam capture and operation of Osa systems in Eastern Ghouta and reports at least six 9M33 missile launches at Syrian Arab Air Force helicopters. | Accessed: 2026-07-039M33 OsaPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports the missile family's origin, service-entry context, dimensions, guidance, warhead, propulsion, range, production context, variant distinctions, and relationship to land 9K33 Osa and naval Osa-M launch systems. | Accessed: 2026-07-03M-4 Osa-MPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports the naval Osa-M / 4K33 relationship, ZIF-122 launcher context, 9M33M and 9M33M1 missile use, and naval point-defense role. | Accessed: 2026-07-03SA-8 GECKO / 9K33 OsaPublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports SA-8 / Osa system and missile technical context, including early 9M33 weight, speed, range, warhead, reload and reaction context, and the 1980 SA-8b / Gecko Mod 1 range increase. | Accessed: 2026-07-03SA-8 Gecko 9K33 OSAPublisher: Army Recognition | Note: Supports Osa-family designation context, including the original 9K33, naval Osa-M / SA-N-4, Osa-AK, and Osa-AKM variant sequence. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Project 1124 Albatros Grisha classPublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports the relationship between Project 1124 / Grisha-family ships and Osa-M or Osa-MA systems with 4K-33 or 9M-33 / SA-N-4 missiles. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Project 1135 Burevestnik Krivak classPublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports the relationship between Project 1135 / Krivak-family ships and Osa-MA systems with 4K-33 or 9M-33 / SA-N-4 missiles. | Accessed: 2026-07-03File:9M33M3U Ostrava 2019.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image identity and reuse context for a 9M33M3U instructional training rocket on display at NATO Days in Ostrava under CC BY-SA 4.0. | Accessed: 2026-07-03File:ParkPatriot2015part8-46.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image identity and reuse context for a 9M33 surface-to-air missile display. | Accessed: 2026-07-03