Air Defense

FASTA-4M

Also known as
  • FASTA-4
  • Fasta-4M
  • FASTA-4M1
  • FASTA-4M2
  • Fliegerabwehr-Startanlage FASTA-4
  • SA-N-5 launcher
  • SAN-5 launcher

FASTA-4M was East Germany's four-barrel Fliegerabwehr-Startanlage for short-range infrared surface-to-air missiles, developed and produced at IWP Pinnow for LO1800 vehicle mounts and shipboard close air defense. Sources connect the mount to Strela-2, Strela-3, and later Igla-family installations on platforms ranging from Volksmarine vessels to Zubr-class air-cushioned landing craft.

FASTA-4M, East German quad launcher for Strela-2/Strela-3 missiles, Air Defense
Image source: OB-61 Novigrad
Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
East Germany
Built by
IWP Pinnow
Type
East German quad launcher for Strela-2/Strela-3 missiles
Service note
Cold War
Designer
IWP Pinnow

Specifications

Launcher count
4
Launch mechanisms
4 x 9P58 launch mechanisms in the documented vehicle version
Missile family
9K32 / 9M32M Strela-2 family; NavWeaps also lists Strela-3 fit
Vehicle combat load
8 missiles in the documented vehicle version
Zubr-class loadout
Two FASTA-4M launchers reported with Igla-M missiles
Mounts
Ships, boats, and LO1800 vehicle mounts
Documented modification numbers
FASTA-4M 97 70 00; FASTA-4M1 97 71 00; FASTA-4M2 97 72 00
Operating mode
Manually operated four-barrel pedestal launcher
Vehicle crew
Two-person FASTA rocket-shooter team in the documented vehicle version
NATO naval code
SAN-5 / SA-N-5 in naval missile-launcher references
Compatible Missiles

The launcher grouped ready-to-fire shoulder-launched SAM rounds into a manually operated ship or vehicle mount.

Launched itemItem typeLaunch evidence
9M32 Strela-2 / SA-7 MANPADS, Man-portable surface-to-air missile system, Air Defense9M32 Strela-2 / SA-7 MANPADSInfrared-guided surface-to-air missile

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

SA-14 Strela-3 MANPADS, Man-portable infrared surface-to-air missile system, Air DefenseSA-14 Strela-3 MANPADSInfrared-guided surface-to-air missile

NavWeaps lists FASTA-4M as the SAN-5 German-designed four-barrel launcher for Strela-2 and Strela-3, making the Strela-3 family a documented compatible missile line.

Sources: Naval Missiles of Russia/USSR

Igla, Man-portable infrared-homing surface-to-air missile system, Air DefenseIglaInfrared-guided surface-to-air missile family

Commons captions for Croatian patrol boats list a Fasta-4M system with SA-7 Grail/Igla missiles, and Popular Mechanics reports Zubr-class craft with FASTA-4M launchers loaded with Igla-M missiles.

Sources: OB-61 Novigrad, OB-64 Hrvatska Kostajnica, This Russian Hovercraft Comes Loaded With Gatling Guns

Carrier Platforms

Open references place FASTA-4M on small naval and amphibious platforms where a compact point-defense launcher was easier to fit than a larger naval SAM system.

CarrierCarrier typeCarriage evidence
Project 1331M / Parchim-class anti-submarine corvette, Anti-submarine corvette, Naval SystemsProject 1331M / Parchim-class anti-submarine corvetteAnti-submarine corvette

Military Factory lists Parchim-class corvettes with two SA-N-5 SAM launchers, while NavWeaps identifies FASTA-4M as the SAN-5 launcher designation.

Sources: Parchim (class) / Project 1331M Corvette Warship - Military Factory, Naval Missiles of Russia/USSR

Zubr-class air-cushion landing craft (Project 12322 Pomornik), Air-cushioned landing craft, Naval SystemsZubr-class air-cushion landing craft (Project 12322 Pomornik)Air-cushioned landing craft

Popular Mechanics reports that Zubr-class craft carry two FASTA-4M surface-to-air missile launchers, each associated with Igla-M missiles, as part of the armed hovercraft fit.

Sources: This Russian Hovercraft Comes Loaded With Gatling Guns

Mounting Context

FASTA-4M is best read as a launcher interface between shoulder-fired infrared missiles and compact East German or Soviet-bloc naval and vehicle mounts. The available open references document installation contexts rather than a separate launcher-specific battlefield record.

Installation contextDocumented fitSource-backed note
LO1800 vehicle mountVehicle FASTA-4 installationRWD describes the vehicle version with four 9P58 launch mechanisms, an eight-missile combat load, and two-person operation for airfield, firing-position, command-post, march, or troop-movement protection.
Volksmarine ships and boatsShipboard FASTA-4/FASTA-4M useRWD lists ship and boat use by the East German navy, while Naval Encyclopedia identifies FASTA-4M on Frosch-class landing ships with sixteen 9M32M missiles.
Croatian patrol boatsFasta-4M with SA-7/Igla missilesThe Commons file pages for OB-61 Novigrad and OB-64 Hrvatska Kostajnica describe Croatian patrol boats with one Fasta-4M system and twelve SA-7 Grail/Igla missiles.
Zubr-class LCACTwo FASTA-4M launchersPopular Mechanics reports Russian Zubr-class craft armed with two FASTA-4M surface-to-air missile launchers loaded with Igla-M missiles.

Source labels used here: Fla-Raketen-Startanlage FASTA-4; East German Navy - Naval Encyclopedia; OB-61 Novigrad; OB-64 Hrvatska Kostajnica; This Russian Hovercraft Comes Loaded With Gatling Guns.

Timeline

FASTA-4M Key Events

  1. Frosch-class shipboard fit documented

    Naval Encyclopedia describes East German Frosch-class landing ships, introduced in the 1976 class context, with a quadruple FASTA-4M SAM installation and sixteen 9M32M missiles.

    Sources: East German Navy - Naval Encyclopedia

  2. Parchim-class SA-N-5 positions in service context

    Military Factory places the Parchim-class corvette in the 1985 East German program and lists two SA-N-5 SAM launcher positions; NavWeaps identifies FASTA-4M as the SAN-5 launcher.

    Sources: Parchim (class) / Project 1331M Corvette Warship - Military Factory, Naval Missiles of Russia/USSR

  3. Zubr-class FASTA-4M fit reported

    Popular Mechanics reported that Russian Zubr-class air-cushioned landing craft carried two FASTA-4M surface-to-air missile launchers loaded with Igla-M missiles.

    Sources: This Russian Hovercraft Comes Loaded With Gatling Guns

Media

FASTA-4M Images

FASTA-4M, East German quad launcher for Strela-2/Strela-3 missiles, Air Defense - view 1
Source: OB-64 Hrvatska Kostajnica
FASTA-4M, East German quad launcher for Strela-2/Strela-3 missiles, Air Defense - view 2
Source: MSR-lang Wiki
Related Weapon Systems
Igla, Man-portable infrared-homing surface-to-air missile system, Air DefenseAir DefenseIglaMan-portable infrared-homing surface-to-air missile systemThe Igla family is a Soviet/Russian shoulder-fired MANPADS built to give small air-defense teams a mobile, infrared-guided weapon against low-flying aircraft, helicopters, drones, and cruise missiles. Documented conflict use and fielding spans Ukrainian mobile air-defense teams, PKK use against a Turkish AH-1W helicopter, Syrian armed-group inventories, RSF fielding in Sudan, and Indian Army Igla-S teams reported in Operation Sindoor coverage.
9K31 Strela-1, Vehicle-mounted short-range surface-to-air missile system, Air DefenseAir Defense9K31 Strela-1Vehicle-mounted short-range surface-to-air missile systemThe 9K31 Strela-1, NATO reporting name SA-9 Gaskin, is a Soviet BRDM-2-based short-range surface-to-air missile system armed with four ready-to-fire 9M31 or 9M31M missiles. Developed as a regimental low-altitude air-defense vehicle for motor-rifle and tank units, it combined an amphibious armored chassis with optical/infrared missile engagement at short ranges. Open sources document it in several conflict inventories, including Polisario systems supplied by Libya, Iraqi Gulf War air defenses, Chechen inherited stocks, and Houthi-aligned holdings in Yemen; those rows indicate fielding or possession, not necessarily a sourced launch or shootdown.
Zubr-class air-cushion landing craft (Project 12322 Pomornik), Air-cushioned landing craft, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsZubr-class air-cushion landing craft (Project 12322 Pomornik)Air-cushioned landing craftThe Zubr class is a Soviet-designed Project 12322 Pomornik air-cushion landing craft developed by Almaz for high-speed amphibious lift. It can carry tanks, armored vehicles, troops, cargo, or naval mines directly onto prepared or unprepared shores, using bow and stern ramps and integral close-in armament. Greece operates the type as the Kefalonia/PTM class, while China acquired and locally expanded the related Project 958/Type 958 line.
OTO 76/62 Super Rapid naval gun, 76 mm rapid-fire naval gun mount, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsOTO 76/62 Super Rapid naval gun76 mm rapid-fire naval gun mountThe OTO 76/62 Super Rapid is Leonardo's Italian 76 mm naval gun mount for corvettes, frigates, patrol vessels, and other surface combatants. It combines a selectable 120-round-per-minute rate of fire, an 80-round ready magazine, anti-surface and air-defense roles, optional Strales/DART guided-ammunition integration, and compact installation on small naval units. Its 2014 Russia-Ukraine War link is Ukraine's Ada-class corvette program: Naval News identified a Leonardo 76 mm Super Rapid fitted to Hetman Ivan Mazepa during sea trials in Turkiye while the corvette project remained shaped by wartime transfer constraints.

Sources

Fla-Raketen-Startanlage FASTA-4Publisher: Raketen- und Waffentechnischer Dienst im Kdo. MB III | Note: Supports East German development and production at IWP Pinnow, low-flying target role, LO1800 vehicle use, ship and boat use, vehicle crew/equipment, missile load, and FASTA-4M variant catalogue numbers. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Naval Missiles of Russia/USSRPublisher: NavWeaps | Note: Supports FASTA-4M as the SAN-5 German-designed four-barrel launcher for Strela-2 and Strela-3, and supports the naval code used to connect SA-N-5 references to the launcher. | Accessed: 2026-07-01East German Navy - Naval EncyclopediaPublisher: Naval Encyclopedia | Note: Supports East German naval use of FASTA-4M on Frosch-class landing ships carrying sixteen 9M32M / Strela-2M missiles. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Parchim (class) / Project 1331M Corvette Warship - Military FactoryPublisher: Military Factory | Note: Supports Parchim-class corvette context, East German development and production period, and two SA-N-5 surface-to-air missile launcher positions used for the FASTA-4M carrier-platform relationship when read with the NavWeaps SAN-5 launcher identification. | Accessed: 2026-07-01This Russian Hovercraft Comes Loaded With Gatling GunsPublisher: Popular Mechanics | Note: Supports Zubr-class carrier-platform context: reports two FASTA-4M surface-to-air missile launchers on Russian Zubr-class craft and describes the associated Igla-M missile load. | Accessed: 2026-07-01OB-61 NovigradPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a patrol-boat photo captioned with a Fasta-4M system and SA-7 Grail/Igla missiles. | Accessed: 2026-07-01OB-64 Hrvatska KostajnicaPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a second patrol-boat photo captioned with a Fasta-4M system and SA-7 Grail/Igla missiles. | Accessed: 2026-07-01MSR-lang WikiPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a minehunter photo captioned as fitted with FASTA-4M. | Accessed: 2026-07-01