Profile
- Type
- Man-portable infrared-guided surface-to-air missile
- Conflict side
- Houthi-aligned forces
- Origin
- Iran
- Service note
- Mid-2000s to present
Air Defense
Misagh-2 MANPADS
The Misagh-2 is an Iranian shoulder-fired MANPADS associated with the Chinese QW-series design line. In the Yemen Civil War, specialist open-source reporting has identified Misagh-2 systems in Houthi-aligned possession, giving small units a portable short-range threat to helicopters, UAVs, and other low-flying aircraft.
- Conflict side
- Houthi-aligned forces
- Built by
- Shahid Kazemi Industrial Complex
- Built in
- Iran
Service History
- In service
- Iranian service from the mid-2000s; documented in Houthi-aligned possession in Yemen by 2022
- Used by
- Iranian armed forces, Houthi-aligned forces
- Wars
- Yemen Civil War
Production History
- Designer
- Iranian defense industry
- Designed
- Early 2000s
- Built by
- Shahid Kazemi Industrial Complex
- Built in
- Iran
- Produced
- Mass production announced in February 2006
- Variants
- Misagh-1 predecessor, Misagh-3 successor
Specifications
- Guidance
- Passive infrared homing, fire-and-forget
- Engagement range
- Up to 6 km against approaching targets; about 5.2 km against receding targets
- Effective altitude
- About 2.5 km against jet fighters and 3.5 km against helicopters or subsonic aircraft
- Missile weight
- About 11.32 kg at launch
- System weight
- About 18 kg in firing position
- Warhead
- About 1.42 kg high-explosive warhead
Conflict Usage
- Yemen Civil War
- Side: Houthi-aligned forcesRole: Short-range air defense against low-flying aircraft
Open-source imagery and specialist reporting identify Misagh-2 MANPADS in Houthi-aligned hands, including a 2022 parade appearance, as part of the movement's short-range air-defense inventory in Yemen.
Misagh-2 MANPADS Images
Related Weapon Systems
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PPZR GromMan-portable air-defense systemPPZR Grom is a Polish shoulder-fired infrared surface-to-air missile system built by MESKO for short-range defense against visually acquired aircraft, helicopters, and other infrared-emitting targets. In the Russia-Ukraine War context, open-source arms researchers documented a Grom launcher tube reportedly seized from pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014, making the entry a recovered-conflict-system record rather than a confirmed Ukrainian-operated aid item.
SA-14 Strela-3 MANPADSMan-portable infrared surface-to-air missile systemThe SA-14 Strela-3, Soviet designation 9K34, is a shoulder-fired infrared MANPADS developed as an improved successor to the Strela-2. In the Nagorno-Karabakh context, open-source arms-transfer reporting places Strela-3 launchers in Azerbaijan's inventory before the 2020 war, making it part of the legacy short-range air-defense layer even where specific firing claims are not documented.
AN/TWQ-1 AvengerSelf-propelled short-range air defense systemThe AN/TWQ-1 Avenger is a Boeing-developed short-range air defense system that mounts a stabilized turret with Stinger missile pods and an M3P .50 caliber machine gun on a HMMWV chassis. In Ukrainian service it adds a mobile, point-defense layer against drones, helicopters, low-flying aircraft, and cruise-missile threats during the Russia-Ukraine War.Sources
Misagh-2Publisher: Army Recognition | Note: Supports Misagh-2 manufacturer background, design lineage, guidance, weights, range, altitude, and general air-defense role. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Iran boosts air defenses with locally made missilePublisher: Tehran Times | Note: Supports background on Iran's February 2006 announcement of domestic mass production for the shoulder-fired Misagh-2 missile. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Mad Max MANPADS in YemenPublisher: Arms Control Wonk | Note: Supports Yemen Civil War direct-use context: Misagh-2 MANPADS fielded by Houthi-aligned forces, including a 2022 parade appearance and reported smuggling into Yemen. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Houthi Drone And Missile HandbookPublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports Yemen Civil War direct-use context: Misagh-2 MANPADS fielded by Houthi-aligned forces in Yemen, with the handbook listing Misagh-2 under Houthi MANPADS from 2022. | Accessed: 2026-06-20The Houthi War Machine: From Guerrilla War to State CapturePublisher: Combating Terrorism Center at West Point | Note: Supports background on Iranian-made Misagh-2 MANPADS rounds and battery units documented in arms-transfer context connected to Houthi forces. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Persistent Perils: Illicit MANPADS in the MENA RegionPublisher: Small Arms Survey | Note: Supports background on QW-pattern MANPADS proliferation in the MENA region and Iran's domestic assembly of Misagh-1 and Misagh-2. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Misagh-2 MANPADS imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports primary image provenance and CC BY 4.0 licensing for a Misagh-2 launcher and missile display. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Misagh-2 MANPADS production line imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery image provenance and CC BY 4.0 licensing for a Misagh-2 production-line photograph. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Iran Ministry of Defense Achievements Exhibition 2022 imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery image provenance and licensing for a Misagh-2 exhibition photograph. | Accessed: 2026-06-20