Profile
- Type
- High-altitude surface-to-air missile system
- Conflict side
- Houthi-aligned forces
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Service note
- Introduced in the late 1950s; legacy Yemeni stocks appeared in the 2014-present Yemen Civil War
Air Defense
S-75 Dvina / SA-2 Guideline
The S-75 Dvina, known to NATO as the SA-2 Guideline, is a Soviet command-guided, high-altitude surface-to-air missile system built around fixed or semi-mobile launch sites, acquisition radar, and Fan Song guidance radar. In the Yemen Civil War, Houthi-aligned forces are documented as having inherited SA-2/S-75 stocks and converting some surviving missiles into Qaher and Muhit strike missiles, while the operational status of intact SA-2 SAM batteries remains uncertain.
- Conflict side
- Houthi-aligned forces
- Built by
- Soviet state defense industry
- Built in
- Soviet Union
Service History
- In service
- Operational from 1959; exported widely from 1960
- Used by
- Houthi-aligned forces, Yemeni armed forces legacy stocks, Soviet client-state air-defense forces
- Wars
- Yemen Civil War, Vietnam War, Cold War air-defense operations
Production History
- Designer
- Soviet design bureaus including KB-1 and Fakel
- Designed
- Mid-1950s
- Built by
- Soviet state defense industry
- Built in
- Soviet Union
- Produced
- Late 1950s onward
- Variants
- SA-75 Dvina, S-75 Dvina, S-75M Volkhov, HQ-2 Chinese derivative
Specifications
- Missile
- V-750 / SA-2 Guideline two-stage missile with solid-fuel booster and liquid-fuel sustainer
- Guidance
- Command guidance from a Fan Song radar, normally cued by acquisition radar
- Launcher
- Single-rail reusable launcher that rotates 360 degrees and elevates the missile for launch
- Site Layout
- A typical site used six launchers with control and support vans, Spoon Rest acquisition radar, and Fan Song guidance radar
- Effective Range
- About 19 miles maximum effective range; 27 miles maximum slant range
- Ceiling
- Up to 60,000 ft
- Speed
- Mach 3.5
- Warhead
- 288-lb blast-fragmentation warhead
- Missile Dimensions
- About 34 ft 6 in long, 2 ft 4 in diameter, with a 7 ft 3 in wing span
Conflict Usage
- Yemen Civil War
- Side: Houthi-aligned forcesRole: Converted missile stock for land and maritime strike
Houthi-aligned forces seized legacy Yemeni SA-2/S-75 stocks and converted surviving missiles into Qaher-series and Muhit ballistic missiles for attacks against land targets and at sea; sources treat the current status of intact SA-2 air-defense systems as unclear.
S-75 Dvina / SA-2 Guideline Images
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SA-2 Surface-to-Air MissilePublisher: National Museum of the United States Air Force | Note: Supports SA-2 background, site composition, launcher description, radar context, and technical specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-20SA-2 Guideline MissilePublisher: National Air and Space Museum | Note: Supports Soviet origin, Dvina/SA-2 naming, operational background, booster and second-stage description, and dimensions. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Iran's Support to Houthi Air Defenses in YemenPublisher: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy | Note: Supports Yemen Civil War direct use: Houthi-aligned forces used seized SA-2 stocks after 2014 and converted surviving SA-2 missiles into Qaher-1 and Qaher-2 surface-to-surface ballistic missiles. | Accessed: 2026-06-20What Air Defenses Do The Houthis In Yemen Actually Have?Publisher: The War Zone | Note: Supports Yemen Civil War direct use: Houthi-aligned forces fielded inherited S-75/SA-2 missiles and used converted missiles as Qaher-2 and Muhit ballistic missiles for land and maritime targets, while intact SAM status is unclear. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Made in Yemen? Assessing the Houthis' Arms-Production CapacityPublisher: International Institute for Strategic Studies | Note: Supports Yemen Civil War direct use: Houthi-aligned forces used the Mouhit anti-ship ballistic missile, assessed as a conversion of the legacy S-75 Dvina surface-to-air missile system. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons SA-2 Guideline-S-75 Dvina ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for the primary S-75/SA-2 display image and its Creative Commons licensing. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons SA-2 Guideline Missile ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain U.S. military photograph of an S-75/SA-2 missile on a launcher. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons HQ-2 / SA-2 Guideline ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for Chinese-built HQ-2 missiles, a derivative of the S-75/SA-2 family, and its Creative Commons licensing. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons Polish S-75 Dvina Display ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a V-750 missile display associated with the S-75 Dvina family and its Creative Commons licensing. | Accessed: 2026-06-20