| 2K12 “Kub” NATO reporting name: SA-6 "Gainful" | |
|---|---|
 2P25TEL with missiles elevated (2K12 Kub SAM of Serbian 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade) | |
| Type | Tracked medium-rangesurface-to-air missile system |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1967–present |
| Used by | See list ofoperators |
| Wars | |
| Production history | |
| Designer | |
| Designed | 1958–1967 |
| Manufacturer |
|
| Produced | 1968–1985[1] |
| No. built | 500 launchers, 10,000 missiles[2][dubious –discuss] |
| Variants | 2K12 Kub, 2K12E Kvadrat (export version), 2K12M3, 2K12M4 |
| Specifications (2K12 Kub) | |
Main armament | 3 3M9M4(or variants) guided missiles |
| Engine | integral rocket motor/ramjet booster and sustainer motor |
Guidance system | command guidance with terminalsemi-active radar homing (SARH) |
The2K12"Kub" (Russian:2К12 Куб; English: 'cube') (NATO reporting name:SA-6 "Gainful") mobilesurface-to-air missile system is aSoviet low to medium-level air defence system designed to protect ground forces from air attack.2К12 is theGRAU designation of the system.
Each 2K12 battery consists of a number of similar tracked vehicles, one of which carries the1S91 (SURN vehicle, NATO designation"Straight Flush") 25 kWG/H bandradar (with a range of 75 km (47 mi)) equipped with acontinuous waveilluminator, in addition to an optical sight. The battery usually also includes four triple-missiletransporter erector launchers (TELs), and four trucks, each carrying three spare missiles and a crane. The TEL is based on aGM-578 chassis, while the 1S91 radar vehicle is based on a GM-568 chassis, all developed and produced by Russian manufacturerMMZ.
The development of the 2K12 started after 18 July 1958 at the request of the CPSU Central Committee.[3] The system was set the requirements of being able to engage aerial targets flying at speeds of 420 to 600 m/s (820–1,200 kn) at altitudes of 100 to 7,000 m (330 to 23,000 ft) at ranges up to 20 km (12 mi), with a single shotkill probability of at least 0.7.[3]
The systems design was the responsibility of the nowTikhomirov Scientific Research Institute of Instrument Design (NIIP). In addition to NIIP several other design bureaus were involved in the creation of the Kub missile system includingMytishchi Machine-Building Plant which designed and produced the chassis of the self-propelled components. Many of the design bureaus would later go on to co-operate in the development of the successor to the 2K12 "Kub", the9K37 "Buk".
First trials of the missile system were started at the end of 1959 to discover a series of problems:
In August 1961 Toropov was replaced by Lyapin as the Chief Designer of Vympel and in January 1962Tikhomirov was replaced by Figurovskiy as the Chief Designer of NIIP. Still, the work was not intensified. Before 1963 only 11 of 83 missiles fired had the seeker head installed; only 3 launches were successful.
Kub downed its first-ever air target on February 18, 1963, during the state trials atDonguz test site,Orenburg Oblast. It was anIlyushin Il-28 bomber.
The system entered an extended testing period between 1959 and 1966, after overcoming the technical difficulties of producing the 2K12 "Kub" the system was accepted into service on 23 January 1967 and went into production that same year.[3]
It is sometimes claimed that theM-11 Shtorm naval system is a version of the 3M9 but this is not the case, as the M-11 Shtorm is a separate system and, unusually for Russian surface-to-air missiles, has no land-based variant.
| Kub | Kvadrat | ||||||||||||||||
| Kub-M1 | Kub-M | ||||||||||||||||
| Kub-M3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Kub-M4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Buk | |||||||||||||||||
The 2K12 "Kub" was recommended for modernisation work in 1967 with the goal of improving combat characteristics (longer range, improvedECCM, reliability and reaction time) established for the new chief designerArdalion Rastov. A modernised variant underwent trial testing in 1972 eventually being adopted in 1973 as the "Kub-M1".[3] The system underwent another modernisation between 1974 and 1976, again the general combat characteristics of the system were improved with the "Kub-M3" clearing testing and entering service in 1976.[3]
After the Rastov visit to Egypt in 1971 to see Kub in operation[4] he decided upon the development of a new system, called Buk, where each TEL should have its own fire control radar (TELAR) and is able to engage multiple targets from multiple directions at the same time.
The final major development of the Kub missile system was achieved during the development of its successor, the 9K37 "Buk" in 1974. Although the Buk is the successor to Kub it was decided that both systems could share some interoperability, the result of this decision was the "Kub-M4" system.[3] The Kub-M4 used Kub-M3 components which could receive fire control information from the 9А310transporter erector launcher and radar (TELAR) of the 9K37 Buk. The advantage of interoperability was an increase in the number of fire control channels and available missiles for each system as well as a faster service entry for Buk system components. The Kub-M4 was adopted into service in 1978 following completion of trials.[3]
| External images | |
|---|---|
 Photo of one of the Buk prototype, based on Kub components | |
| Photo of one of the Buk prototype, based on Kub components (sideview) |
Some early development implementations of the Buk missile system heavily utilized Kub components, including the 3M9 missile.[5]
There are several plans to integrateactive radar homing missiles into Kub. For instance,PolishWZU ofGrudziadz demonstrated a project of aSparrow-armed Kub at the MSPO 2008 defence exhibition inKielce.[6][7][8] It is reported also that Vympel initiated some work to use itsRVV-AE air-to-air missile to modernise the Kvadrat SAM system.[9]
Also, the Czech company RETIA presented a SURN (fire control radar) upgrade featuring an optical channel and new multiple-function color displays as well as the radar upgrade and the IFF system.[10]
In 2011 a Kub upgraded launcher (named "2K12 KUB CZ") with threeAspide 2000 missiles in launch containers was presented at the International Exhibition of Defence and Security Technologies (IDET) exposition inBrno. The modifications were made by Retia.[11]
The 2K12 system shares many components with the2K11 Krug (SA-4) system. In many ways they are designed to complement each other; 2K11 is effective at long ranges and high altitudes, 2K12 at medium ranges and intermediate altitudes.
The system is able to acquire and begin tracking targets using the 1S91 "Самоходная установка разведки и наведения" (SPRGU - "Self-propelled Reconnaissance and Guidance Unit" / NATO: "Straight Flush" radar) at 75 km (47 mi) and begin illumination and guidance at 28 km (17 mi).IFF is also performed using this radar. It can only guide one or two missiles to a single target at any time. The missile is initiallycommand guided with terminalsemi-active radar homing (SARH), with target illumination provided by the "Straight Flush" radar. Detonation is via either the impact orproximity fuze. On the latest models, this vehicle is also fitted with an optical tracking system which allows engagement without the use of the radar (for active RF emissions stealth reasons, or due to heavyECMjamming) in which case the effective altitude is limited to 14 km/46000 ft. The optical tracking method also allows engagements to altitudes below that where the radar is able to track targets. Maximum target speed is aroundMach 2 for head-on engagements and Mach 1 for tail-chase engagements. Top speed of the missile is approximately Mach 2.8.
In contrast to the elaboratePatriot missile or even the simpler Hawk system fielded by US forces, most of the system rides on two tracked self-propelled vehicles, rather than towed or mounted on trucks, and either the launcher or control vehicle can be set to launch in only 15 minutes after changing location.
| 3M9 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Surface-to-air missile |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Production history | |
| Variants | 3M9, 3M9M1, 3M9M3, 3M9M4 |
| Specifications (3M9) | |
| Mass | 599 kg |
| Length | 5,800 mm |
| Diameter | 335 mm |
| Wingspan | 1.245 m |
| Warhead | Frag-HE |
| Warhead weight | 59 kg |
Detonation mechanism | Contact and proximity |
| Propellant | integral rocket motor/ramjet booster and sustainer motor |
Operational range | 24 kilometres (15 mi) |
| Flight altitude | Max. 14,000 metres (46,000 ft) Min. 100 metres (330 ft) |
| Maximum speed | Mach 2.8 |
Guidance system | semi-active radar homing |
Launch platform | 2P25 TEL |
| IVC 3M20M3 Peniye | |
|---|---|
| Type | Surface-to-air missile training target imitator system |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union/ Russia |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 600 kg |
| Length | 5,841 mm |
| Wingspan | 932 mm |
| Warhead | no |
| Propellant | integral rocket motor/ramjet booster and sustainer motor |
Operational range | 24 kilometres (15 mi) |
| Flight altitude | 500 metres (1,600 ft) – 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) |
| Maximum speed | 200–600 m/s |
Guidance system | semi-active radar homing |
Launch platform | 2P25 TEL |
The fairly large missiles have an effective range of 4–24 km (2.5–15 miles) and an effective altitude of 50–14,000 m (164–45,931 ft). The missile weighs 599 kg (1,321 lb) and the warhead weighs 56 kg (123 lb). Top missile speed is approx.Mach 2.8. The combined propulsion system 9D16K includedsolid fuelrocket motor which, when burned out, forms the combustion chamber for aramjet in a pioneering design putting this missile far ahead of its contemporaries in terms of propulsion.
The missile was fitted with a semi-active radar seeker 1SB4, designed byMNII Agat, which was able to track the target byDoppler frequency since the start. Later upgrades (3M9M3 missile) could do this before the start. Chief Designer of the seeker head was Yu.N. Vekhov, since 1960 – I.G. Akopyan.
In 1977 a new version, the3M9M1 (DoD designationSA-6B) was created with three missiles fitted onto a different chassis (the same as that of the 9K37 "Buk" (NATO reporting name "Gadfly" / DoDSA-11 ), the 2K12 effective replacement) with an integrated"Fire Dome" missile guidance radar. For comparisons between the 2K12, 9K37, see the9K37 Buk entry.
An earlier incremental upgrade saw the 2K12 missiles replaced with the 2K12E versions and this system was known asKvadrat ("Квадрат", meaningsquare). This name was derived from the most common arrangement pattern of the military vehicles of the 2K12 complex, when the 1S91 radar is located at the center and 4x2P25 TELs at thevertices of a square around the radar.
| Complex (GRAU designation) | Kub | Kub-M1 | Kub-M3 | Kub-M4 (Buk-M1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduced | 1967 | 1973 | 1976 | 1978 |
| Missiles per TEL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Engagement range | 6–22 km | 4–23 km | 4–25 km | 4–24 km |
Engagement altitude | 100–7,000 m | 80–8,000 m | 20–8,000 m | 30–14,000 m |
| Missile speed (Mach) | 1.75 | 1.75 | 2 | 2 |
| Maximum target speed (Mach) | 1.75 | 1.75 | 1.75 | 1.75 |
| Response Time (seconds) | 26–28 | 22–24 | 22–24 | 24 |
| missile Weight, kg | 630 kg | 630 kg | 630 kg | 630 kg |
Simultaneous engagements | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Deployment time (minutes) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
SURN1S91 vehicle included two radar station – a target acquisition and distribution radar 1S11 and a continuous wave illuminator 1S31, in addition to anIFF interrogator and an optical channel.
While 1S31 antenna was installed on the upper section of the superstructure and the 1S11 on the lower, they could turn around independently. To make the height of the vehicle lower the central cylinder was able to hide inside the prime mover.
The acquisition range of the radar was reported as 50 km (31 mi) for anF-4 Phantom II type of target.
Total weight of the 1S91 vehicle with a crew of 4 was 20.3tonnes and 2P25 vehicle with 3 missiles and a crew of 3 was 19.5 t.
The 2K12 can also be used at a regimental level, if used as such it can be accompanied by a number of additional radar systems for extended air search at longer range and lower altitude, to supplement the 1S91 "Straight Flush". These systems include the:
The"Spoon Rest" and"Thin Skin" are mounted on a truck,"Long Track" on a tracked vehicle (a modifiedAT-T) and"Flat Face" on a van. The"Score Board" IFF radar is mounted on a free standing tri-pod.
Without the P-40 "Long Track" mobile radar vehicle, the 2K12 is unable to track aircraft at high altitudes.
In the 1973Yom Kippur War, the Egyptian and Syrian 2K12s surprised the Israeli military, who were accustomed to having air superiority over the battlefield. The highly mobile 2K12 took a heavy toll on the slowerA-4 Skyhawk and even theF-4 Phantom, forming a protective umbrella until they could be removed. Theradar warning receivers on the Israeli aircraft did not alert the pilot to the fact that he was being illuminated by the radar. The 2K12 performed well according to a conversation between IsraeliGeneral Peled andHenry Kissinger, and caused the most Israeli losses of any Egyptian anti-aircraft missile, followed by the9K32 Strela-2.[12]
The superior low altitude performance of the weapon, and its new CW semi-active missile seeker resulted in a much higher success rate compared to the earlierS-75 Dvina andS-125 Neva systems. While exact losses are disputed, around 40 aircraft are usually cited as lost to SAMs, and the 2K12 Kub proved the most effective of the three weapons. But in subsequent conflicts, its performance declined as captured examples resulted in effective counter-measures being developed.[13]
The Syrians also deployed the 2K12 Kub to Lebanon in 1981 after the Israelis shot down Syrian helicopters nearZahlé. The SAM batteries were placed in theBekaa Valley near theBeirut-Damascus road. They remained close to the existing Syrian air defense system but could not be fully integrated into it.[clarification needed] Early in the1982 Lebanon war, theIsraeli Air Force concentrated on suppressing the SAM threat in theBeqaa Valley, launchingOperation Mole Cricket 19. The result was a complete success. Several 2K12 Kub batteries, along with S-75s and S-125 systems, were destroyed in a single day. While Syria's own air defenses remained largely intact, its forces in Lebanon were left exposed to attacks by Israeli strike aircraft for the remainder of the war. It has been reported, however, that at least one IsraeliF-4 Phantom fighter-bomber was shot down in the area by a 2K12 Kub on July 24, 1982.[14]
ThePeople's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) procured a number of 2K12 Kub systems from the Soviet Union in 1981.[15] According to theCentral Intelligence Agency, Angola had obtained sixteen TEL launchers for the 2K12 Kub systems, which were deployed in theMoçâmedes District.[16] The South African military noted that the missiles would make it difficult for it to provide air cover for its cross-border operations against guerrillas of thePeople's Liberation Army of Namibia, which were operating from Angolan sanctuaries.[17] All of Angola's 2K12 Kub launchers were destroyed in a South African preemptive strike as part ofOperation Protea.[15]
2K12 Kub missile sites were also operated by Cuban expeditionary forces in Angola duringOperation Excite/Hilti.[18] On 26 June 1988, six 3M9M3 missiles launched from a Cuban 2K12 Kub battery were fired at a South African weather balloon being used as a radar decoy over Tchipa.[18] South African observers used the firing data to plot the location of the 2K12 Kub launchers and destroyed them in a concentrated bombardment withG5 howitzers.[18]
Forces of thePolisario Front acquired two full batteries of 2K12 Kub missiles fromAlgeria during theWestern Sahara War, which they used effectively against the fighters of theRoyal Moroccan Air Force, including shooting down twoMirage F1 fighters in 1981 during a major battle inGuelta Zemmur.[19]
On 19 August 2003, a Polish Air Force Su-22M4K was accidentally shot down by friendly fire during an exercise by a Polish 2K12 Kub battery. The aircraft was flying 21 km (13 mi) from the coast over the Baltic Sea nearUstka. The pilot, GeneralAndrzej Andrzejewski, ejected and was rescued after two hours in the water.[20]
The system was deployed by Libya during the border dispute with Chad and proved a threatfor French aircraft. On 16 February 1986, the system failed in detecting low flying French jets which wereattacking the Ouadi Doum airbase. On January 7, 1987, the French Air Force were successful in destroying a 2K12 Kub radar site in theFaya Largeau area withSEPECAT Jaguars armed withMartel anti-radiation missiles.[21]
In March, theChadian rebels captured Ouadi Doum air base, seizing virtually all heavy equipment used for the defense of this airfield, intact. Most of this equipment was transported to France and the United States in the following days, but some 2K12 Kub systems remained in Chad.[22]
With this catastrophe, theLibyan occupation of northern Chad – and the annexation of theAouzou Strip – was over: by 30 March, the bases at Faya Largeau and Aouzou had to be abandoned. TheLARAF now had a completely different task: itsTu-22Bs were to attack the abandoned bases and destroy as much equipment left there as possible. The first strikes were flown in April, and they continued until 8 August 1987, when two Tu-22Bs tasked to strike Aouzou were ambushed by a captured 2K12 Kub battery used by the Chadian Army. One of the bombers was shot down.[23]
Libyan air defense, including 2K12 Kub batteries, was active during the2011 military intervention in Libya.[24]
Several 2K12 Kub batteries, along with other SAM systems and military equipment, were supplied to Iraq before and during theIran–Iraq War as partof large military packages from the Soviet Union. The batteries were active since the start of the war in September 1980, scoring kills against U.S-supplied IranianF-4 Phantoms andNorthrop F-5s.[25][26][27]
The SA-6/Kub was also used during the1991 Gulf War. The threat posed by these SAMs led to the US Navy outfitting the ALQ-167 Bullwinkle Jamming pod on theirF-14A/A+ Tomcats andA-6E TRAM/SWIP Intruder aircraft.[28] On the opening night of Desert Storm, on 17 January 1991, aB-52G was damaged by a missile. Different versions of this engagement are told. It could have been an S-125 or a 2K12 Kub while other versions report a MiG-29 hit the bomber with aR-27R missile.[29] However, the U.S. Air Force disputes these claims, stating the bomber was actually hit by friendly fire, anAGM-88 High-speed, Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) that homed on the fire-control radar of the B-52's tail gun; the jet was subsequently renamedIn HARM's Way.[30] Shortly following this incident, GeneralGeorge Lee Butler announced that the gunner position on B-52 crews would be eliminated, and the gun turrets permanently deactivated, commencing on 1 October 1991.[31]
On January 19, 1991, aUSAFF-16 (serial 87-228) was shot down by a 2K12 Kub during the massive (though ill-fated)Package Q Strike against a heavily defendedBaghdad. It was the tenth coalition aircraft lost in combat inOperation Desert Storm. The pilot, Captain Harry 'Mike' Roberts, ejected safely but was taken prisoner and freed in March 1991. The aircraft was on a mission to attack the Air Defense Headquarters Building. It had flown 4 combat missions before being lost.[32]
The 2K12 Kub threat was largely controlled by Allied EW assets together with the older S-75s and S-125 missile systems. Most of the losses were due to IR guided SAMs.[33]
Kubs continued to be used by the Iraqi military, along with other SAM systems, to challenge theWestern imposed no-fly zones during the 1990s and early 2000s. They were not able to shoot down any Coalition aircraft though several sites were destroyed as retaliation. In one incident, on September 11, 1996, duringOperation Provide Comfort II, one missile was fired against two USAF F-16 in northern Iraq but missed.[34] On December 30, 1998, a 2K12 Kub site near Talil fired 6-8 missiles at aircraft enforcing theSouthern Watch component of the NFZ. American F-16s responded by dropping sixGBU-12laser-guided bombs on the site and also launching twoHARMs "as a preemptive measure" to warn Iraqi radar operators against carrying out more firings.[35]
Army of Republika Srpska forces, using modified 2K12 Kub systems were successful in shooting downScott O'Grady's F-16 in 1995[36][37]
OneMi-17 was shot down by a Kub on May 28, 1995, killing the Bosniak MinisterIrfan Ljubijankić, and 6 other crew and passengers.[38]
During theKosovo War in 1999, on the first night of the war (March 24/25), aYugoslav Air ForceMiG-29 flown by Maj. Predrag Milutinović was downed by a Kub battery in a friendly fire incident, while approachingNiš Airport after an unsuccessful engagement with NATO aircraft.
The Yugoslav Air Defence had 22 2K12 Kub batteries. Usingshoot and scoot tactics, the self-propelled ground system demonstrated a good survivability with only three radars lost in the face of nearly four-hundredAGM-88 shots. As comparison the fixed S-75 and S-125 sites suffered losses to around 66 to 80 percent.[39] According to the then-commander of Air force and air defense GeneralSpasoje Smiljanić, during the 78 day campaign, 2K12 Kub had 46 shooting with 70 missiles.[40]
On April 14, 2018, American, British, and French forceslaunched 103 air-to-surface and cruise missiles targeting sites in Syria. According to the Russian military, twenty-one Kub missiles launched in response allegedly destroyed eleven incoming missiles,[41] However, the American Department of Defense stated no Allied missiles were shot down.[42]
South Yemen formerly operated these systems in the South Yemeni air defense forces. Later, United Yemen purchased a large number of these systems in the 1990s and they entered service with the Yemeni air defense forces in 1999.On 6 June 2019,Houthi forces successfully shot down a USAFMQ-9.CENTCOM officials blamed the shoot down on a Houthi-operated and domestically-made Fater-1 missile – a SAM system upgraded from a Soviet 2K12 Kub air defence system.[43]
Ukraine retired its Kub batteries in the early 2000s to focus on the more modern Buk systems, but with the outbreak of theRusso-Ukrainian war in 2014, Ukraine's Aerotekhnika company begun repairing some of the 89 Kub units in storage and modernize them to the Kub M3/2D standard. According to Ukrainian media, two units were operational in 2021, while the Pentagon estimated that only one was operational prior to the Russian invasion in 2022.[44]
On 17 March 2023, theSlovak government approved the transfer of two Kub missile launchers, one Kub radar, spare parts, 52 pieces of 3M9ME missiles and 148 pieces of 3M9M3E missiles to Ukraine.[45]
On 10 May 2023, the President ofCzech Republic,Petr Pavel, has announced that his country will send two "2K12 Kub' missile systems to Ukraine with a "relatively large number" of missiles.[46] On late August 2023, photos of Czech 2K12M2 Kub-M2 systems in Ukrainian service appeared on social media.[44]
Algeria − Unknown number of 2K12 Kvadrat in service as of 2024[47]
Angola − 16 2K12-ML Kvadrat-ML in service as of 2024[48]
Armenia − Unknown number in service as of 2024[49]
Bosnia and Herzegovina − 20 as of 2024[50]
Bulgaria − Unknown number in service as of 2024[51]
Chad − 4 as of 2024[52]
Cuba − Unknown number in service as of 2024[53]
Czech Republic − 8 2K12M2 Kub-M2 as of 2024[54]
Egypt − 56+ as of 2024[55]
Germany - At least 1 operational system retained from East German stocks forthreat simulation[56]
Hungary − 16 as of 2024[57]
India − 180 as of 2024[58]
Kazakhstan − Unknown number in service as of 2024[59]
Myanmar − Unknown number of 2K12 Kvadrat-M in service as of 2024[60]
Poland − 20 as of 2024[61]
Romania − 32 as of 2024[62]
Serbia − 77 in service with the Army and 9 with the Air Defence as of 2024[63]
Slovakia − Unknown number in service as of 2024[64]
Tanzania − Unknown number in service as of 2024. Serviceability doubtful[65]
Turkmenistan − Unknown number in service as of 2024[66]
Ukraine − Two batteries donated by the Czech Republic and two launchers donated by Slovakia in 2023[67]
Vietnam − Unknown number in service as of 2024[68]
Artsakh − Operated an unknown number in 2016[69]
Libyan National Army − Unknown number of 2K12 Kvadrat in service as of 2024[70]
Polisario Front − At least 4[71] People's Democratic Republic of Algeria People's Republic of Angola
People's Republic of Bulgaria Czechoslovakia[72] − Passed on to successor states.
East Germany[73] − Passed on to the unified German state.
Hungarian People's Republic
Federation of Arab Republics (1972-1984)
Ba'athist Iraq[71]
Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya[71]
North Yemen[74] − Passed on to the unified Yemeni state.
Polish People's Republic
North Korea[71]
Socialist Republic of Romania
Russian Federation (Flag 1991-1993) / Russia − 400 in 2002[71]
South Yemen[74][75] − Passed on to the unified Yemeni state.
Ba'athist Syria − Unknown number in service as of 2024[76]
Turkmenistan (flag 1992–1997) /Turkmenistan (flag 1997–2001)
Soviet Union − 800 in 1989.[77] Passed on to successor states.
Yemen[71]
Yugoslavia[78] − Passed on to successor states.
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro
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