New-generation man-portable air defence system Verba revealed to public at Army 2015 exhibition 31906154.

The new MANPADS fielded by the Russian armed forces is used to furnish air cover for units against air threats implementing advanced air defence penetration aids and countermeasures, concentrated raids of cruise missiles, and is instrumental in setting up effective close-in protection of important assets by engaging enemy's aircraft that penetrated distant air defence lines which are overloaded in the modern battlefield by saturated air attacks. The Verba MANPADS defeats air targets by a smaller number of missiles and spares expensive long-range air defence missiles for accomplishment of other missions.

KBM R&P Corp., JSC was awarded long-term contracts by the Russian MoD for delivery of complete Verba MANPADS sets to brigades/divisions. As a system house, KBM heads cooperating enterprises to ensure full-scale manufacture of the weapon system. By now, several brigades and divisions of the Russian Army and airborne troops are equipped with Verba MANPADS.

The Verba is an advanced weapon in several ways. It features improved engine performance and a heavier warhead (approximately 1.5 kilograms), as well as extended range. The new MANPADS can now hit targets at ranges of 500 to 6,500 meters, altitudes of up to 4.5 kilometres, and at a speed of up to 500 meters/second.

However, the real innovative features of the 9K333 are the updated warhead seeker and fire control system. The seeker has been upgraded from the previous-generation Igla-S missile, enhancing accuracy and improving the seeker’s ability to filter out interference, improving its performance against countermeasures. Unlike the seeker on Igla, which uses two separate IR sensors that cross-check against one another, the Verba’s seeker makes use of three, making it even harder for a target aircraft to disrupt the system using decoys.