Russian Sosna air defense missile system unveiled at Army-2018.

The Russian Company High Precision Systems holding showcases its newest Sosna anti-aircraft missile system for the first time at Army-2018 International Military-Technical Forum. The Sosna is based to the hull of the multi-purpose tracked armored vehicle MT-LB.

Sosna air defense missile system at Army-2018 International Military Technical Forum in the Moscow Region, Russia. (Picture source Army Recognition)

The Sosna is able to destroy any types of air targets including high-precision weapons e.g. cruise missiles and guided aircraft missiles to a maximum range of 10 km at a maximum altitude of 5 km.

The system is expected to replace SA-13 Gopher Strela-10M air defense systems in service with the Russian armed forces. According the manufacturer, a number of foreign countries, including those of the South-East Asia region and the Middle East, have shown interest in acquiring the Russian Sosna system.

The weapon system of the Sosna consists of 2x6 Sosna-R missile launchers mounted on a turret which can turn on 360°. The turret also includes air search and target tracking equipments, missile flight control units that are combined by integrated high-precision ECM-protected electro-optical control system (EOCS).

The SOSNA-R 9M337 (SA-24) hyper-velocity beam rider missile is a two-stage missile designed for interception of fired wing aircraft and helicopters, as well as guided weapons and cruise missiles. It has a combined impact/proximity laser fuse. Its payload is made up of two warheads weighing a total of 7 kg. The fragmented-rod warhead is designed for proximity detonation when flying close to the target, while the armor-piercing/fragmentation warhead goes off on impact.