Igla-S MANPADS shoots down newest Chinese missile during drills.

Russia's Igla-S (NATO reporting name: SA-24 Grinch) shot down the newest Chinese-made TY-300D missile during the Clear Sky competition of the International Army Games 2021, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD). "A Russian officer was the only participant of the competition, who shot down a TY-300D vehicle imitating a high-speed aerial target at an altitude of 1,500 m", said the MoD in a news release.
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Igla-S air defense system (Picture source: Army Recognition)

According to the Russian army, the officer fired the Igla-S MANPADS, which was integrated into the Taifun-PVO very short-range air defense (VSHORAD) vehicle. He was also armed with the newest Kalashnikov AK-12 (5.45 mm) assault rifle. Russia was the only participant of the Clear Sky, which used its own air defense weapon: other states were operating Chinese-made QW-2 MANPADS.

The Igla-S MANPADS is developed by Kolomna-based Machine-building Design Bureau (KBM, a subsidiary of Rostec's High-Precision Weapons holding). According to the manufacturer, the system has a maximum target engagement range of 6,000 m, an target engagement altitude of 3,500 m, a combat weight of 18.25 kg and a deployment time of 13 seconds.

The Igla-S is also popular in the global arms market. In November 2018, an Indian military source told the TASS news agency that the MANPADS had been selected by the country's MoD. According to him, the Igla-S had outrivaled its competitors, namely, the RBS 70NG system developed by Swedish SAAB and the Mistral system developed by the French subsidiary of European defense contractor MBDA. All three weapons had met the technical requirements; however, the Igla-S had shown the best cost-efficiency ratio. At the Aero India defense show held in early February in Bangalore, Deputy Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Vladimir Drozhzhov told the TASS news agency that the preparation of a contract for the delivery and licensed manufacturing of the Igla-S air defense weapon in India was at the final stage.

It should be mentioned that both the Igla-S air defense weapon has been complemented with a modern electronic simulator developed by JSC Training Systems. These devices allow the users of the system to train operators for modern combat.

The Igla-S has also been integrated into the Gibka-S, Russia's newest VSHORAD system.

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