Germany approves the delivery of ex-DDR SA-7 Grail Strela-2 air defense missile weapons to Ukraine.

According to information published by the German Government on March 3, 2022, Germany has approved the delivery to Ukraine of 2,700 SA-7 Grail 9K32 Strela-2 portable air defense missile systems (MANPADS) dating back from the armed forces of former East Germany
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Ex-DDR soldier using an SA-7 Grail Strela-2M 9K2 Man-Portable Air Defense Missile System MANPADS. (Picture source Internet)

The man-portable surface-to-air defense missile system SA-7 Grail Strela-2M come out of the depots once overseen by Soviet-controlled East Germany, which reunited with West Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

On February 26, 2022, the German government has also approved the delivery d 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger anti-aircraft defense systems to Ukraine.

The 9K32 Strela-2 (NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a lightweight, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile system MANPADS. It is designed to destroy aircraft at low altitudes, with passive infrared homing guidance, and destroy them with a high explosive warhead.

The Strela-2 uses an infrared-guided missile with the seeker in the nose. The missile has a maximum firing range of 3.4 km with an altitude from 50 m to 1.5 km. The missile is fitted with a HE (High Explosive) fragmentation warhead weighing 1.17 kg. The MANPADS has a length of 1.438 m and a combat weight of 9.15 kg.

The improved Strela-2M uses a higher thrust propellant to reach a range of 4.2 km and a maximum altitude of 2.3 km. The improved seeker in the Strela-2M can engage all aerial targets such as helicopters and propeller aircraft.