Drafted — not technically validated
Record revision 1 · The army's tracked long-range system, with separate missiles against aircraft (Gladiator) and ballistic missiles (Giant).
Real-world system as described in public sources. Figures vary between variants and sources, so differences are shown beside the number they affect. Simulator implementations may differ.
SA-12 Gladiator / Giant · 9K81 S-300V Antey-300
- Role
- Army long-range air and ballistic missile defence [1]
- In service
- 9M83 missile in service 1983; system fully integrated 1988 [1]
- Guidance
- Command guidance with semi-active radar homing; the launcher vehicles illuminate the target [1]
- Range
- 6 km (3.2 NM)–75 km (40.5 NM) [1]
- Altitude
- up to 25,000 m (82,000 ft); minimum not given [1]
- Mobility and deployment
- Tracked MT-T transporters [1]
- Radars
- 9S15 “Bill Board” (F band): All-round surveillance; 9S15M detects a 10 m² target at 330 km
- 9S19 “High Screen”: Sector surveillance for the anti-ballistic missile role; 9S19M2 reaches 175 km
- 9S32 “Grill Pan”: Multichannel guidance radar with its own search; tracks and engages six targets at 140–150 km
- RWR symbol
- None
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Figure 1 — SA-12 Gladiator / Giant engagement limits (side view)
9M83 (SA-12A Gladiator): 6–75 km range, up to 25 km altitude; no minimum altitude given [1]. The shaded region combines the published minimum and maximum range, treated as slant range from the launcher, with the minimum and maximum altitude. Real launch zones are smaller and change with target speed, aspect and altitude. Dashed edges mark limits the cited sources do not give. Other SAMs in this section are drawn faintly for comparison, labelled by SA number. Each scale prints its vertical exaggeration.
Overview
The 9K81 S-300V Antey-300, NATO reporting name SA-12 Gladiator/Giant, is the Soviet ground forces’ top-tier air defence system. It shares the S-300 name with the SA-10SA-10 Grumble Threat systemA long-range, vertically launched SAM: Flap Lid fire control, Clam Shell low-altitude and Big Bird search radars. family but was built by Antey rather than Almaz, with missiles from NPO Novator, and it replaced the SA-4SA-4 Ganef Threat systemA tracked, ramjet-powered army SAM carrying two missiles per launcher. (2K11 Krug). It was designed against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft. [1]
The two missiles carry different NATO names:
- 9M83, SA-12A Gladiator: the anti-aircraft missile, maximum range around 75 km.
- 9M82, SA-12B Giant: a larger anti-ballistic missile, out to 100 km and up to around 32 km altitude. [1]
The battalion
A typical S-300V battalion has a target-detection-and-designation unit, a guidance radar and up to six transporter-erector-launcher-and-radar vehicles (TELARs). The detection unit is the 9S457 command post, a 9S15 Bill Board all-round surveillance radar and a 9S19 High Screen sector radar; the guidance radar is the 9S32 Grill Pan. The 9A83 TELAR holds four 9M83 missiles and the 9A82 two 9M82s. Launcher/loader vehicles carry two missiles each, reload the TELARs and can fire under a TELAR’s control. [1]
Unlike the SA-10’s Flap Lid, the Grill Pan can search on its own, and semi-active homing is handed to illumination radars on the TELARs. Everything rides on tracked MT-T transporters, which cross country better than the SA-10’s wheeled trucks. [1]
How it engages
Both missiles use command guidance with semi-active radar homing and carry a warhead of around 150 kg. [1] The Grill Pan detects a 0.1 m² target at up to 140 km and locks on at 120 km. [1]
Envelope
The 9M83 engages at 6–75 km (3.2–40 NM) and up to 25 km (82,000 ft); the 9M82 at 13–100 km and up to 30 km. The article flags both sets of figures as needing a citation, and gives no minimum altitude for either, so they are unverified. [1] Figure 1 uses the 9M83, the anti-aircraft missile, and its floor is drawn dashed.
On the radar warning receiver
The cited AN/ALR-67 threat table lists no S-300V emitter, so this page gives no RWR symbol.
Later versions
The S-300VM (Antey-2500), NATO SA-23, has new radars and a missile with a range of up to 200 km; Venezuela bought the export version. The S-300V4 missile reaches up to 400 km. [1]
Figure 2 — SA-12 Gladiator / Giant on a radar warning receiver
No symbol. The cited AN/ALR-67 threat table has no entry for the S-300V or its radars.
Figure 3 — SA-12 Gladiator / Giant unit composition
Schematic symbols for each element, drawn from the composition given in [1]; not vehicle outlines and not to scale.
Sources
- S-300 missile system (section S-300V). Wikipedia (secondary source). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-300_missile_system (accessed 2026-10-27).
Wikipedia articles are secondary sources and can change; they are cited with the date they were read. The Heatblur manual describes the DCS F-14's AN/ALR-67, not every aircraft's radar warning receiver.