SA-17 Grizzly

Overview

The 9K37M1-2 Buk-M1-2, which entered service in 1998, introduced the 9M317 missile to the Buk (SA-11SA-11 Gadfly Threat systemThe SA-6's successor: each tracked launcher carries its own Fire Dome radar and four semi-active homing missiles.) family. With it the system received a new NATO reporting name, SA-17 Grizzly, and the GRAU designation 9K317, which covers all later versions. [1] The new missile let the system engage ballistic missiles and surface targets and enlarged its envelope against aircraft and helicopters; the Buk-M1-2 can still fire the older 9M38. [1] The export name is Ural. The Buk-M2 adds a third-generation phased-array fire-control radar. The later Buk-M3 is SA-27. [1]

The battalion

The organisation is the same as the SA-11SA-11 Gadfly Threat systemThe SA-6's successor: each tracked launcher carries its own Fire Dome radar and four semi-active homing missiles.’s: a command vehicle, a target acquisition radar, six TELARs and three TELs. Each Buk-M1-2 TELAR, on the GM-569 chassis, has a crew of four, a fire-control radar at the front and four ready-to-fire missiles, and can guide up to three missiles at one target. It can also be fitted with a thermal camera and laser rangefinder for passive tracking. [1]

The Buk-M2 TELAR uses a passive electronically scanned array instead of the original mechanically scanned dish. Its 9S36 vehicle carries a radar on a mast but no missiles and can guide two TELs against up to four targets, for use in forested or hilly ground. [1]

How it engages

The 9M317 uses inertial correction with semi-active radar homingHoming GlossaryNavigation: Flying to a station by keeping the bearing pointer at the top of the instrument without correcting for wind. In a crosswind it flies a curved path.Weapons: The technique whereby a mobile station directs itself, or is directed, towards a source of primary or reflected energy, or to a specified point. and proportional navigation. [1] The missile weighs 715 kg against the 9M38’s 690 kg. [1] The system’s kill probability is estimated at 70 to 93% per missile against an aircraft. [1]

Envelope

The article’s Buk system data, which does not name a variant, gives aircraft engagement at 3–42 km (1.6–23 NM) and 15 m to 25 km (49 to 82,000 ft). It describes the 9M317’s envelope as up to 45 km in range and 25 km in altitude. [1] Figure 1 uses the 3–42 km system figures.

On the radar warning receiver

The cited AN/ALR-67 table names the Fire Dome and Snow Drift radars only as SA-11 (11 and SD; see SA-11SA-11 Gadfly Threat systemThe SA-6's successor: each tracked launcher carries its own Fire Dome radar and four semi-active homing missiles.), and has no separate entry for the SA-17.

History

Russia has used the Buk-M1-2 and later versions in Ukraine: on 27 February 2022 a Ukrainian TB2 drone destroyed a Russian Buk-M1-2 TELAR and TEL near Malin. [1] Syria received Buk-M2E systems in 2011, and Venezuela operates the Buk-M2E. [1]