Drafted — not technically validated
Record revision 1 · A very long-range strategic SAM guided by the Square Pair continuous-wave radar.
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-5 Gammon · S-200
- Role
- Long-range, high-altitude strategic air defence [1]
- In service
- S-200A Angara 1967; S-200V Vega 1970 [1]
- Guidance
- Square Pair radar tracks and illuminates the target; semi-active homing (unverified here; see text)
- Range
- up to 250 km (135 NM); minimum not given [1]
- Altitude
- up to 29,200 m (95,800 ft); minimum not given [1]
- Mobility and deployment
- Battalions of six launchers and a fire-control radar [1]
- Radars
- 5N62 “Square Pair” (H band): Continuous-wave target tracking and illumination
- P-14 / 5N84A “Tall King C” (A band): Early warning
- PRV-17 “Odd Group”: Height finder
- P-35 “Bar Lock” (E/F band): Associated search radar
- RWR symbol
- 5SA-5 Gammon Square Pair track radar FFSA-2, SA-3 and SA-5 Flat Face search radar (S-125 P-19) TSSA-5 Tin Shield search radar [2]
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Figure 1 — SA-5 Gammon engagement limits (side view)
S-200V Vega (SA-5b): range 250 km, ceiling 29.2 km [1]. No minimum range or altitude for this variant in the cited source. 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 S-200, NATO reporting name SA-5 Gammon (first reported as “Tallinn”), is a long-range, high-altitude SAM system developed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s. The Soviets deployed it mainly at battalion level: six launchers and a fire-control radar. [1]
Variants and reach
| Variant | Introduced | Range | Ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|
| S-200A Angara (SA-5a) | 1967 | 160 km (86 NM) | 20.1 km (66,000 ft) |
| S-200V Vega (SA-5b) | 1970 | 250 km (135 NM) | 29.2 km (95,800 ft) |
| S-200V with V-870 missile | — | 280 km (151 NM) | 40 km (131,000 ft) |
| S-200M Vega-M | — | 300 km (162 NM) | 29 km (95,100 ft) |
| S-200D Dubna (SA-5c) | — | 300 km (162 NM) | 40 km (131,000 ft) |
Source: [1]. Figure 1 uses the S-200V. The export 5V28E missile carries a 217 kg high-explosive fragmentation warhead with 90 kg of explosive; the 5V28N and 5V28MN were the only nuclear-armed variants, the latter with a 5 kt yield. [1]
How it engages
The 5N62 Square Pair is an H-band continuous-wave radar that both tracks targets and illuminates them. Early warningEarly warning GlossaryJoint terms: Early notification of the launch or approach of unknown weapons or weapons carriers. comes from the A-band P-14 Tall King C, height finding from the PRV-17 Odd Group, and the E/F-band P-35 Bar Lock is also associated with the system. [1]
Unverified here: that the missile homes semi-actively on the Square Pair’s illumination. It follows from the radar’s role, but the source text reviewed for this revision does not state the guidance law.
On the radar warning receiver
In the DCS F-14, the AN/ALR-67 shows the Square Pair track radar as 5, and lists two search radars with the SA-5: the Flat Face (FF, also used with the SA-2SA-2 Guideline Threat systemThe classic six-launcher site around a Fan Song radar: radio-command-guided, and the SAM US crews met over North Vietnam. and SA-3SA-3 Goa Threat systemCommand-guided by the Low Blow radar from two- or four-missile launchers; the system that downed an F-117.) and the Tin Shield (TS). [2] Neither search radar is in the S-200 radar list above, which comes from [1].
History
Libya received S-200 systems from 1985 and later fired them at US aircraft without hitting them. On 4 October 2001, a Ukrainian S-200 destroyed Siberia Airlines Flight 1812, a Tu-154, over the Black Sea, killing all 78 people aboard. Syrian S-200s shot down an Israeli F-16I on 10 February 2018 and, on 17 September 2018, a Russian Il-20M, killing all 15 aboard. [1]
Figure 2 — SA-5 Gammon on a radar warning receiver
- 5
- SA-5 Gammon Square Pair track radar
- FF
- SA-2, SA-3 and SA-5 Flat Face search radar (S-125 P-19)
- TS
- SA-5 Tin Shield search radar
Layout after the DCS F-14 AN/ALR-67 description [2]: the inner band shows emitters that cannot engage you, the middle band systems within lethal range, and the outer band imminent threats; a symbol flashes when its radar is engaging. Search radars are drawn in the inner band and track radars in the middle band. Bearings are arbitrary. Other aircraft and RWRs use different symbols.
Figure 3 — SA-5 Gammon unit composition
Schematic symbols for each element, drawn from the composition given in [1]; not vehicle outlines and not to scale.
Sources
- S-200 (missile). Wikipedia (secondary source). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-200_(missile) (accessed 2026-10-25).
- DCS: F-14 Tomcat manual, AN/ALR-67 radar warning receiver. Heatblur Simulations. https://f14.manuals.heatblur.se/f14ab/systems/defensive_systems/rwr/alr_67.html (accessed 2026-10-25).
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.