SA-8 Gecko | Oversweep

Drafted — not technically validated

Record revision 1 · An amphibious six-wheeled vehicle carrying its own Land Roll radar and missiles: a self-contained short-range SAM.

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-8 Gecko · 9K33 Osa

Role: Self-contained short-range SAM vehicle [1]
In service: 1971 (fielded 1972) [1]
Guidance: Command guidance for the whole flight [1] [2]
Range: 1.5 km (0.8 NM)–10 km (5.4 NM) [1]
Altitude: 25 m (80 ft)–5,000 m (16,400 ft) [1]
Mobility and deployment: Six-wheeled, amphibious and air-transportable; 80 km/h on roads, 8 km/h swimming [1]
Radars: 1S51M3 “Land Roll”: On the launcher: acquisition (C band), tracking (H band) and two fire-control radars (J band)
P-40 “Long Track” (E band): Separate early-warning vehicle
PRV-9 / PRV-16 “Thin Skin” (E band): Separate height finder
Sources: [1]
RWR symbol: 8SA-8 Gecko search and track radar (Osa) [3]

A six-wheeled SA-8 vehicle with its radar and missile launcher on the roof, parked in a field, with a second SA-8 behind it. — Two SA-8 Gecko vehicles, each carrying its own radars and missiles, in a US Department of Defense photo (still DF-ST-83-04926).Credit: US Department of Defense, 1 August 1982. Public domain, work of the US federal government. Source page (accessed 2026-10-25).

Figure 1 — SA-8 Gecko engagement limits (side view)

9M33M2 missile (Osa-AK): 1.5–10 km range, 25–5,000 m altitude [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 9K33 Osa, NATO reporting name SA-8 Gecko, entered service in 1971 and was fielded in 1972; the naval version is the SA-N-4. [1]

The vehicle

The 9A33 transporter-erector-launcher-and-radar (TELAR) rides on a six-wheeled BAZ-5937 chassis that is fully amphibious and air-transportable. [1] Its 1S51M3 Land Roll radar combines a C-band acquisition radar, an H-band tracking radar and two J-band fire-control radars. The original Osa carries four exposed missiles; the Osa-AK and Osa-AKM carry six in boxes. A battery has four TELARs and two reload vehicles carrying 18 missiles. [1] The Army handout describes the SA-8a’s missiles mounted in two pairs either side of the Land Roll pedestal, and the SA-8b’s two sets of three launcher boxes. [2]

How it engages

The missile is command guided for its whole flight. [1] [2] From detection to launch takes about 26 seconds. The missile reaches about Mach 2.4, peaking near Mach 3; the 9M33 and 9M33M2 carry a 19 kg warhead. [1]

Envelope

Missile	Range	Altitude
Early versions	about 2–9 km (1.1–4.9 NM)	50–5,000 m (160–16,400 ft)
9M33M2 (Osa-AK)	1.5–10 km (0.8–5.4 NM)	25–5,000 m (80–16,400 ft)
9M33M3 (Osa-AKM)	about 15 km (8.1 NM)	10–12,000 m (30–39,400 ft)

Source: [1]. The 1998 Army handout gives 12 km for the SA-8a and 15 km for the SA-8b, both with a 10 m minimum engagement altitude. [2] Figure 1 uses the 9M33M2: the Osa-AK, whose six-missile launchers the battery figure shows, with all four limits given and none of them approximate.

On the radar warning receiver

In the DCS F-14, the AN/ALR-67 shows the Land Roll search and track radar as 8. [3]

History

An SA-8 shot down an Israeli F-4 over Lebanon on 24 July 1982. On 3 October 1987, at the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, a South African unit captured an intact Osa. Iraq fielded the system in the 1991 Gulf War. [1]

Figure 2 — SA-8 Gecko on a radar warning receiver

8: SA-8 Gecko search and track radar (Osa)

Layout after the DCS F-14 AN/ALR-67 description [3]: 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-8 Gecko unit composition

Schematic symbols for each element, drawn from the composition given in [1] [2]; not vehicle outlines and not to scale.

Sources

9K33 Osa. Wikipedia (secondary source). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9K33_Osa (accessed 2026-10-25).
Heavy/Light Opposing Forces Organization and Equipment (student handout, file 4G 3017-6). US Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, January 1998. https://man.fas.org/dod-101/sys/land/row/avoac-opfor-sh.htm (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.