The complex began to be developed on 1960-25-08 in accordance with the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The deadline for submitting proposals for further work (taking into account the firing tests of an experimental batch of missile samples) is the III quarter of 1962. The decree provided for the development of a light portable anti-aircraft missile system, consisting of two parts weighing no more than 10-15 kilograms each.
The complex was designed to destroy air targets that fly at altitudes from 50-100 meters to 1-1.5 kilometers at speeds up to 250 meters per second, at a range of up to 2 thousand meters. The lead developer of the complex as a whole and the anti-aircraft guided missile is OKB-16 GKOT (later it was reorganized into the Design Bureau of Precision Engineering (KBTM) of the Ministry of Defense Industry). This organization in the war years and the first post-war years under the leadership of the chief designer A. E. Nudelman. has achieved significant success in the development of anti-aircraft naval and aviation small-caliber cannon armament. By the early 1960s. The OKB has already completed the development of a complex anti-tank complex equipped with a Falanga radio-controlled missile. When developing the Strela-1 (9K31) air defense system, unlike other short-range missile systems (such as the American Red Eye and Chaparel), it was decided to use not infrared (thermal), but a photocontrast head on the missile homing. In those years, due to the low level of sensitivity of infrared homing heads, it was not possible to select targets in the front hemisphere, and therefore they fired at enemy aircraft only "in pursuit", mainly after they had completed their combat missions. In such tactical conditions, there was a high probability of the destruction of anti-aircraft missile systems even before they launched missiles. At the same time, the use of a photocontrast homing head made it possible to destroy a target on a head-on course.
TsKB-589 GKOT was identified as the main development organization for the optical seeker for anti-aircraft guided missiles, and V. A. Khrustalev was the chief designer. Subsequently, TsKB-589 was transformed into TsKB "Geofizika" MOP, work on the homing head for the guided missile "Strela" was headed by Khorol D. M.
Already in 1961, the first ballistic missile launches were carried out, by the middle of next year - telemetric and programmed launches. These launches confirmed the possibility of creating a complex that basically meets the approved requirements of the Customer - the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense.
In accordance with the same Resolution, another portable anti-aircraft missile system, Strela-2, was being developed. The overall dimensions and weight of this missile system were less than those of the Strela-1 air defense system. Initially, the development of Strela-1 to some extent backed up the work on Strela-2, which were associated with a greater degree of those. risk. After solving the fundamental issues related to the development of the Strela-2 air defense system, the question arose about the further fate of the Strela-1 complex, which had practically the same flight characteristics. For the expedient use of the Strela-1 air defense missile system in the troops, the GKOT leadership approached the Government and the Customer with a proposal to set higher requirements for this missile system in terms of maximum reach in height (3,500 meters) and range of destruction (5,000 meters).m), abandoning the portable version of the missile system, moving on to placement on a vehicle chassis. At the same time, it was envisaged to increase the mass of the rocket to 25 kg (from 15 kg), diameter - up to 120 mm (from 100 mm), length - up to 1.8 m (from 1.25 m).
By this time, the customer had decided on the concept of the combat use of the Strela-1 and Strela-2 anti-aircraft missile systems. The Strela-2 portable system is used in the battalion air defense unit, and the Strela-1 self-propelled air defense missile system is used in the air defense regimental unit, in addition to the Shilka anti-aircraft gun, the firing range of which (2500 m) does not ensure the defeat of helicopters and aircraft enemy to the line of launching guided missiles at targets and positions of a tank (motorized rifle) regiment (from 4000 to 5000 m). Thus, the Strela 1 anti-aircraft missile system, which has an extended engagement zone, fits perfectly into the military air defense system being developed. In this regard, the industry supported the relevant proposals.
Somewhat later, an armored reconnaissance road vehicle BRDM-2 was used as a base for the Strela-1 self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system.
It was envisaged that the anti-aircraft missile system, which has expanded combat capabilities, will be presented for joint tests in the third quarter of 1964. But due to difficulties with the development of the homing head, the work was delayed until 1967.
State tests of the prototype SAM "Strela-1" were carried out in 1968 at the Donguz proving ground (the head of the polygon MI Finogenov) under the leadership of the commission headed by Andersen Yu. A. The complex was adopted by the Decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR of 1968-25-04.
Serial production of the 9A31 combat vehicle of the Strela-1 anti-aircraft missile system was established at the Saratov Aggregate Plant of the Ministry of Defense Industry, and 9M31 missiles at the Kovrov Mechanical Plant of the Ministry of Defense Industry.
Nudelman A. E., Shkolikov V. I., Terent'ev G. S., Paperny B. G. and others for the development of the Strela-1 air defense system were awarded the State Prize of the USSR.
SAM "Strela-1" as part of a platoon (4 combat vehicles) were included in the anti-aircraft missile and artillery battery ("Shilka" - "Strela-1") of the tank (motorized rifle) regiment.
The 9A31 combat vehicle of the Strela-1 complex was equipped with a launcher with 4 anti-aircraft guided missiles placed on it, located in transport-launch containers, optical aiming and detection equipment, missile launch equipment and communication facilities.
The complex could fire at helicopters and airplanes flying at altitudes of 50-3000 meters at a speed of up to 220 m / s on a catch-up course and up to 310 m / s on a head-on course with course parameters up to 3 thousand m, as well as on drifting balloons and by hovering helicopters. The capabilities of the photocontrast homing head made it possible to fire only at visually visible targets located against a background of overcast or clear sky, with angles between the directions to the sun and to the target of more than 20 degrees and with an angular excess of the target's line of sight above the visible horizon by more than 2 degrees. The dependence on the background situation, meteorological conditions and target illumination limited the combat use of the Strela-1 anti-aircraft complex. But, the average statistical assessments of this dependence, taking into account the capabilities of enemy aviation, basically, in the same conditions, and in the future, the practical use of air defense systems in exercises and during military conflicts showed that the Strela-1 complex could be used quite often and effectively (according to military-economic indicators).
To reduce the cost and increase the reliability of the combat vehicle, the launcher was guided to the target by the muscular efforts of the operator. Using a system of lever-parallelogram devices, the operator with his hands brought the interconnected launch frame with missiles, the coarse sight and the lens of the optical sighting device to the required elevation angle (from -5 to +80 degrees), and with his feet, using knee stops connected to the seat, directed the launcher in azimuth (while repelling from the cone fixed on the floor of the machine). The front wall of the tower in a sector of 60 degrees in azimuth was made of bulletproof transparent glass. Launchers in the transport position were lowered to the roof of the vehicle.
Shooting on the move was ensured by the almost complete natural balance of the swinging part, as well as due to the alignment of the center of gravity of the launcher with missiles with the point of intersection of the swing axes of the combat vehicle, thanks to the operator's ability to reflect low-frequency vibrations of the hull.
In SAM 9M31 was implemented aerodynamic configuration "duck". The missile was guided to the target using a homing head using the proportional navigation method. The seeker converted the radiant flow of energy from a contrasting target against the sky into an electrical signal, which contains data on the angle between the missile-target line of sight and the axis of the seeker coordinator, as well as on the angular velocity of the line of sight. Uncooled sulphurous-lead photoresistors served as sensitive elements in the homing head.
The steering gear of the aerodynamic triangular rudders, the control system equipment, the warhead and the optical fuse were sequentially located behind the homing head. Behind them was a solid-propellant rocket engine, trapezoidal wings were attached to its tail compartment. The rocket used a dual-mode single-chamber solid-propellant rocket engine. The rocket at the launch site accelerated to a speed of 420 meters per second, which was maintained approximately constant on the march site.
The rocket did not stabilize on the roll. The angular speed of rotation about the longitudinal axis was limited by the use of rollerons - small rudders on the tail unit (wing), inside which were installed discs connected to the rudders. The gyroscopic moment from the disks rotating at high speed turned the rolleron so that the roll rotation of the rocket was inhibited by the arising aerodynamic force. Such a device was first used on the American-made Sidewinder air-to-air missile and on the K-13, its Soviet counterpart, which was put into mass production at the same time as the development of the Strela-1 air defense system began. But on these missiles, rollerons, which have small blades around the circumference, spun long before launch under the influence of the air flow that flowed around the carrier aircraft. The designers of the Strela-1 complex used a simple and elegant device in order to promptly spin the rollerons of an anti-aircraft guided missile. A rope was wound on the rolleron, fixed on the transport launch container with its free end. At the start, the rollers were untwisted with a cable according to the scheme, which was similar to that used for starting outboard motors.
A contact magnetoelectric sensor in case of a direct hit or a non-contact electro-optical sensor in the event of a flight near a target, a PIM (safety-actuating mechanism) was used to detonate the warhead of a guided missile. With a big miss, the PIM was removed from the combat position after 13-16 seconds and could not undermine the warhead. An anti-aircraft guided missile, when falling to the ground, was deformed, and did not explode, without causing significant damage to its troops.
The rocket diameter was 120 mm, the length was 1.8 m, and the wingspan was 360 mm.
The 9M31 missile, along with the Strela-2 missile, was one of the first domestic anti-aircraft guided missiles, which was stored, transported in a transport-launch container and launched directly from it. The dust-splash-proof TPK 9Ya23, which protected the missiles from mechanical damage, was attached to the frame of the launcher with yokes.
The combat work of the Strela-1 anti-aircraft missile system was carried out as follows. With visual self-detection of a target or when receiving target designation, the shooter-operator directs the launcher with occupied guided missiles to the target, using an optical sight to increase accuracy. At the same time, the power of the board of the first guided missile is turned on (after 5 s - the second) and the TPK covers are opened. Having heard the sound signal about the target homing by the homing head and visually assessing the moment of entering the target launch zone, the operator, by pressing the "Start" buttons, launches the rocket. During the movement of the rocket through the container, the power cable of the guided missiles is cut off, while the first stage of protection was removed in the PIM. The fire was conducted on the "fire and forget" principle.
During the tests, the probabilities of hitting one guided missile were determined when firing towards a target moving at an altitude of 50 m at a speed of 200 m / s. They were: for a bomber - 0, 15..0, 64, for a fighter - 0.1 …, 52 and for the fighter - 0, 1..0, 42.
The probability of hitting targets moving at a speed of 200 m / s when firing in pursuit was from 0.52 to 0.65, and at a speed of 300 m / s - from 0.47 to 0.49.
In accordance with the recommendations of the State Commission for testing from 1968 to 1970. the complex was modernized. A passive radio direction finder developed by the Leningrad Research Institute "Vector" of the Ministry of Radio Industry was introduced into the anti-aircraft missile system. This radio direction finder ensured the detection of the target with the onboard radio equipment turned on, its tracking and input into the field of view of the optical sight. It also provided for the possibility of target designation based on information from an anti-aircraft missile system equipped with a passive radio direction finder to other Strela-1 complexes of a simplified configuration (without a direction finder).
Thanks to the improvement of the missiles, they reduced the near border of the zone of destruction of the air defense system, increased the accuracy of homing and the likelihood of hitting targets flying at low altitudes.
We have also developed a control and testing machine that allows you to control the operation of the combat means of the Strela-1 anti-aircraft missile system, taking into account the changes introduced during the modernization.
State tests of the upgraded Strela-1M air defense missile system were carried out at the Donguz test site in May-July 1969 under the leadership of a commission headed by V. F. The Strela-1M anti-aircraft missile system was adopted by the ground forces in December 1970.
According to the test results, the air defense system could defeat helicopters and aircraft flying at altitudes of 30-3500 m, at a speed of up to 310 m / s, with course parameters up to 3.5 km, and maneuvering with overloads of up to 3 units at ranges from 0.5 … 1, 6 to 4, 2 km.
In the modernized complex, in comparison with the Strela-1 complex, the near border of the zone has been reduced by 400-600 meters, and the lower zone - up to 30 meters. The probability of hitting a non-maneuvering target with uniform backgrounds also increased at altitudes up to 50 meters at a target speed of 200 m / s when firing towards the bomber was 0, 15-0, 68 and for a fighter - 0, 1-0, 6. These indicators at a speed 300 m / s at an altitude of 1 km were, 0, 15-0, 54 and 0, 1-0, 7, respectively, and when shooting in pursuit - 0, 58-0, 66 and 0, 52-0, 72.
The combat operation of the Strela-1M anti-aircraft missile system had some differences from the autonomous operation of the Strela-1 air defense system. All platoon complexes on the ground were guided in the same coordinate system for the Strela-1 - Shilka anti-aircraft missile and artillery battery. Radio communication was maintained between the machines. The commander of the anti-aircraft missile system, by sound and light indicators of a circular view, monitored the radio technical situation in the area of operation of the radio direction finder. When sound and light signals appeared, the commander assessed the state ownership of the target. After deciding whether the detected signal belonged to the radar station of the enemy aircraft, the commander, using the internal communication, informed the battery commander, the operator of his car and the rest of the platoon's combat vehicles the direction to the target. The battery commander carried out target distribution between the vehicles of the ZSU and ZRK platoons. The operator, having received data on the target, turned on the accurate direction finding system, deployed the launcher to the target. After making sure that the received signal belonged to the enemy's means, with the help of synchronous signals in the headset and on the light indicator, he accompanied the target until it hit the field of the optical sight. After that, the operator aimed at the target with a launcher with missiles. Then the launch equipment was switched to the "Automatic" mode. The operator, when targets approached the launch zone, turned on the "Board" button and applied voltage to the board of the guided missile. The rocket was launched. The "Forward" - "Backward" operating modes provided for in the air defense missile system made it possible for the operator, depending on the position relative to the target complex, its speed and type, to fire in pursuit or towards. So, for example, when launching in pursuit of all types of targets, and when launching towards low-speed targets (helicopters), the "Back" mode was set.
The battery was controlled by the regiment's air defense chief through automated launchers - PU-12 (PU-12M) - which he and the battery commander had. Orders, commands, as well as target designation data for Strela-1 complexes from PU-12 (M), which was a battery command post, were transmitted via communication channels formed with the help of radio stations available on these control and destruction devices.
SAM "Strela-1" and "Strela-1M" were exported from the USSR to other countries quite widely. Air defense systems were supplied to Yugoslavia, to the Warsaw Pact countries, to Asia (Vietnam, India, Iraq, North Yemen, Syria), Africa (Angola, Algeria, Benin, Guinea, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Libya, Mali, Mozambique, Mauritania) and Latin America (Nicaragua, Cuba). Used by these states, the complexes have repeatedly confirmed the simplicity of their operation and rather high efficiency during firing practice and military conflicts.
For the first time, the Strela-1 anti-aircraft missile systems were used in 1982 in hostilities in southern Lebanon in the Bekaa Valley. In December of the following year, American A-7E and A-6E aircraft were shot down by these complexes (possibly A-7E was hit by a portable complex of the Strela-2 family). Several Strela-1 air defense systems in 1983 were captured in the south of Angola by South African invaders.
The main characteristics of the Strela-1 anti-aircraft missile systems:
Name: "Strela-1" / "Strela-1M";
1. The affected area:
- in range - 1..4, 2 km / 0, 5..4, 2 km;
- in height - 0, 05..3 km / 0, 03.. 3.5 km;
- by parameter - up to 3 km / up to 3.5 km;
2. Probability of being hit by one fighter guided missile - 0, 1..0, 6/0, 1..0, 7;
3. The maximum speed of the targeted target towards / after - 310/220 m / s;
4. Reaction time - 8, 5 s;
5. The flight speed of the guided missile is 420 m / s;
6. Rocket weight - 30 kg / 30.5 kg;
7. Warhead weight - 3 kg;
8. The number of anti-aircraft guided missiles on a combat vehicle - 4;
9. Year of adoption for service - 1968/1970.
