9K32 Strela-2 (RS-SA-7A/B Grail)‡

The 9K32 Strela-2 (NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) developed in the Soviet Union. It is an infrared homing surface-to-air missile designed to engage low-flying aircraft and helicopters.

Developed in the 1960s by the Kolomna Design Bureau to counter low-altitude NATO strike aircraft, the Strela-2 entered Soviet service in 1968, with the improved Strela-2M variant following in 1972. It saw its combat debut with Egyptian forces during the War of Attrition in 1969 and went on to be heavily utilized by North Vietnamese forces against US aircraft, as well as in numerous conflicts across Africa and the Middle East. Although largely superseded in modern militaries by more advanced systems like the Igla, the Strela-2 remains widely proliferated among secondary militaries and non-state actors globally, leaving a lasting legacy as the progenitor of Soviet MANPADS development.