Missile 9K38 Igla (SA-18 Grouse)

Development of the 9K38 Igla man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) began in 1972 as an all-new project to achieve improved countermeasure resistance and a wider engagement envelope than the preceding Strela series. Technical difficulties delayed development, prompting a program split in 1978. This resulted in a simplified version, the 9K310 Igla-1, which entered service in 1981, followed by the full-capability 9K38 Igla in 1983. The modernized 9K338 Igla-S entered service in 2004, and the system has been supplemented by the 9K333 Verba since 2014.

The Igla-1 features an optional Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system, automatic lead and super elevation, delayed impact fuzing, and a terminal maneuver targeting the target fuselage rather than the engine nozzle. Its guidance system relies on a rolling airframe design steered by a single pair of canards driven by a gas generator, utilizing perpendicular exhaust tubes for low-speed maneuverability immediately after launch. The Igla-1 seeker incorporates a cooled mid-wave infrared (MWIR) detector and an uncooled short-wave infrared (SWIR) detector to differentiate between targets and decoy flares or jamming. The 9M313 missile uses a tripod-mounted aerospike to reduce dome heating. The full-capability Igla utilizes a dual-band infrared/ultraviolet seeker for enhanced countermeasure resistance and features all-aspect engagement capabilities. It can carry a tandem charge against armored targets, while the Igla-N variant features a larger warhead. The Igla-S variant incorporates a heavier warhead, a more sensitive seeker, and enhanced protection against modern countermeasures. Naval (Igla-M) and helicopter-mounted (Igla-V) variants also exist.

The Igla system is widely deployed, having been exported to over thirty countries and acquired by various non-state groups. The system's first combat success occurred on August 1, 1992, when an Indian Army battery shot down two Pakistani Lama helicopters during Operation Trishul Shakti. During the 1991 Gulf War, Iraqi Igla-1E systems downed a British Panavia Tornado and an American F-16. In 1994, an Igla-1E was used to down a Rwandan government transport flight. During the Cenepa War in 1995, both Ecuador and Peru deployed the system, resulting in the loss of a Peruvian Mi-25. In the Balkans, Bosnian Serb forces used the system to shoot down an RAF Sea Harrier in 1994 and a French Mirage 2000D in 1995, while Yugoslav forces damaged two American A-10 aircraft in 1999. In 2002, Chechen separatists used an Igla to down a Russian Mi-26 helicopter. In 2014, Azerbaijani forces downed an Armenian Mi-24 with an Igla-S, and Armenian forces used the system during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to target Azerbaijani aircraft, including Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles. PKK militants downed a Turkish AH-1W SuperCobra in 2016. The system has seen extensive use by Ukrainian forces during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, downing multiple cruise missiles, Ka-52 helicopters, and Su-25, Su-34, and Su-30 aircraft.