Trumpeter 05597 Russian SA-8

The first prototypes of the 9K33 Osa self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system (NATO code: SA-8 Gecko) were made as early as 1960. Originally, however, the set itself was to be dedicated to the ships of the Soviet Navy, and it was only after the first successes of the new program that the land forces became interested in it in the mid-1960s. The 9K33 Osa set was adopted by the Soviet Army in 1970, and serial production lasted until 1988, ending with the production of about 1,200 Wasp sets. The main task of the 9K33 set was and still is to fight low-flying targets at an altitude of up to 5000 m and a distance of up to 10,500 m. These requirements made it necessary to use high automation of the entire set, and in order to increase the effectiveness and survivability on the battlefield, missiles, radar and homing devices were placed on one chassis! Thanks to this, the 9K33 set is characterized by very high autonomy, high mobility and good efficiency. The set is armed with the 9M33 missile, of which there are six on one car. The 9K22 set was exported to, among others, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania and Syria. Today (2017) he is still in line service with the Russian army.