Man-portable air-defense system
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Man-portable air-defense systems are portable surface-to-air missiles. They are guided weapons and are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters.
A Soviet 9K32 Strela-2 in use.
An FIM-43C Redeye missile just after launch, before the sustainer motor ignites
An SA-18 (Igla) missile with launch tube and gripstock (top) and an SA-16 (Igla-1) missile and launch tube (bottom)
Japanese airmen aiming a Type 91 Kai MANPADS at a mock airborne target in the Pacific Alaskan Range Complex as part of Red Flag – Alaska in 2008.
Surface-to-air missile
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A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft system; in modern armed forces, missiles have replaced most other forms of dedicated anti-aircraft weapons, with anti-aircraft guns pushed into specialized roles.
A pair of S-300 missiles being launched
A Wasserfall missile lifts off during a test flight.
Nike Ajax was the first operational SAM system.
SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missiles, one of the most widely deployed SAM systems in the world