The Sosna is a Russian-made short-range air defense missile system designed and manufactured by the Company Nudelman Presicion Engineering Design Bureau (KBtochmash). Russian anti-aircraft missile complex “Sosna” is a short-range actions to protect the military units from air attacks in all types of combat is result of deep modernization of ZRK “Strela-10M3”. Able to effectively work as part of the battery under the control of different types of old, modern and promising battery command posts, the most preferred of which is PRO “Sborka-M1-2”. The weapon system of the Sosna consists of 2×6 Sosna-R missile launchers mounted on a turret which can turn on 360°. The turret also includes air search and target tracking equipments, missile flight control units that are combined by integrated high-precision ECM-protected electro-optical control system (EOCS).
The EOCS is developed as self-sufficient, with the necessary list of information channels, with own stabilization system, automatic guidance system and digital computer system. It could be used day/night and in adverse weather conditions owing to application of high-sensitivity thermal image channel that is not influenced by the fog and smoke. EOCS also can execute independent automatic sector search by zone scanning and can detect the targets by means of automatic control unit of target acquisition and tracking. The electro-optical system control (EOCS) ensures the target detection, automatic acquisition, tracking, measuring of angular coordinate and distance, and also laying of an information field of laser-beam control channel to the target at any time in the conditions of jamming and natural noise, including against the background of clouds, terrain features and horizon line.
The SOSNA-R 9M337 (SA-24) hyper-velocity beam rider missile is a two-stage missile designed for interception of fired wing aircraft and helicopters, as well as guided weapons and cruise missiles. It has a combined impact/proximity laser fuse. Its payload is made up of two warheads weighing a total of 7 kg. The fragmented-rod warhead is designed for proximity detonation when flying close to the target, while the armor-piercing/fragmentation warhead goes off on impact. The Sosna can be reloaded in les than 12 minutes. The optical fire control system affords the Sosna AD system high survivability and enhanced jamming immunity. The Sosna’s self-contained optical sensor allows tracking 50 targets and engaging one on the move.
The Sosna is based to the hull of the multi-purpose tracked armored vehicle MT-LB. The hull of the MT-LB is all-welded steel armor with the crew compartment at the front, engine immediately behind the crew compartment on the left side and the troop compartment at the rear of the hull. The all-welded steel armor provides the occupants with protection from small arms fire and shell splinters. The missile weapon station of the Sosna is mounted on the vehicle roof center. The small turret of the standard version of the MT-LB is removed and replaced by a single hatch. The driver and gunner have a windscreen in front of their positions which, when in action, is covered by a flap hinged at the top. There is three hatches at the front of the vehicle roof.
