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EntityQ694993· pop 30· linked from 600 articles

Also known as SA-8 Gecko, Osa, Gecko, Romb

1970s self-propelled surface-to-air missile system

Key facts

Type
6×6 amphibious SAM system
Place of origin
Soviet Union
In service
1971–present
Used by
See list of present and former operator
Wars
Iran–Iraq War 1982 Lebanon War Angolan Civil War Western Sahara War Gulf War Russo-Georgian War First Libyan Civil War Syrian Civil War 2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani skirmishes Second Nagorno-Karabakh War Russo-Ukrainian War 2025 India-Pakistan conflict
Designer
NII-20 Research Institute
Designed
1960–1972
Manufacturer
Znamya Truda Plant
Produced
1970–1988
Number span no built
1,200
Variants
OSA-A, OSA-AK, OSA-AKM, OSA-M
Mass
17.5 tonnes
Length
9.14 m (30 ft 0 in)
Width
2.75 m (9 ft 0 in)
Height
4.20 m (13 ft 9 in) (radar mast stowed)
Crew
5 soldiers
Main armament
6 9M33, 9M33M1, 9M33M2 or 9M33M3 missiles
Engine
D20K300 diesel

via Wikipedia infobox

~19 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The 9K33 Osa (Russian: 9К33 «Оса»; English: "wasp"; NATO reporting name SA-8 Gecko) is a highly mobile, low-altitude, short-range tactical surface-to-air missile system developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and fielded in 1972. Its export version name is Romb.

Description

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “9K33 Osa” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.