SA-24 Igla-S MANPADs teams repel cruise missiles attack in south Russia drills

Russian Troops armed with Igla-S man-portable air defense systems (MANPADs) repelled an attack by a notional enemy’s cruise missiles on a column of Buk-M2 surface-to-air missile complexes in drills in the southern Astrakhan Region, the press office of Russia’s Central Military District reported on Monday.
“During the drills, the notional enemy planned to deliver a missile strike against a formation of Buk-M2 air defense missile systems performing a march to the area of delivering fire. After detecting small-size targets, the teams of Igla-S man-portable air defense missile systems accompanying the column successfully destroyed the air targets, thus preventing the enemy’s air strikes,” the press office said in a statement.
The drills involved about 500 troops and over 80 items of military hardware.
According to the catalog of Russia’s state arms seller Rosoboronexport, the Igla-S is a new-generation man-portable air defense missile system that excels its predecessor Igla by 2-5 times by its combat efficiency, especially when it is used against cruise missiles and small-size targets, such as drones. The Igla-S is capable of striking targets at a maximum altitude of 3.5 km and at a distance of 6 km.