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When discussing ADA, the argument of which is better SAMs or Guns always pops up. Missile freaks always point out that it takes several thousand rounds to destroy each aircraft, but are missiles really better?
Info is pulled from Weapons and Tactics of the Soviet Army...
Flipping through peacetime journals and manuals one gets the impression that when a SAM is fired, there is at least a 80% chance of its target being destroyed. But combat is the true test of any weapon system and SAMs.....
In the 1965 Indian-Pakistan War, India fired some 30 SA-2 SAMs and damaged a single Pakistan aircraft.
In the 1967 Six-Day War, Egypt fired 22 SA-2 SAMs and missed with every one.
Vietnam was the acid test of the SA-2 and the results are interesting:
In 1965, 194 SA-2 were fired scoring 11 kills for a 5.7% accuracy rating.
In 1966, 1,096 SA-2s were fired, scoring 31 kills, for a 2.8% accuracy.
In 1967, 3,202 SA-2s were fired, scoring 56 kills, for a 1.75% accuracy.
In 1968 (Jan-Mar), 322 SA-2s were fired, scoring 3 kills for a 0.9% accuracy.
In 1972, 4,244 SA-2s (this may include some SA-3s) were fired, scoring 49 kills for a 1.15% accuracy.
All told, an estimated 9,058 SA-2s were fired, destroying 150 aircraft and achieving a 1.7% accuracy rating.
SA-3s are listed as having seen some service in Vietnam in 1972, I have not been able to find any sources listing number that were fired nor confirmation of the aircraft they shot down.
The SA-6 is the next SAM to have seen combat service in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Egypt fired 840 SA-6s, scoring 20 kills for a 2.3% accuracy rating. Syria also fired a large number of SA-6s, but claim that every missile fired destroyed a Israeli aircraft.
Syria is to be congratulated for destroying every aircraft in the Israeli Air Force (including all training aircraft) within the first three days.
The SA-7 was used in both Vietnam and in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. In Vietnam an estimated 2,400 SA-7s were fired scoring 13 kills for a 0.5% accuracy rating. In the Middle East, 4,356 SA-7s were fired, scoring 2 kills for a 0.04% accuracy rating. The chief advantage of the SA-7 was not in its kills, but in the number of aircraft that were damaged; there is no information for the Vietnam War, but in the 1973 War, Israel reported 28 aircraft damaged.
As you can see, the best SAM performance was in 1965 during the Vietnam War, the USAF/USN rapidly modified ECM pods to degrade missile performance and later developed Wild Weasel tactics to engage the missile sites themselves.
So much for the 80% chance of destroying an enemy aircraft.
Info is pulled from Weapons and Tactics of the Soviet Army...
Flipping through peacetime journals and manuals one gets the impression that when a SAM is fired, there is at least a 80% chance of its target being destroyed. But combat is the true test of any weapon system and SAMs.....
In the 1965 Indian-Pakistan War, India fired some 30 SA-2 SAMs and damaged a single Pakistan aircraft.
In the 1967 Six-Day War, Egypt fired 22 SA-2 SAMs and missed with every one.
Vietnam was the acid test of the SA-2 and the results are interesting:
In 1965, 194 SA-2 were fired scoring 11 kills for a 5.7% accuracy rating.
In 1966, 1,096 SA-2s were fired, scoring 31 kills, for a 2.8% accuracy.
In 1967, 3,202 SA-2s were fired, scoring 56 kills, for a 1.75% accuracy.
In 1968 (Jan-Mar), 322 SA-2s were fired, scoring 3 kills for a 0.9% accuracy.
In 1972, 4,244 SA-2s (this may include some SA-3s) were fired, scoring 49 kills for a 1.15% accuracy.
All told, an estimated 9,058 SA-2s were fired, destroying 150 aircraft and achieving a 1.7% accuracy rating.
SA-3s are listed as having seen some service in Vietnam in 1972, I have not been able to find any sources listing number that were fired nor confirmation of the aircraft they shot down.
The SA-6 is the next SAM to have seen combat service in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Egypt fired 840 SA-6s, scoring 20 kills for a 2.3% accuracy rating. Syria also fired a large number of SA-6s, but claim that every missile fired destroyed a Israeli aircraft.
Syria is to be congratulated for destroying every aircraft in the Israeli Air Force (including all training aircraft) within the first three days.
The SA-7 was used in both Vietnam and in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. In Vietnam an estimated 2,400 SA-7s were fired scoring 13 kills for a 0.5% accuracy rating. In the Middle East, 4,356 SA-7s were fired, scoring 2 kills for a 0.04% accuracy rating. The chief advantage of the SA-7 was not in its kills, but in the number of aircraft that were damaged; there is no information for the Vietnam War, but in the 1973 War, Israel reported 28 aircraft damaged.
As you can see, the best SAM performance was in 1965 during the Vietnam War, the USAF/USN rapidly modified ECM pods to degrade missile performance and later developed Wild Weasel tactics to engage the missile sites themselves.
So much for the 80% chance of destroying an enemy aircraft.
But just offhand, are there any stats or info out there what their overall accuracy and effectiveness was in regards to their SAM and ADA systems?
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