2K12 Kub

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	Weapon: 2K12 Kub Type: Surface-to-Air Missile Country of Origin: USSR Year Adopted: 1967 Overall Length (mm): 5850.0 Overall Length (in): 230.31 Weight (kg): 599.00 Weight (pounds): 1320.57

The 2K12 Kub, known to NATO as the SA-6 "Gainful," is a Soviet medium-range, mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed during the late 1950s and introduced into service in 1967. Unlike earlier static defense systems, the Kub was designed to accompany armored and mechanized divisions in the field, providing a mobile shield against enemy aircraft. Its design combined a tracked launcher vehicle carrying three missiles with a separate radar vehicle, creating a highly mobile and flexible system that could keep pace with advancing ground forces.

Production of the 2K12 Kub was significant throughout the 1960s and 1970s, with thousands of launchers and missiles manufactured for both the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact allies. The system employed the 3M9 missile, a two-stage, solid-fueled weapon with a semi-active radar homing seeker capable of engaging aircraft at altitudes up to 14 km and ranges up to 24 km. Successive upgrades improved its resistance to electronic countermeasures and expanded its engagement envelope, with the later Kub-M4 variant integrating with the Buk system for enhanced capabilities.

The 2K12 Kub earned widespread notoriety for its combat performance, most famously during the 1973 Yom Kippur War when Egyptian and Syrian forces used it to devastating effect against Israeli aircraft, significantly altering air combat dynamics in the Middle East. It also saw action in conflicts across Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East, where it became a symbol of Soviet mobile SAM power. Although largely retired or replaced by more modern systems such as the Buk, the 2K12 Kub remains in limited use worldwide, remembered both for its battlefield effectiveness and for shaping Western air tactics during the Cold War.