- Yes
- No
Towards the end of the 1950s, it became clear to Soviet military leadership that protection tank and motorised formations with existing solutions such as the towed S-60 57 mm anti-aircraft gun were inadequate to the task. Not only was it difficult for them to stay with these formations, the actual protection they offered was also limited in the face of rapidly improving jet technology. Missile technology on the other hand, had also been improving, and the time was now approaching they could now be considered for anti-aircraft use.
To that end, development of a new missile system began at OKB-11 GKAT by Viktor Tikhomirov, and would lead to the 3M9, a missile guided through sem-active radar homing with a weight of 630 kg and maximum range 22 km. Alongside this was the development of two new vehicles, the 1S91 SURN and 2P25. The 1S91 SURN was developed at OKB-15 GKAT and contained the search and tracking radar and fire control system, and the 2P25 self-propelled launcher developed at SKB-203 GKAT which could carry a total of three 3M9 missiles.
In Soviet service the 1S91 SURN and 2P25 together would be known as the 2K12 Kub, meaning Cube and was given the NATO designation of SA-6 Gainful. Following the beginning of series production in 1967, the Kub would be widely exported to allies of the Soviet Union, which included the German Democratic Republic who took delivery of them in 1970. It was initially deployed to protect tank and motorised regiments and from 1976 onwards it was also used in the anti-aircraft missile regiments of the Army Air Defense Forces.
The Kub would remain the backbone of GDR medium range air defence until reunification in 1990 when all former NVA equipment was taken into the Bundeswehr. The Kub remains in service to this day with the Bundeswehr in a training role.
Now that War Thunder has seen the introduction of multi-vehicle SAM systems, it makes sense that we could see the introduction of earlier systems like the Kub. Unlike the IRIS-T SLM, they require a constant radar lock and are much easier to manoeuvre away from, but could still pose a significant threat to unaware pilots.
Specifications
Kub-M3
Sources
Dieter Flohr, Dirk Krüger - Die Panzer der Nationalen Volksarmee (2015)
Jörg Siegert - Panzer der NVA 1956-1990 (2014)
Wolfgang Schneider - Panzer der NVA (1992)
2K12 Kub - Wikipedia