Today we’ll be covering the Buk-M3 SAM system, one of the most famous surface-to-air missile systems.

Buk-M3: An SPAA (SAM) for the USSR at Rank VII

At a glance:

• 12 missiles in two launchers (6 in each)
• Tracking and hitting up to 12 targets simultaneously
• Launch range up to 70 km
• Launchers able to continue combat after the radar vehicle is destroyed
• Good mobility but large in size

Introducing the Buk-M3!

Meet the Buk-M3, a modern Russian surface-to-air missile system coming to War Thunder in the next major update. It will come to the game as a Multi-Vehicle SAM system, meaning it consists of three vehicles: a radar vehicle, and two launcher vehicles with six missiles each. Let’s take a look at what the Buk is capable of!

Let’s start by going over the weapons. As soon as you spawn into a battle and position your radar vehicle, you’ll be able to deploy one or two launcher vehicles that each have six 9M317MA missiles in launch canisters. The guidance for them is a combination of active radar homing with inertial guidance on the missile’s flight trajectory and data link. The massive missiles have a large warhead and a radio fuse with a large proximity detonation range, as well as a long time in flight. The 9M317MA missiles have a thrust vector control and overload of 30G, allowing them to hit targets with ease, even at short distances. The missile containers are angled and the missiles cannot be launched vertically, so make sure to position the launcher vehicles accordingly!

The radar vehicle is where the gunner operates the system, able to control almost the entire airspace above the battle and simultaneously lead and hit up to 12 targets at once! Even if this vehicle is destroyed you’ll still be able to continue fighting aircraft. The launcher vehicles have their own sight with a thermal imager, and their radar is capable of both detecting and tracking targets, albeit in a narrow sector.

We’ve gone through the technicalities, let’s look at the base vehicle itself. The Buk-M3 is on a tracked chassis, providing a top speed of up to 70 km/h. Both the launcher and radar vehicles are very large, especially the radar vehicle with the rotating radar antenna. They’re also predictably only protected by bulletproof armor; they can survive some shrapnel from indirect hits from small bombs or rockets, but that’s about it.

That’s it for now! The Buk-M3 will be joining the game in the next major update. Soon, we’ll be back with some more dev blogs, so keep an eye out!

Please note that this vehicle’s characteristics may be changed before it is added to the game.

You can greatly speed up the research of the Buk-M3 with these packs: