Profile
- Type
- Man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS)
- Conflict side
- Russia
- Origin
- Russia
- Service note
- Entered Russian service in the mid-2010s and remains in service during the Russia-Ukraine War
Air Defense
9K333 Verba
The 9K333 Verba is a Russian shoulder-fired short-range surface-to-air missile system built around the 9M336 missile and a passive three-spectral thermal seeker. It is intended to engage low-flying aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aircraft, and cruise missiles, giving Russian small units a portable air-defense option in the Russia-Ukraine War.
- Conflict side
- Russia
- Built by
- KB Mashinostroyeniya (KBM)
- Built in
- Russia
Service History
- In service
- Russian military service from the mid-2010s
- Used by
- Russian Armed Forces
- Wars
- Russia-Ukraine War
Production History
- Designer
- KB Mashinostroyeniya (KBM)
- Built by
- KB Mashinostroyeniya (KBM)
- Built in
- Russia
- Produced
- 2010s-present
- Variants
- 9M336 missile
Specifications
- Engagement range
- 500 to 6,000 m
- Engagement altitude
- 10 to 3,500 m
- Target speed
- Up to 400 m/s on catch-up courses and 320 m/s on head-on courses
- Guidance
- Tracking passive thermal three-spectral homing head
- Combat readiness
- No more than 12 seconds from traveling to combat position; no more than 5 seconds from switch-on to launch readiness
Conflict Usage
- Russia-Ukraine War
- Side: Russia
Russian forces field Verba MANPADS in the war; Ukrainian reporting documented captured 9M336 missiles from the system, including a 2020-manufactured round examined during the full-scale invasion.
Related Weapon Systems
IglaMan-portable infrared-homing surface-to-air missile systemThe Igla family is a Soviet/Russian shoulder-fired MANPADS built to give small air-defense teams a mobile, infrared-guided weapon against low-flying aircraft, helicopters, drones, and cruise missiles. In the Russia-Ukraine War, Ukrainian units have used legacy Igla launchers alongside newer Western MANPADS as part of dispersed short-range air defense and mobile fire-group coverage.
PPZR GromMan-portable air-defense systemPPZR Grom is a Polish shoulder-fired infrared surface-to-air missile system built by MESKO for short-range defense against visually acquired aircraft, helicopters, and other infrared-emitting targets. In the Russia-Ukraine War context, open-source arms researchers documented a Grom launcher tube reportedly seized from pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014, making the entry a recovered-conflict-system record rather than a confirmed Ukrainian-operated aid item.
AN/TWQ-1 AvengerSelf-propelled short-range air defense systemThe AN/TWQ-1 Avenger is a Boeing-developed short-range air defense system that mounts a stabilized turret with Stinger missile pods and an M3P .50 caliber machine gun on a HMMWV chassis. In Ukrainian service it adds a mobile, point-defense layer against drones, helicopters, low-flying aircraft, and cruise-missile threats during the Russia-Ukraine War.
2K22 TunguskaTracked self-propelled gun-missile air defense systemThe 2K22 Tunguska is a Soviet-designed tracked short-range air defense system that combines twin 30 mm autocannons, 9M311-family surface-to-air missiles, search and tracking radars, and a protected self-propelled chassis. Built to cover maneuver formations against low-flying aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, and later unmanned threats, it appears in the Russia-Ukraine War mainly as a Russian front-line air-defense asset with visually documented combat losses.
9K33 OsaShort-range self-propelled surface-to-air missile systemThe 9K33 Osa, NATO reporting name SA-8 Gecko, is a Soviet short-range self-propelled surface-to-air missile system that combines search radar, tracking radar, command guidance, and ready-to-fire missiles on a single amphibious 6x6 TELAR. In the Russia-Ukraine War it appears on both sides of the air-defense fight, including Ukrainian systems reinforced by Polish-supplied Osa vehicles and visually documented Russian losses..jpg?width=480)
9K35 Strela-10Tracked short-range surface-to-air missile systemThe 9K35 Strela-10, NATO reporting name SA-13 Gopher, is a Soviet tracked short-range air defense system mounted on an MT-LB chassis. Built to protect maneuver forces from low-flying aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, and UAVs, it remains relevant in Ukraine because both sides use mobile air-defense vehicles against the dense reconnaissance-drone threat.Sources
"Verba" MANPADSPublisher: Rosoboronexport | Note: Official product page supporting role, target set, guidance type, engagement envelope, and readiness characteristics. | Accessed: 2026-06-209K333 Verba (SA-29) Russian Man-Portable Infrared Homing Surface-to-Air Missile SystemPublisher: U.S. Army ODIN Worldwide Equipment Guide | Note: Reference entry supporting general identification, Russian origin, service context, and system background. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Russia Promoting New Verba Shoulder-Fired Missile SystemPublisher: UPI | Note: Reports Rosoboronexport's promotion of Verba and identifies KBM Scientific Production Concern as the system producer. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Ukrainian Troops Seize Russia's New Verba MissilePublisher: Defence Blog | Note: Directly supports Russia-Ukraine War context by reporting Ukrainian seizure and review of a captured Russian 9M336 Verba missile. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Ukrainian Troops Seize Russia's Most Advanced Verba MANPADSPublisher: Euromaidan Press | Note: Secondary conflict-use source summarizing the captured Russian Verba system and noting earlier reported captures during the full-scale invasion. | Accessed: 2026-06-209K333 Verba MANPAD at Military-Technical Forum ARMY-2016Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for the CC BY-SA 4.0 photograph by Vitaly V. Kuzmin. | Accessed: 2026-06-20