"Iva" (unidentified MANPADS)
Man-portable air defence missile of (suspected) foreign origin
A shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile that matches none of the known Russian MANPADS (Igla-S, Verba). In Sep 2026 Russian state TV showed it with a mobile fire group of the 51st Air Defence Division (exercise, Rostov region); the soldiers called the weapon "Iva". Launch tubes and missiles carry no visible markings. Militarnyi considers a Chinese QW-18A/QW-19 most likely, with Iran's Misagh-3 as the alternative; The War Zone calls the type unconfirmed. Relevant as a sign that Russia may be topping up its short-range air defence against drones with foreign weapons.
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- Launcher tube / kit
- Case with two launch tubes; dimensions unknown
- Dimension source
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General
- Role
- Last layer, man-portable — mainly against long-range drones
- User
- Mobile fire group, 51st Air Defence Division (Rostov region)
- Origin
- Unconfirmed — Chinese (QW-18A/QW-19) suspected; Iranian (Misagh-3) or North Korean not ruled out
Weapon
- Guidance
- Probably infrared (passive), like the QW and Misagh families
- Range / altitude
- One soldier in the Rossiya 1 report gives a launch range of up to ≈ 2.2 NM (4 km) — the only figure given, unconfirmed; altitude and seeker unknown
- Configuration
- Transport case with two missile tubes (transport-launch containers), a detachable, reusable gripstock and four small cylinders of unknown function
- Supply route
- Possibly via Iran: July 2026 reports say an Iran-China deal covers up to 400 MANPADS (QW-12/FN-16, ≈ $60–70M)
Threat
- Significance
- Possibly a sign that Russian industry cannot keep up with demand for short-range missiles (Militarnyi's assessment)
- Countermeasure
- As with other IR MANPADS: altitude, DIRCM, flares, IR discipline
- Source
- Rossiya 1 via Militarnyi, The War Zone and Defence Blog (28 Sep 2026), RU Mil Tracker e-20260929-05 — identification based on a single TV segment, not confirmed. China says it supplies no lethal weapons to either side. Range and configuration: Topwar (K. Ryabov, 1 Oct 2026), RU Mil Tracker e-20261002-s04 — Topwar considers a design lineage from China's QianWei family, reaching Russia via Iran, most likely, but calls it unproven
News archive 2
Analysed reports from the RU Mil Tracker about this system, newest first. Archive since 2026-07-17.
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ПЗРК «Ива». Новый комплекс российской ПВО и иностранный след
Topwar author Kirill Ryabov analyses the 'Iva' man-portable air defence system (MANPADS) that appeared in a 27 September report by Rossiya 1's 'Vesti Nedeli' on Rostov Oblast. Soldiers of a mobile fire group (MOG) tasked with regional air defence, call signs 'Leshiy' and 'Modny', showed machine-gun mounts and a new MANPADS: a transport case holding two miss…
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Unmarked shoulder-fired SAM, possibly Chinese QW-18A/QW-19, seen in Russian air defense service
Russian state TV (Rossiya 1) aired footage of a mobile fire group of the 51st Air Defense Division during an exercise in Rostov region, showing a shoulder-fired missile launcher that matches no MANPADS known in Russian service (such as Igla-S or Verba). The soldiers called the weapon "Iva". The footage was shared on X by @TheDeadDistrict, and the Ukrainian…