Misagh family
Iranian man-portable air-defence missiles, derived from the Chinese QW series
Iranian MANPADS family from the Shahid Shah Abadi complex, each based on a Chinese QianWei: Misagh-1 on the QW-1, Misagh-2 on the QW-1M (or QW-11, sources differ) and Misagh-3 on the QW-18. From the outside they can hardly be told apart from the Chinese originals. Relevant because of proliferation: Houthis, forces in Libya, Syria and, according to Wikipedia, Russia — and the unknown MANPADS "Iva" in Russian service could be a Misagh-3.
Learn more in the AirDefense Academy →Dimensionsfor imagery analysis
- Missile (L × Ø, span)
- Misagh-1: 1.48 m × Ø 72 mm · Misagh-2: 1.59 m · Misagh-3: ≈ 1.5 m
- System
- Misagh-1: 16.9 kg · Misagh-2: missile 11.3–12.7 kg · Misagh-3: 17 kg
- Dimension source
- Wikipedia; WEG (ODIN)
General
- Role
- Last layer, man-portable
- Manufacturer
- Shahid Shah Abadi Industrial Complex (Iran)
- Misagh-1
- Copy of the QW-1
- Misagh-2
- Copy of the QW-1M (other sources: QW-11); mass production since February 2006; battery parallel to the tube
- Misagh-3
- Copy of the QW-18; 360° laser proximity fuze against flares
- Users
- Iran, Syria, Libyan GNA forces (probably via Turkey), Houthis; Russia per Wikipedia — not independently confirmed
Weapon
- Guidance
- Infrared, fire-and-forget
- Range
- Misagh-2: ≈ 3.2 NM (6 km); Misagh-3: 2.7–3.2 NM (5–6 km, sources differ)
- Altitude
- Misagh-2: up to ≈ 16,400 ft (5 km); Misagh-3: 13,100–16,400 ft — sources differ
- Speed
- Misagh-1: ≈ 700 m/s; Misagh-2/-3: ≈ 850 m/s
- Warhead
- 1.42 kg HE (Misagh-1/-2); 1.5 kg fragmentation (Misagh-3)
- Weight
- Misagh-2: 12.74 kg, length ≈ 1.5 m
Warning & threat
- RWR
- No — passive; only a MAWS sees the launch
- Identification
- Looks almost identical to the QW-1M, QW-18 and Misagh-3 — type identification from imagery is unreliable
- Countermeasure
- Altitude, DIRCM; flares less effective against Misagh-3
- Threat level
- Medium-high — mainly because of proliferation to proxies
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…