1 photo

Missile

South Africa

Denel Aviation

Umkhonto

A South African vertically-launched surface-to-air missile family developed by Denel Dynamics for point and area air defense of warships and, in a land variant, ground forces. It uses infrared homing and has been exported to several African and Asian navies.

In service since 1999 · 4 operator countries

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02

km range

2.4

Mach

kg warhead

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

National export licensing

Subject to South Africa export-control approval; verify eligibility with the manufacturer.

Channel: Direct commercial / G2G

Fielded & proven

Established · 4 operators

In service since 1999. Status: active.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from. Why so few systems publish one →

Interoperability

No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.

Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Full specifications

Performance

Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.

Performance specifications
Max speed (Mach) Maximum speed as a multiple of the speed of sound. Mach 2+ is typical for air-superiority fighters.	2.4 Mach Stronger than 51% of missiles
Range Maximum distance: ferry range for aircraft, operational range for vehicles, maximum engagement distance for missiles. Higher means more standoff or persistence.	20 km Stronger than 29% of missiles

Firepower

Armament, payload and guidance.

Firepower specifications
Warhead Warhead mass. Heavier generally means larger effect radius, at the cost of range.	23 kg Stronger than 35% of missiles
Warhead type Blast-fragmentation, shaped charge (HEAT), penetrator, thermobaric or nuclear-capable.	High-explosive fragmentation
Guidance How the weapon finds its target: inertial, GPS/GLONASS, active/semi-active radar, infrared, laser, TV, wire.	Infrared homing, Inertial mid-course

Physical

Dimensions, weight and crew.

Physical specifications
Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.	3.32 m
Combat weight Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor.	130 kg

Propulsion

Engine, power and fuel.

Propulsion specifications
Propulsion type Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet…	Solid-fuel rocket

Program

Cost, production scale and operators.

Program specifications
Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.	4 Stronger than 49% of missiles

Specifications compiled from public Denel Aviation and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.

Compare with rivals