SA-6 (2K12 Kub, "Gainful") — vehicle‑mounted SAM

A medium-range, radar-guided surface-to-air missile system invoked by name in fractured intelligence: 'SA-6.' Characters never see the launcher; the term arrives as a terse threat label inside the Situation Room, conjuring tracked launch vehicles, radar pods and clustered missiles without physical presence. Staffers react to the syllables of the designation — alarm sharpening, questions snapped toward the military officer who reported it — making the SA-6 an audible locus of danger rather than a shown object.

1 appearances

Purpose

Air-defence: a mobile surface-to-air missile system designed to detect, track and engage hostile aircraft using radar-guided missiles.

Significance

Serves as the possible cause of the downed F-117 and the pivot of immediate crisis: naming the SA-6 converts an ambiguous intelligence blip into a plausible shootdown scenario, accelerating verification demands, escalating political stakes, and driving the Situation Room's ten-minute deadline.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

1 moments

S1E22 · What Kind Of Day Has It Been

Ten‑Minute Confirmation — F‑117 Down

The SA-6 is invoked by Fitzwallace as the identifying label for the reported threat type (surface-to-air). It functions narratively as the named technical cause that explains a crashed Nighthawk and instantly sharpens the room's perception of danger and potential hostile action.

Before: An unconfirmed threat classification circulating in field reporting; physically, launchers and radar would be present in theater but not seen in the room.

After: Referenced and logged as part of the fragmentary report driving verification efforts; its mention escalates urgency but remains unconfirmed.

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