A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft, ground targets or other missiles.

It is one type of anti-aircraft system; in modern armed forces, missiles have replaced most other forms of dedicated anti-aircraft weapons, with anti-aircraft guns pushed into specialized roles

A surface-to-air missile (SAM), or ground-to-air missile (GTAM, is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of antiaircraft defence system in modern armed forces.

These missiles have replaced most other forms of dedicated antiaircraft weapons, such as machine guns and flak guns that now serve specialised roles such as area denial and troop suppression.