51T6 (ABM-4 Gorgon) | |
---|---|
![]() DIA drawing of an SH-08/ABM-3A GAZELLE 53T6 missile launching with Don-2 phased array radar in background | |
Type | Anti-ballistic missile |
Place of origin | Soviet Union |
Service history | |
In service | 1995–present |
Used by | Russia |
Production history | |
Designer | NPO Novator Design Bureau |
Designed | 1978 |
Produced | 1988 |
No. built | 68 |
Specifications | |
Mass | 33,000–45,000 kg (73,000–100,000 lb) |
Length | 19.8 m [1] |
Diameter | 2.57 m [1] [2] |
Blast yield | 10 kilotonnes of TNT (42 TJ) |
Engine | 2-stage, solid-fuel |
Operational range | 350–900 km [2] |
Flight ceiling | 350–900 km |
Maximum speed | Mach 7 (8,600 km/h; 5,300 mph; 2.4 km/s) |
Launch platform | silo, launcher(?) [2] [3] |
The A-135 [5] (NATO: ABM-4 Gorgon) is a Russian anti-ballistic missile system deployed around Moscow to intercept incoming warheads targeting the city or its surrounding areas. The system was designed in the Soviet Union and entered service in 1995. It is a successor to the previous A-35, and complies with the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. [2]
The system is operated by the 9th Division of Anti-Missile Defence, part of the Air Defence and Missile Defence Command of the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. [6] [7]
A memo from the archives of Vitalii Kataev, written around 1985, had envisaged that the system "will be completed in 1987 to provide protection from a strike of 1–2 modern and prospective ICBMs and up to 35 Pershing 2-type intermediate-range missiles". [8]
The A-135 system attained "alert" (operational) status on February 17, 1995. It is operational although its 51T6 component was deactivated in February 2007. A newer missile (PRS-1M) is expected to replace it.[ citation needed ] There is an operational test version of the system at the Sary Shagan test site in Kazakhstan.
In November 2017, a successful test of the 53T6 interceptor was carried out. Target speed up to 3 kilometers per second (53T6 speed 3 [9] ), acceleration overload – 100 G, preload maneuvering – 210 G. [10]
A-135 consists of the Don-2N battle management radar and two types of ABM missiles. It gets its data from the wider Russian early-warning radar network, that are sent to the command centre which then forwards tracking data to the Don-2N radar. [4] The Don-2N radar is a large battle-management phased array radar with 360° coverage. [11] [12] Tests were undertaken at the prototype Don-2NP in Sary Shagan in 2007 to upgrade its software. [12] [13]
Russian early-warning radar network consists of: [14]
There are at least 68 active launchers of short-range 53T6 endoatmospheric interceptor nuclear armed missiles, 12 or 16 missiles each, deployed at five launch sites. These are tested roughly annually at the Sary Shagan test site. [15] In addition, 16 retired launchers of long-range 51T6 exoatmospheric interceptor nuclear armed missiles, 8 missiles each, are located at two launch sites. [4]
Location [14] | Coordinates [4] | Number [4] [14] | Details |
---|---|---|---|
Active | |||
Sofrino | 56°10′51.97″N37°47′16.81″E / 56.1811028°N 37.7880028°E | 12 | Co-located with the Don-2N radar |
Lytkarino | 55°34′39.04″N37°46′17.67″E / 55.5775111°N 37.7715750°E | 16 | |
Korolev | 55°52′41.09″N37°53′36.50″E / 55.8780806°N 37.8934722°E | 12 | |
Skhodnya | 55°54′04.11″N37°18′28.30″E / 55.9011417°N 37.3078611°E | 16 | |
Vnukovo | 55°37′32.45″N37°23′22.41″E / 55.6256806°N 37.3895583°E | 12 | |
Retired | |||
Sergiyev Posad-15 | 56°14′33.01″N38°34′27.29″E / 56.2425028°N 38.5742472°E | 8 | Site was also used in the A-35 system |
Naro-Fominsk-10 | 55°21′01.16″N36°28′59.60″E / 55.3503222°N 36.4832222°E | 8 | Site was also used in the A-35 system |
The successor system, dubbed 'Samolet-M' (and more recently A-235) will employ a new, conventional, variant of the 53T6 missile to be deployed in the former 51T6 silos. [16] [17] [18] The new PRS-1M is a modernized variant of the PRS-1 (53T6) and can use nuclear or conventional warheads. It can hit targets at ranges of 350 km and altitudes of 50 km. [19]
An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a surface-to-air missile designed to counter ballistic missiles. Ballistic missiles are used to deliver nuclear, chemical, biological, or conventional warheads in a ballistic flight trajectory. The term "anti-ballistic missile" is a generic term for a system designed to intercept and destroy any type of ballistic threat; however, it is commonly used for systems specifically designed to counter intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), its application has broadened to include shorter-ranged non-nuclear tactical and theater missiles.
Sary Shagan is an anti-ballistic missile testing range located in Kazakhstan.
The A-35 anti-ballistic missile system was a Soviet military anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system deployed around Moscow to intercept enemy ballistic missiles targeting the city or its surrounding areas. The A-35 was the only Soviet ABM system allowed under the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. In development as of the 1960s and in operation from June 1972 until the 1990s, it featured the nuclear-armed A350 exoatmospheric interceptor missile. The A-35 was supported by two Dunay radars and the Soviet early warning system. It was followed by the A-135 in the early 1990s.
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The 53T6 is a USSR anti-ballistic missile. Designed in 1978 and in service since 1995, it is a component of the A-135 anti-ballistic missile system.
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