The 53T6 (
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform man ...
: ABM-3 ''Gazelle'', previously SH-08)
[Gazelle (SH-08/ABM-3)]
. is a Russian
anti-ballistic missile
An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a surface-to-air missile designed to counter ballistic missiles (missile defense). Ballistic missiles are used to deliver nuclear, chemical, biological, or conventional warheads in a ballistic flight trajec ...
. Designed in 1978 and in service since 1995,
[''A-135'']
it is a component of the
A-135 anti-ballistic missile system
The A-135 (renamed to A-235) ( 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 ente ...
.
The missile is able to intercept incoming
re-entry vehicles at a distance of 80 km. The 53T6 is a two-stage
solid-propellant rocket
A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants ( fuel/oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were used in warfare by the Arabs, Chinese, Pe ...
armed with a 10 kt
thermonuclear weapon
A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lo ...
. The missile is about 10 meters in length and 1.8 meters in diameter. Its launch weight is 10 tons.
[СИСТЕМА ПРО А-135](_blank)
.
The 53T6 missile is kept in a silo-based launch container. Prior to launch its cover is blown off.
The missile achieves speeds of approximately .
Radar support
The ''Gazelle'' missile system is supported by the Don-2N ''Pill Box'' radar.
See also
*List of missiles
Below is a list of missiles, sorted alphabetically into large categories and subcategories by name and purpose.
Other missile lists
Types of missiles:
* Conventional guided missiles
** Air-to-air missile
** Air-to-surface missile
** Anti-rad ...
* A-235 anti-ballistic missile system
Related US missiles
*Nike Zeus
Nike Zeus was an anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system developed by the US Army during the late 1950s and early 1960s that was designed to destroy incoming Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile warheads before they could hit their targets. It ...
*Sprint (missile)
The Sprint was a two-stage, solid-fuel anti-ballistic missile (ABM), armed with a W66 enhanced-radiation thermonuclear warhead used by the United States Army from 1975-1976. It was designed to intercept incoming reentry vehicles (RV) after the ...
*Spartan (missile)
The LIM-49 Spartan was a United States Army anti-ballistic missile, designed to intercept attacking nuclear warheads from Intercontinental ballistic missiles at long range and while still outside the atmosphere. For actual deployment, a five-mega ...
Treaties
*Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were two rounds of bilateral conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War superpowers dealt with arms control in two rounds of ...
*Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty or ABMT) (1972–2002) was an arms control treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union on the limitation of the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems used in defending areas against ballisti ...
References
External links
{{Commons category
Video of test launching (This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by XMD-TV)
Anti-ballistic missiles of Russia
Missile defense
Cold War surface-to-air missiles of the Soviet Union
Cold War military equipment of the Soviet Union
NPO Novator products
Military equipment introduced in the 1990s