53T6 (ABM-3 Gazelle)
TypeAnti-ballistic missile
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In serviceSince 1995
Used byRussia
WarsCold War
Production history
DesignerNPO Novator Design Bureau
Designed1978[1]
Produced1988[1]
No. built68[1]
VariantsA modernized variant is in service as of July 2018
Specifications
Mass10,000  kg (22,000 lbs)
Length12 m
Diameter1.8 m[2][3][4]
Warheadnuclear 10 kt
Engine2-stage solid fuel
Operational
range
80–100 km[2][5][6][7]
Flight ceiling80–100 km
Maximum speed Mach 17 (20,800 km/h; 12,900 mph)
Launch
platform
silo[8][9]

The 53T6 (NATO reporting name: ABM-3 Gazelle, previously SH-08)[1] is a Russian anti-ballistic missile. Designed in 1978 and in service since 1995,[10] it is a component of the A-135 anti-ballistic missile system.

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 armed with a 10 kt thermonuclear weapon. (note: This is a neutron bomb that partially fissions the radioactive materials in the RV and prevents detonation of the hydrogen explosive. A neutron bomb is an enhanced fission implosion trigger that encounters a neutron emitter and is not correctly described as thermonuclear while the incoming hydrogen bomb it disables is a thermonuclear weapon.) The missile is about 10 meters in length and 1.8 meters in diameter. Its launch weight is 10 tons.[1][11]

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 Mach 17 (20,800 km/h; 12,900 mph; 5.78 km/s).[11] The engine has extremely high specific impulse, the enormous thrust enabling acceleration from rest to Mach 16 within 3-4 seconds. Maximal load manoeuvre capability is 210 g longitudinal and 90 g transverse.[4]

Radar support

The Gazelle missile system is supported by the Don-2N Pill Box radar.

See also

Treaties

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Gazelle (SH-08/ABM-3) Archived 2010-08-09 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. 1 2 "PRS-1/53T6 antimissile missile complex and A-135/RTTS-181 Cupid / 5ZH60". Tonnel-ufo.ru. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  3. ↑ O'Connor, Sean (12 December 2009). "Russian/Soviet Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems". p. 1. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Отечественная военная техника (после 1945г.) - Статьи - Система А-135 ракета 53Т6 - ABM-3 GAZELLE / SH-08". 8 September 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-09-08.
  5. ↑ "A-135 SAMOLET (SH-08/ABM-3 GAZELLE)". Archived from the original on 2015-10-29. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  6. ↑ Pike, John. "53T6 Gazelle". www.globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 2015-06-03. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  7. ↑ "53T6". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-11. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  8. ↑ O'Connor, Sean (12 December 2009). "Russian/Soviet Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems". p. 1. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  9. ↑ 53t6 (25 September 2007). "Anti-ballistic missile 53T6 Gazelle Test mission Launch". Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ A-135.
  11. 1 2 СИСТЕМА ПРО А-135 Archived 2011-01-03 at the Wayback Machine.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 53T6.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.