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53T6 (ABM-3 Gazelle)
Type	Anti-ballistic missile
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	Since 1995
Used by	Russia
Wars	Cold War
Production history
Designer	NPO Novator Design Bureau
Designed	1978
Produced	1988
No. built	68
Variants	A modernized variant is in service as of July 2018
Specifications
Mass	10,000  kg (22,000 lbs)
Length	12 m
Diameter	1.8 m
Warhead	nuclear 10 kt
Engine	2-stage solid fuel
Operational range	80–100 km
Flight ceiling	80–100 km
Maximum speed	Mach 17 (20,800 km/h; 12,900 mph)
Launch platform	silo

The 53T6 (NATO reporting name: ABM-3 Gazelle, previously SH-08) 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.

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.

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). The engine has very high specific impulse, enabling acceleration from rest to Mach 16 within 3-4 seconds. Maximal load manoeuvre capability is 210 g longitudinal and 90 g transverse.

Radar support

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

See also

• List of missiles
• A-235 anti-ballistic missile system
• Comparison of anti-ballistic missile systems

Related US missiles

• Nike Zeus
• Sprint (missile)
• Spartan (missile)

Treaties

• Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
• Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty

References

1. ^ Gazelle (SH-08/ABM-3) Archived 2010-08-09 at the Wayback Machine.
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. ^ "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. ^ СИСТЕМА ПРО А-135 Archived 2011-01-03 at the Wayback Machine.

External links

• Video of test launching (This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by XMD-TV)

• Missile defense
• Cold War surface-to-air missiles of the Soviet Union
• Cold War military equipment of the Soviet Union
• Surface-to-air missiles of the Soviet Union
• NPO Novator products
• Military equipment introduced in the 1990s