53T6

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[1]
Produced	1988[1]
No. built	68[1]
Variants	A modernized variant is in service as of July 2018[citation needed]
Specifications
Mass	10,000  kg (22,000 lbs)
Length	12 m
Diameter	1.8 m[2][3][4]
Warhead	nuclear 10 kt
Engine	2-stage solid fuel
Operational range	80–100 km[2][5][6][7]
Flight ceiling	80–100 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 USSR 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 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.^[4]