A-135 anti-ballistic missile system

51T6 (ABM-4 Gorgon)
DIA drawing of an SH-08/ABM-3A GAZELLE 53T6 missile launching with Don-2 phased array radar in background
TypeAnti-ballistic missile
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service1995–present
Used byRussia
Production history
DesignerNPO Novator Design Bureau
Designed1978
Produced1988
No. built68
Specifications
Mass33,000–45,000 kg (73,000–100,000 lb)
Length19.8 m[1]
Diameter2.57 m[1][2]
Blast yield10 kilotonnes of TNT (42 TJ)
Engine2-stage, solid-fuel
Operational
range
350–900 km[2]
Flight ceiling350–900 km
Maximum speed Mach 7 (8,600 km/h; 5,300 mph; 2.4 km/s)
Launch
platform
silo, launcher(?)[2][3]
A map of the Moscow A-135 ABM system. The operational missiles are close to the city and the non-operational ones are on the edge of the region.
A-135 anti-ballistic missile system
A-135 anti-ballistic missile system
A-135 anti-ballistic missile system
A-135 anti-ballistic missile system
A-135 anti-ballistic missile system
A-135 anti-ballistic missile system
A-135 anti-ballistic missile system
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A-135 ABM system in Moscow Oblast. The black missiles are operational 53T6s, the unfilled missiles are non-operational 51T6s and the dish is the Don-2N radar in Sofrino, which also has a 53T6 complex co-located with it[4]

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]

  1. ^ a b "51T6". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-16. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  2. ^ a b c d "Система А-135 ракета 51Т6 – ABM-4 GORGON". militaryrussia.ru. Archived from the original on 2015-11-27. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  3. ^ O'Connor, Sean (12 December 2009). "Russian/Soviet Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems". Air Power Australia. p. 1. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference SoC-ABM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ ARBATOV, ALEXEY; DVORKIN, VLADIMIR; TOPYCHKANOV, PETR; ZHAO, TONG; BIN, LI (2017). "ENTANGLEMENT AS A NEW SECURITY THREAT: A RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE". Entanglement: 11–46.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference warfare was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference mdb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).