[crossreferences: armament ]
Tactical nuclear weapons
Short-range ABM interceptor missile which was first
introduced in the mid 1980s, tasked with destroying the
ballistic missiles that will evade the ABM-1 interceptors.
The SH-08 Gazelle is very similar to the U.S. Sprint ABM interceptor deployed in 1974. The Gazelle is a nuclear-armed endoatmospheric interceptor, and so must have great speed to intercept ballistic missile warheads in the atmosphere which are bearing down at Mach 25. The Gazelle is the second, terminal tier of the Moscow ABM defense system, and would be tasked to intercept warheads that evaded the upper, exoatmospheric tier, consisting of the SH-11 Gorgon. Sixty-four Gazelle missiles are emplaced around Moscow, though there have been reports of continued production, and its silo-launchers may be capable of rapid reloading.
The Moscow ABM system is controlled by the Pill Box radar facility at Pushkino, north of Moscow. The large, phased-array radar covers 360 degrees, although the Pentagon has called this reliance on a single central directing facility a liability. With 100 interceptors arranged in two tiers, the Moscow ABM system could not protect against an attack by U.S. forces, and seems more oriented against accidental launches, and the Chinese, British, and French arsenals. However, a coordinated strike by these smaller nuclear powers would overwhelm the system.
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