From Russia With Nukes/Surface to Air Missiles: Difference between revisions

 

(The Soviet designations refer to the whole system. There are also designations, Russian and [[Reporting Names]], for each component part- radar, launcher, missile etc. but we won't generally bother you with those)

While Russia still maintains nuclear warheads associated with surface-to-air missiles, these are all currently in storage as per the 2002 SORT and 2010 New START Treaties.

 

 

The first Soviet SAM, designed to defend Moscow, by shooting down bombers, with nuclear warheads if need be. Fixed site and not particularly brilliant.

 

 

The SA-2f was nuclear capable, but the missile is far more famous in its conventional role. It performed the first successful SAM shoot down of an aircraft, shot down Gary Powers, could have started [[World War III]] via destroying another U-2 and killing the pilot during the Cuban Missiles Crisis, then caused the US a lot of problems in Vietnam, with a lot of jamming aircraft and equipment needed, as well as some B-52 missions being ''aborted'' when one was detected. Dubbed "the flying telephone pole" on account of the missile's size, it remains in service in a few countries, but due to the anti-missile stuff it caused in response, is effectively obsolete; the US have been beating them routinely since the mid-1980s. Even in its day, it was often necessary to "[[Macross Missile Massacre|spam]]" an aircraft with several missiles for a shoot down (it took 14 to shoot down Gary Powers, with the apparent loss of a Soviet aircraft in the process). This, combined with the MiG-19 had a revolutionary impact on aerial warfare. It became clear that you could no longer fly ''above'' air defences and would have to fly ''below'' them.

A naval version was tested on a modified "Sverdlov" cruiser, but found to be too large to be practical.

 

 

A nuclear-capable medium-to-high altitude SAM, with semi-active radar homing capability- which is far better. Gained initial operating capacity in 1967, the thing is rather huge and has boosters attached to launch the thing. About 1,300 were ultimately deployed at 130 sites in the USSR.

A number of countries still retain them, although Russia phased them out in 2001.

 

 

A naval SAM, first installed on ''Moskva'' in 1967, but not officially cleared for service until 1969. Found on the "''Moskva''" helicopter carriers, "Kara" destroyers, "Kresta" anti-sub cruisers and "''Kiev''" aviation cruisers. Could carry a nuclear warhead. The fire control radar looked like a head-light from the front, so was dubbed "Head Light" in the West.

There was no land-based counterpart and it never fired in anger.

 

 

An ABM modification of Chelomey's UR-100/SS-11 ICBM, studied 1962-64. The aim would have been to have the missiles capable of changing role within 24 hours.

When discovered you'd need 200 of the things to shoot down 100 Minuteman missiles, Khrushchev cancelled the project. Pitched again in the 1980s as a response to Star Wars, but got nowhere.

 

 

Moscow's first ABM system. This was a nuclear ABM. These (the A-350 missiles in this case) would defend Moscow from incoming missiles by nuking them. Think ''[[Missile Command]]''. NATO developed manoeuvrable warheads- again think ''[[Missile Command]]''.

 

 

The upgrade of A-35. This meant more advanced computer systems and radars, which are phased arrays (electronically-steered beams) as opposed to mechanically-steered radars. They're generally better. And a second kind of interceptor, the 53T6 (GRAU designation- other unknown))/SH-08 "Gazelle", was added; this can be thought of as the Soviet/Russian equivalent to the US Sprint. (See [[Peace Through Superior Firepower]].) The 51T6 (GRAU again)/SH-11 "Gorgon" was also added for intercepts outside the atmosphere, making it a two layered system.

 

 

 

Capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the S-300P is part of the S-300 series. They are found mounted in fours on a truck and have a very long range, being considered "strategic" SAMs

Later missiles in this series include the S-400/SA-21, which has a partial ABM capability.

 

 

* Sergei Korolev, the main person behind the early Soviet space program, submitted a design for a Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS). It would have placed its warheads into an orbit so that they would go over the South Pole, as opposed to the North Pole where the U.S. concentrated its early warning systems. If it worked, the U.S. would only have minutes to respond before the missiles impacted, with the if being a very large one. The warheads were to be launched on a modified N1, the rocket the Soviets planned to use to go to the moon, and blew up all four times it launched.

 

[[Category:Useful Notes/From Russia With Nukes]]