A-35 Anti-Ballistic Missile System

The ABM-1 missile in its launch container on a parade in Moscow in 1964.

The A-35 was the first Russian dedicated ABM system, which was built around Moscow, in order to protect the Soviet (now Russian) capital from a potential ballistic missile attack from the USA. It is was a single-layer ABM system with 64 launchers at four complexes and battle management radars.

After initial tests with the V-1000 missile in the Sary Shagan test range in Kazahstan, which have proved the "missile-to-missile" theory of the Russian scientists, headed by G. V. Kisunko, it was decided that a multichannel ABM system should be constructed around the capital of the USSR, Moscow.

In the process of the creation of the AMD system, a number of design bureaus were involved:
- G. V. Kisunko's design bureau (SKB-30, now NIIRP) was in charge of this project and was the coordinator of the other OKBs involved in it. It solved general problems and also developed the ABM control system, the precise guidance radar, the command transmission station and other components.
- P. D. Grushin's design bureau (OKB-2, now MKB Fakel) developed the ABMs.
- I. I. Ivanov's design bureau developed the launchers.
- A. A. Lebedev's institute (Applied Physics Research Institute, known as NII-801, now the State Research, Development & Production Center ORION) designed the central computer system.
- S. P. Rabinovich's design bureau developed the ABM guidance radar.
- F. P. Lipsman's design bureau developed the data transmission system.

In 1972 the A-35 ballistic missile defense system passed the state tests and entered service with the Soviet Space Missile Defense Forces (SMD). Later that year, on the 26.05.1972, a treaty was signed between the USSR and USA (The Soviet-American AMD Restriction Treaty) in Moscow. It restricted each party to deploy an AMD system in only one region (originally it was restricted to two regions, but was later reduced to only one) of 150 km in radius, with no more than 100 AMD missiles in the launch sites, leaving the Moscow ABM system the only operational AMD system in the world. It is no longer operational now.

Because the A-350 was a single tier (exoatmospheric) interception system, it was replaced in the mid 1980's by the more capable A-135 ABM system which has two tiers of interception: the lower (endoatmospheric) tier and upper (exoatmospheric) tier, silo-launched ABMs (thus making them less vulnerable to direct attacks than the older ABMs mounted on above-ground launchers) and phased-array battle management and missile guidance radars which replaced the obsolete and less capable mechanically steered missile guidance radars.

The main components of the Moscow ABM system are the following:

A line drawing of the A-350 (ABM-1 Galosh) exoatmospheric interceptor missile.

A-350 Anti-Ballistic Missile

The development on the A-350 ABM started in 1960 and it was first characterized by the west as a SAM. It received the DIA designation SA-7 (this was later given to the lightweight man-portable 9K32 "Strela-2" SAM system, NATO reporting name "Grail") and later the NATO reporting name "Galosh" was assigned to it. When it was discovered that the A-350 is an ABM, it was given the DIA designation ABM-1.

The A-350 ABM was first seen in the public in 1964 when it was paraded on the Red Square. It is the first Russian dedicated ABM, which was developed as a part of the A-35 ABM system. It was never seen in public, except in its launch container. The construction of eight launch sites in the vicinity of Moscow started in the late 1960, but eventually only four of them became operational. Two of these were deactivated in the late 1970's in anticipation of the newer silo-launched ABMs. Later, after the new A-135 ABM system became operational, these sites were also deactivated. A launch site for the ABM-1 Galosh missiles consists of 16 above-ground reloadable launchers and associated battle-engagement radars and computers.

The initial version, the ABM-1a, was a three-stage, solid-fueled interceptor missile with a nuclear warhead of 2 - 3 megatons. It is placed in a plastic launch container. The back side of the launch container is open while the front one is closed with a convex plastic lid. Four jets of the missile's first stage can be seen trough the open side of the container. In the container, the four guidance fins of the missile are folded. They unfold after the missile is launched.

During the mid 1970's it was replaced with the improved ABM-1b version which had a restartable liquid-fueled third stage for an improved re-targeting after it is being launched. They were radar guided and designed for exoatmospheric interceptions of the ballistic missiles, just before they reenter the Earth's atmosphere. Now, they are replaced by the new ABM-4 silo-launched missile and are no longer operational.

Technical characteristics for the A-350 anti-ballistic missiles:

A picture of the "Try Add" mechanically steered missile guidance radar.

"Try Add" Missile Guidance Radar

The "Try Add" (NATO designation) is a mechanically steered battle-engagement missile guidance radar. Each ABM-1 site had four of these radars.

"Dog House" Battle Management Radar

The "Dog House" (NATO designation) is a large phased-array battle management radar, located in Naro-Fominsk, southwest of Moscow (Lat. 55°23'N - Long. 36°44'E). It entered operational use in 1968 and has a range of 2816 km.

The large "Cat House" phased-array battle management radar.

"Cat House" Battle Management Radar

The "Cat House" (NATO designation) is a large phased-array battle management radar, located south of Moscow. It is similar to the "Dog House" battle management radar and it is orientated towards China.

Written by Vladimir Trendafilovski.
Updated Tuesday, 18 August 1998.