53T6 (SH-08 Gazelle) is a Russian anti-ballistic missile deployed at A-135(ABM-3) System. It was designed in early 1980s and put in service in 1995.
The 53T6 or SH-08 Gazelle missile is able to intercept incoming re-entry vehicles at a distance of up to 80–100 km. 53T6 is a two-staged solid-propellant missile armed with 10 kt nuclear warhead. The missile has about 10 meters in length and 1 meter in diameter. Its launch weight is 10 tons.
The 53T6 missile is kept in silo-based launch container. Prior to launch its cover is blown up. It takes missile 3 seconds to reach the speed of 5.5 km/s at more than 100g acceleration. After 2 more seconds the missile reaches its combat height of 30 km.
It was last tested in October, 2009.
