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Gorgan ABM Interceptor

A second ASAT capability is actually older than the Co-orbital ASAT but also much more limited in range. Since the 1960's the USSR/Russian Federation has operated a limited ABM system around Moscow. Originally employing the Galosh nuclear-tipped interceptor developed by G. V. Kisunko's Design Bureau No. 1, the system now possesses the Gazelle and the Gorgon missiles for endo- and exo-atmospheric engagements, respectively (Reference 109). The silo-launched Gorgon is probably capable of intercepting very low altitude (only a few hundred kilometers) satellites which pass above the Moscow region. This substantially limits the number of satellites potentially vulnerable to the Gorgon, which would be guided to its target by the new Pill Box phased-array radar at Pushkino. Moreover, the use of a nuclear warhead at a low altitude above Moscow would result in collateral damage due to the effects of electromagnetic pulse (EMP). Additional Gorgon interceptors may be operational at the Sary Shagan ABM test range in Kazakhstan (References 110-111).

109. Military Forces in Transition 1991, Department of Defense, US Government Printing Office, 1991, p. 37.

110. Krasnaya Zvezda, 5 October 1990, p. 2.

111. Sovetskaya Rossiya, 5 August 1990, p. 4.

Sources and Resources

• Adapted from: Europe and Asia in Space 1993-1994, Nicholas Johnson and David Rodvold [Kaman Sciences / Air Force Phillips Laboratory]

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