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Soviet Union [USSR] Missile and Space Defenses
Missile and space defenses have been effective arms of the Air
Defense Forces since the mid-1960s. In 1989 the Soviet Union had
the world's only operational antiballistic missile (ABM) and
antisatellite (ASAT) systems.
The Soviet Union deployed its first ABM defense system around
Moscow in 1964. It consisted of surface-to-air missiles that could
be launched to destroy incoming ballistic missiles. The Soviet
leaders have continually upgraded and developed the capabilities of
this initial system. A major modernization of interceptor missiles
began in the late 1970s, and by 1989 the Soviet Union had up to
thirty-two improved SH-04 (Galosh) launchers in operation and a
fundamentally new SH-08 (Gazelle) interceptor missile under
development. The newest SA-10 and SA-12 surface-to-air missiles
reportedly also had a limited capability to destroy cruise,
tactical, and possibly even strategic ballistic missiles. Such a
capability would tend to blur the distinction between missile
defense and strategic air defense systems.
In 1989 the Radiotechnical Troops operated eleven ground-based
radars and numerous satellites to provide strategic early warning
of enemy missile launches. They also manned six large phased-array
radars for ballistic missile detection. These radars could also
serve as target acquisition and tracking radars to guide ABM
launchers as part of a nationwide defense against ballistic
missiles. In 1989 the Soviet Union was building three additional
sites for phased-array radars.
The Soviet Union has had an operational ASAT interceptor system
since 1966. In wartime it would launch a satellite into the same
orbit as an opponent's satellite. The ASAT satellite would then
maneuver nearby and detonate a conventional fragmentation or a
nuclear warhead to destroy its target. Thus, the interceptor system
has posed a threat to an adversary's command, control, and
communications, navigation, reconnaissance, and intelligencegathering satellites in low-earth orbits, a capability that would
be critical in wartime.
By 1989 the Soviet Union was spending an estimated US$1 billion
annually on scientific research into advanced technologies with
potentially great ASAT and ABM applications, including ground-based
laser, particle beam, radio frequency, and kinetic energy weapons.
Soviet space programs also served Soviet missile and space
defenses. In 1989 the Soviet effort in space was a broad-based one
that included approximately 100 launches yearly, development of a
reusable space shuttle and a spacecraft, and deployment of a third
generation manned space station. These capabilities could also be
used, for example, to conduct military operations in space, to
repair and defend satellites, or to build and operate weapons
platforms. Many Western analysts have concluded that the military
directs the Soviet civilian space program.
Data as of May 1989
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