RZ-25 Dal
V-400/5V11 missile at a museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia
Place of originSoviet Union
Specifications (V-400/5V11[1])
Length14.2 m (47 ft)
Diameter0.65 m (2.1 ft)
Wingspan2.7 m (8.9 ft)

The RZ-25 Dal (Russian: РЗ-25 Даль, NATO reporting name SA-5 Griffon) was a Soviet surface-to-air missile system that was developed in the 1950s, but never entered regular service.

The RZ-25 began flight tests in 1957,[2] with the first automated missile launch taking place on 30 December 1958.[1] Twelve launches took place in 1959, and in May 1960 the first guided launch against an aerial target was conducted.[1]

Between 1960 and 1962, thirty launch sites were built near Leningrad (Saint Petersburg).[3][4]

The missile was shown publically during the October Revolution Day parade on 7 November 1963, with Soviet news agency TASS reporting that tests had proven the system effective.[5][6]

By 1964, the program and the missile sites were abandoned.[3][4]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Dal". Astronautix. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  2. ^ Werrell, Kenneth P. (2005). Archie to SAM (PDF) (2nd ed.). Air University Press. pp. 189–190.
  3. ^ a b Werrell, Kenneth P. (2000). Hitting a Bullet with a Bullet: A History of Ballistic Missile Defense (PDF) (Report). Air University. p. 11 – via Defense Technical Information Center.
  4. ^ a b Baucom, Donald R. (December 1989). Origins of the Strategic Defense Initiative: Ballistic Missile Defense 1944–1983 (PDF) (Report). Strategic Defense Initiative Organization. pp. 36–37 – via Defense Technical Information Center.
  5. ^ "Soviets Show New Rocket". Aviation Week & Space Technology. 11 November 1963 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ "Russia Parades Defense Rocket". Ogden Standard-Examiner. Associated Press. 7 November 1963. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.