S-25 Berkut
| S-25 (NATO reporting name: SA-1 Guild) | |
|---|---|
A V-300 missile on display at the Kapustin Yar museum in Znamensk, Russia | |
| Type | Surface-to-air missile |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1955−1986 |
| Used by | Soviet Union |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Lavochkin OKB |
| Designed | 1950 |
| Produced | 1954−1959 |
| No. built | 32,000 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 3,500 kg (7,700 lb) |
| Length | 12 m (39 ft) |
| Diameter | 700 mm (28 in) |
| Wingspan | 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) |
| Warhead | High-explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) |
| Warhead weight | 250 kg (550 lb) |
Detonation mechanism | Impact and proximity fuses |
| Engine | Liquid-propellant rocket motor |
Operational range | 32–40 km (20–25 mi) |
| Flight ceiling | 20 km (12 mi) |
| Maximum speed | Mach 2.5 |
Steering system | Command guidance |
| References | |
The S-25, initially designated as Berkut (Russian: С-25 «Беркут»; "Berkut" means golden eagle in English) is a surface-to-air guided missile, the first operational SAM system in the Soviet Union. In the early 1950s it was tested at Kapustin Yar. It was deployed in several rings around Moscow starting in 1955 and became combat ready in June 1956. The system failed, however, to detect, track, and intercept the only overflight of the Soviet capital Moscow by a U-2 reconnaissance plane on July 5, 1956. It was used only defensively at Moscow; the more mobile S-75 (SA-2 Guideline) would be used in almost all other locations. Several improvements were introduced over its long service lifetime, and the system was finally replaced by the S-300P in 1982.
Its NATO reporting name is SA-1 Guild. S-25 is short for Systema 25, referring to the entire system of missiles, radars, and launchers. Portions of the system include the V-300 missile, R-113 and B-200 radars, and A-11/A-12 antennas for the B-200.