Cat House radar

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The Cat House Soviet radar system was part of the Soviet Duna-3U radar system originally based in the former Soviet Union, what is today Russia. The 'Cat House' system is a long range early detection radar built to detect American ballistic missiles fired at Moscow.

[edit] System

Cat House was one part of a complex missile system that was developed beginning in the 1960s. The A-35 anti-ballistic missile system was the first such system developed in the Soviet Union and went into limited operation in 1972. The entire A35 consisted of a single command point, 8 sector radars, one long distance radar and a single Duna-3U radar. 32 missile launchers with the A-350 missile were to complete the system. ^[1] The A35 Anti-ballistic missile system was under construction during the height of the Cold War. One of the radar components was designated by NATO as the Cat House radar.^[2] Others included "Hen House" and "Dog House."The system became operational in 1972. Further testing in 1974 predicted a missile kill rate of 93%. ^[1]

[edit] Task

The Cat House site is south of Moscow while its companion Dog House is to the southwest. Both were capable of detecting the launch of Pershing-2 nuclear missiles no later than 2-3 minutes after launch.^[3] Cat House was oriented toward China ^[2] Dog House was oriented toward Germany where the flight time of the nuclear missiles from Germany was estimated between 10-12 minutes. The A35 system was thought by the Soviets to provide at least some advanced warning of a surprise attack. ^[4]

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} A35. Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved on 2007-06-07.
2. ^ ^{a b} Trendafilovski, Vladimir (1998-09-18). A35 Anti-Ballistic Missile System. wonderland.org. Retrieved on 2007-06-07.
3. ^ Space Policy Project Special Weapons Monitor (English). Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved on 2007-06-06.
4. ^ Cat House Dunay 3-U (English). Weapons of Mass Destruction. GlobalSecurity.org.