diff --git a/doc/source/reference/using.rst b/doc/source/reference/using.rst
index 7decc64689..9e4bffd170 100644
--- a/doc/source/reference/using.rst
+++ b/doc/source/reference/using.rst
@@ -403,6 +403,14 @@ The top level of a deliverable file is a mapping with keys:
     associated with the version (as identified by the deliverable
     file) will be branched from that version using the name given.
 
+  ``std-with-versions``
+    This mode has the same meaning as the ``std`` branch type, with the
+    addition that version-based branches can be created as well.
+
+    These version-based branches are shorter term stable branches that
+    are named for the major and minor version number (e.g. stable/3.1).
+    This is primarily used for Ironic releases.
+
   ``tagless``
     This mode requires stable branch locations to be a mapping between
     repository name and an existing commit, specified by the
diff --git a/openstack_releases/cmds/validate.py b/openstack_releases/cmds/validate.py
index 84b0b4c67f..1b66bfceac 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/cmds/validate.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/cmds/validate.py
@@ -1512,7 +1512,7 @@ def validate_stable_branches(deliv, context):
 
         location = branch.location
 
-        if branch_mode == 'std':
+        if branch_mode == 'std' or branch_mode == 'std-with-versions':
             if not isinstance(location, six.string_types):
                 context.error(
                     ('branch location for %s is '
@@ -1613,11 +1613,22 @@ def validate_stable_branches(deliv, context):
 
         else:
             if series != deliv.series:
-                context.error(
-                    ('cycle-based projects must match series names '
-                     'for stable branches. %s should be stable/%s' % (
-                         branch.name, deliv.series))
-                )
+                if branch_mode == 'std-with-versions':
+                    # Not a normal stable branch, so it must be a version
+                    # branch (stable/3.1)
+                    expected_version = '.'.join(location.split('.')[0:2])
+                    if series != expected_version:
+                        context.error(
+                            'cycle-based projects must match series names '
+                            'for stable branches, or branch based on version '
+                            'for short term support. %s should be stable/%s '
+                            'or stable/%s' % (
+                                branch.name, deliv.series, expected_version))
+                else:
+                    context.error(
+                        'cycle-based projects must match series names '
+                        'for stable branches. %s should be stable/%s' % (
+                            branch.name, deliv.series))
 
 
 def validate_feature_branches(deliv, context):
diff --git a/openstack_releases/schema.yaml b/openstack_releases/schema.yaml
index 90600ecc14..e02ca20dc2 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/schema.yaml
+++ b/openstack_releases/schema.yaml
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ properties:
             "manila-image-elements", "generic" ]
   stable-branch-type:
     type: "string"
-    enum: [ "std", "tagless", "upstream", "none" ]
+    enum: [ "std", "tagless", "upstream", "none", "std-with-versions" ]
   cycle-highlights:
     type: "array"
     items:
diff --git a/openstack_releases/tests/test_validate.py b/openstack_releases/tests/test_validate.py
index b7b0bff984..6c646df67f 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/tests/test_validate.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/tests/test_validate.py
@@ -2221,6 +2221,54 @@ class TestValidateStableBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         self.assertEqual(0, len(self.ctx.warnings))
         self.assertEqual(1, len(self.ctx.errors))
 
+    def test_std_with_versions_stable_branch_type(self):
+        deliverable_data = textwrap.dedent('''
+        stable-branch-type: std-with-versions
+        releases:
+          - version: 99.0.3
+            projects:
+              - repo: openstack/release-test
+                hash: 0cd17d1ee3b9284d36b2a0d370b49a6f0bbb9660
+        branches:
+          - name: stable/99.0
+            location: 99.0.3
+        repository-settings:
+          openstack/release-test: {}
+        ''')
+        deliv = deliverable.Deliverable(
+            team='team',
+            series='ocata',
+            name='release-test',
+            data=yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data),
+        )
+        validate.validate_stable_branches(deliv, self.ctx)
+        self.assertEqual(0, len(self.ctx.warnings))
+        self.assertEqual(0, len(self.ctx.errors))
+
+    def test_std_with_versions_normal_stable_branch_type(self):
+        deliverable_data = textwrap.dedent('''
+        stable-branch-type: std-with-versions
+        releases:
+          - version: 99.0.3
+            projects:
+              - repo: openstack/release-test
+                hash: 0cd17d1ee3b9284d36b2a0d370b49a6f0bbb9660
+        branches:
+          - name: stable/ocata
+            location: 99.0.3
+        repository-settings:
+          openstack/release-test: {}
+        ''')
+        deliv = deliverable.Deliverable(
+            team='team',
+            series='ocata',
+            name='release-test',
+            data=yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data),
+        )
+        validate.validate_stable_branches(deliv, self.ctx)
+        self.assertEqual(0, len(self.ctx.warnings))
+        self.assertEqual(0, len(self.ctx.errors))
+
     def test_tagless_stable_branch_type_bad_location_type(self):
         deliverable_data = textwrap.dedent('''
         stable-branch-type: tagless