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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Russia deploys new missile batch |
| 2003-12-31 |
| It’s old, it’s not WOT, but just to keep us informed, what the heck: Russia has deployed a fresh batch [six missiles] of its top-of-the-line strategic nuclear missiles after a break caused by a funding shortage... Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov inaugurated the new set of Topol-M missiles at the Tatishchevo missile base in the central Saratov region Sunday, describing them as a "21st-century weapon" unrivaled in the world. "This is the most advanced state-of-the-art missile in the world," Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in remarks broadcast by Russian television stations Monday. "Only such weapons can ensure and guarantee our sovereignty and security and make any attempts to put military pressure on Russia absolutely senseless." "unless, of course, you’re from Chechnya" U.S. military analysts equate the missile, known as the SS-27 in the West, with the American Minuteman III, the older of the two land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles in the U.S. inventory...The Topol-M missiles, capable of hitting targets more than 6,000 miles (9,650 km) away, have so far been deployed in silos... The daily Izvestia said that the Topol-M lifts off faster than its predecessors and maneuvers in a way that makes it more difficult to spot and intercept. It is also capable of blasting off even after a nuclear explosion close to its silo, the newspaper reported. In Washington, a State Department official said the latest Topol-M deployment is regarded a continuation of the Russian program that started in 1998 and doesn’t violate strategic weapons treaties. The new deployment is consistent with what the Russian government had told the U.S. government to expect, the official said... Next year, design work will start on a next-generation heavy nuclear missile, which will enter service after 2009, the officer said. The new missile will be capable of carrying 10 nuclear warheads with a total weight of up to 4.4 tons, compared to Topol-M’s combat payload of 1.32 tons, he added. |
| Posted by:RW2004 |
| #7 Maybe Ivan's been reading Tom Clancy's "The Bear & The Dragon"... Ed |
| Posted by: Ed Becerra 2003-12-31 7:14:16 PM |
| #6 Back in the days, the Soviet Union had roughly 7000 military radars dispersed throughout their territory, including the 3000-mile range Hen House radars that protected Moscow from threats coming from France, Britain, and China. I wonder if they still have them and if they are operational. |
| Posted by: RW2004 2003-12-31 2:17:48 PM |
| #5 I'm just interested in whether they actually got the guidance for the CEP down to under several kilometers. |
| Posted by: Val 2003-12-31 2:07:05 PM |
| #4 U.S. military analysts equate the missile, known as the SS-27 in the West, with the American Minuteman III, the older of the two land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles in the U.S. inventory. ...They deploy a missile that's the equivalent of forty year-old technology, and I should shake in my boots? I think OPs right - this ain't for us, it's for the PRC. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2003-12-31 12:31:16 PM |
| #3 OldSpook Didn't the US share the early versions of the passive action lock thingy with the Russians back in the early '60s? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-12-31 9:36:41 AM |
| #2 Good analysis Old Spook. |
| Posted by: chinditz 2003-12-31 8:33:49 AM |
| #1 This is actually good news in a way. The newer models likely have better (read: much more tamperproof) payload "brains" for detonation and targeting, and the crypto built into the ignition interlocks is a likely a great deal more secure, especially against hijacks and "accidental" launches. Good US and Japanese digital cryptographic and electronics, and solid Russian engineering. Don't bother asking me how... Interesting nuance in the press release if you know how/where to look for such things. Think about the verbiage referring to "lifts off faster" "more difficult to spot and intercept". Think about how ineffective that is against US tracking satellites with things like thermal detectors, and realtime synthetic aperture radar, and a lot of classified processing and comm stuff that cant be talked about here. Also think why a quick flight time is needed - certainly not for an over-the-pole trajectory. Now think of who might have a hard time tracking a fast-launched missle on a lower trajectory that would need to be "harder to detect". Somone that might be nearby, perhaps a ways to the east of them? Wonder if they wanted to remind the dragon that this old bear still has teeth? |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2003-12-31 2:53:45 AM |