March 30, 2004 :: Financial Times :: News
On Monday March 29, Russian news sources Interfax and Itar-Tass reported an unidentified senior defense ministry official as commenting that Russia was developing “revolutionary” strategic systems which would “nullify” and render “useless” American missile defenses. The story has been widely reported through the Associated Press and CNN, as well as a host of other news bodies, as a sort of “mystery” weapon easily able to overcome U.S. missile defenses.
Remarkable about the recent report, however, is that there is nothing new being reported that was not said over a month ago, during the February war exercise. Links to the very similar reports are included below. One possible explanation is that the otherwise repetitive press conference was meant to follow upon the American test of the X-43 scramjet over the weekend. The “hypersonic” weapon and penetration aids for warheads to aide in the evasion of missile defenses during their reentry are not in themselves new concepts, but it could be that these sorts of Russian programs resemble the scramjet technology in some way.
It is important to recognize that the Russian claims of superiority, even on their face, are not all that revolutionary, and do not constitute such superiority after all. Indeed, though CNN talks of a “mystery” and “revolutionary” weapon, BBC cites the unnamed defense official as saying that they would be only “almost revolutionary.” Should the United States wish to overcome scramjet or other technologies with countermeasure applications, it has the capabilities available in laser weapons. Even a scramjet engine would have to travel for some time before being able to deliver a nuclear weapon to its destination. Space-based laser weapons which could target the missile during its slowest and most vulnerable phase, the boost-phase, still remain a viable option, and a realm in which defensive measures are not trumped by offensive ones.
The Monday story cites the Defense Ministry official as again bragging of Russian missile defense capabilities, noting that “the new military projects, if implemented, can effectively nullify completely the anti-missile defence system that is being developed in the USA.” Russia’s own missile defense efforts are not to be forgotten, and it is true that they have the potential to exceed American capabilities, at least in the near future. (Article)
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» Feb 18, 2004: Russia’s new strategic weapons systems
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