Baluyevsky: Russia Tested Defense-Penetrating System in February, Criticizes U.S. Conventional-Armed ICBMs
May 18, 2006 :: News
General Yuri Baluyevsky, chief of staff of the Russian Armed Forces, announced on Thursday that Russia successfully tested a new defense-penetrating missile system in February. Speaking at a news briefing in Moscow, he stated that the new system will be ready “in the nearest future.” The new warheads, designed to zigzag on their approach to targets, are to be fitted on the new mobile land-based Topol-M (SS-27) ICBM and the sea-based Bulava (SS-NX-30) SLBM currently under development. In his state-of-the-nation address last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the new high-precision weapons would allow Russia to maintain a strategic balance of forces with the U.S. even with a smaller arsenal.
At the same briefing, Baluyevsky criticized U.S. plans to deploy non-nuclear warheads on ICBMs, warning that if launched they could provoke an accidental retaliatory nuclear strike. “This may cause an irreversible reaction on the part of nuclear powers which will be unable to identify the type of missile warhead and establish whom it has been launched against,” he said. Baluyevsky noted that, although early-warning systems register all ICBM launches, they do not provide information about warhead types and possible targets. (Link)
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» Missile details: SS-N-6, SS-26
Movement on NATO Defenses; Joint Russian-U.S. Test Scheduled for October
May 11, 2006 :: AP :: News
NATO experts released a 10,000-page report yesterday warning of a mounting threat of missile strikes against allied nations, and urged governments to consider plans for developing missile defenses in Europe. Marshall Billingslea, NATO’s assistant secretary general for defense investment, told reporters that the 26-nation alliance could build an effective network of sensors and interceptors to shoot down incoming missiles without over-stretching defense budgets. NATO leaders are expected to discuss the prospects of building such a defense at a November summit in Riga, Latvia. NATO is already working to develop a multimillion-euro defense system designed to provide battlefield protection to troops threatened with missile attack. The system is expected to be fully operational by 2012.
It was also announced yesterday that Russia and NATO will conduct joint theater missile defense exercises in October. According to General Yury Baluyevsky, Russian Army Chief of Staff, “This is one of the areas where we see concrete results that satisfy both Russia and NATO.” Last year, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov spoke at a session of the Russia-NATO Council, where he stressed the need to boost cooperation between Russia and NATO in the theater missile defense area. (Link)
» Voice of America: NATO Official on missile threat to Europe; defenses said feasible
» More stories on: Allies, European Missile Defenses, Russia, Testing - Russia/NATO
Putin Aide Expresses Concern Over U.S. Conventionally Armed ICBMs
May 11, 2006 :: AP :: News
Sergei Sobyanin, chief of staff to Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressed his concern today over reports that U.S. will deploy conventional warheads on intercontinental ballistic missiles. According to Sobyanin, the U.S. is making an “irresponsible decision,” that could provoke an inappropriate response from another nuclear power that could launch a full-scale counterattack using strategic nuclear forces:
It is not the missiles themselves that worry us, but the consequences. You can imagine a missile is launched, especially from a submarine … and no one knows what kind of warhead is on that missile. A nuclear power could respond inadequately to such a missile launch … The issue somehow went away after the Soviet Union ceased to exist, now it seems [the U.S.] thinks such a theme is not necessary, there are no problems. But the problem exists and it’s necessary to conduct a dialogue on it.
Sobyanin was referring to the Pentagon’s Quadrennial Defense Review, released in February, which announced that the U.S. would convert some submarine-launched Trident missiles to carry conventional instead of nuclear warheads in order to enable the U.S. to respond adequately to a wider range of global threats. His comments follow President Putin’s statement yesterday that “it is premature to speak of the end of the arms race.” (Article, Link)
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Putin: Arms Race Not Over
May 10, 2006 :: Washington Times :: News
In an hour-long speech today, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the U.S.-Russian arms race is not over and called for a strengthening of his nation’s nuclear and conventional forces. His remarks followed sharp criticism from the U.S., in particular Vice President Dick Cheney, who accused Moscow of stifling democracy and using its vast energy resources as a tool for “intimidation and blackmail” against its neighbors. In response, Putin accused Washington of exerting unwarranted pressure on Moscow, and stated that Russia needs to catch up with the U.S. in order to resist foreign demands: “We must always be ready to counter any attempts to pressure Russia in order to strengthen positions at our expense. The stronger our military is, the less temptation there will be to exert such pressure on us.” Putin noted that Russia would soon deploy mobile Topol-M (SS-27) intercontinental ballistic missiles and Bulava (SS-NX-30) submarine-launched ballistic missiles, thus strengthening its nuclear deterrent. He added that Moscow would not repeat “the mistakes of the Soviet Union and of the Cold War” by draining the country’s resources, a reference to the Kremlin’s inability to keep up with U.S. arms spending during the Reagan administration. (Article, Link)
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» Missile details: SS-N-6, SS-26
Newspaper Profiles Topol-M History
May 10, 2006 :: BBC Worldwide Monitoring :: News
The Russian newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda recently profiled the Topol-M (SS-27) ICBM, outlining the production history and key features of Russia’s most advanced missile system, which began in 1991. In particular, the article discusses the rationale behind the missile’s structural design, which from the beginning seems to have been intended to defeat missile defense systems:
It was necessary to create a structural design which, for the first time in Russian and world practice, would make it possible to resolve a number of difficult tasks. It was required to develop a standardized missile, with respect to the various types of bases [for ICBMs], which would have the same high combat qualities as silo-based ICBMs and mobile ground-based ICBMs using self-propelled wheeled launchers, the highest precision in firing and the ability for long combat duty in various degrees of combat-readiness, a level of stability under the effect of destructive factors during flight that is higher than that of any of the previously developed ICBMs and adaptability to the situation should an enemy deploy various types of ABM systems against it.
The article also discusses the enormous challenges faced by the Russian military-industrial complex following the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union and the subsequent economic collapse. Missile plants were faced with limited funding, low pay, loss of a number of qualified personnel who moved from state employment to the private sector, and wear and tear on existing equipment and machinery. To overcome these obstacles, the Russians were forced to use resource-saving technologies, such as making the new Topol-M missiles compatible with Cold War-era silo launchers. (Article, Link)
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» Missile details: SS-N-6
Missile Tests at Kapustin Yar Profiled
May 10, 2006 :: Interfax :: News
The number of missile tests at Russia’s Kapustin Yar Missile Test Complex has increased in recent years, according to a recent profile by Interfax-AVN. The report quotes Colonel Aleksandr Vovk, head of the Strategic Missile Troops press service, who stated that “the year 2004 saw 173 test programmes, while in 2005 the number was 205, [and] as for 2006, we have 221 tests in plans.” According to Vovk, 22 tests are currently underway. In recent years, Kapustin Yar has been the site of the official trials of the Iskander-M missile system, as well as tests of the S-400 (SA-20 Triumf) surface-to-air missile system. The facilities include a research and development center for the Strategic Missile Troops, a weapons development center for the Land Forces, an interagency air-defense research and development center, and a missile defense test center. Kapustin Yar will mark its 60th anniversary on Saturday. (Article, Link)
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» Missile system details for: Kapustin Yar Missile Test Complex
Russia: Russian Bombers Penetrated Arctic Without U.S. Detection
April 24, 2006 :: RIA-Novosti :: News
Russian bombers penetrated U.S. airspace over the Arctic Ocean during recent military exercises, claimed a senior Russian Air Force general on Sunday. Lieutenant General Igor Khvorov, commander of Russia’s long-range strategic bombers, stated that U.S. forces “were unable to detect the planes either with radars or visually.” Khvorov’s remarks indicate that the aforementioned Russian aircraft could be Tu-160 Blackjack, Tu-22 Bear, or Tu-22 Blinder strategic bombers. (Article, Link)
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Russia Tests New Reentry Vehicle Said Designed to Penetrate U.S. Defenses
April 23, 2006 :: Pravda :: News
Russia test-launched a new warhead designed to penetrate U.S. missile defenses on Saturday. The warhead was launched aboard a K65M-R missile from the Kapustin Yar testing ground in the southern Astrakhan region. The K65M (R-14) is a launcher used to deliver satellites to orbit. Itar-Tass quotes Colonel-General Nikolai Solovtsov, commander of Russia’s Strategic Rocket Forces, who noted that the test involved optic and radar measurement systems that reproduce U.S. missile defense systems. Kommersant reported that the test was made with the K65-M launcher as opposed to a newer Topol-M for cost reasons, and that only one Topol-M per year would be test launched, for operating purposes.
“Saturday, we began official flight tests for the…arming of promising missile systems which will go into service in 2008,” Ivanov was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying when he reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin, “that is of landmark significance for us and the country.” Ivanov added that “The deviation [from target] did not exceed several hundred meters, which is a good result for the first launch. The warhead dummy arrived at the preset point at a distance of more than 2,000 kilometers at the Balkhash test field in Kazakhstan, leased by Russia.”
The warhead tested is under consideration for use on both land and sea-based missiles, presumably the Topol-M and Bulava. The trajectory on which it is tested makes use of many radars at the Sary Shagan site. (Article, Link)
» Kommersant on K65M-R test
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Solomonov: Mobile Topol-Ms Operational This Year; Bulava to be Tested This Year, Operational in 2008
April 17, 2006 :: BBC Worldwide Monitoring :: News
Russia has announced the testing and deployment schedule for its mobile Topol-M (SS-27) ICBM and sea-based Bulava (SS-NX-30) SLBM. Yuriy Solomonov, chief designer of Russian ICBMs, was quoted as saying that the first missile regiment armed with truck-mounted Topol-M missiles will be put on combat duty in 2006. The Topol-M is capable of hitting targets at a range of more than 10,000 kilometers (6,000 miles), and is said to be the core of Russia’s modernized missile arsenal. Solomonov added that the Bulava (the sea-based version of the Topol-M) will begin a three-year test schedule in June/July 2006, and will be deployed on the submarine Yuriy Dolgorukiy in 2008. Asked how many trials the Bulava will undergo during this period, Solomonov replied “no less than ten.”
Solomonov also recently said that the Topol-M (SS-27) ICBM and Bulava (SS-NX-30) SLBM will provide an offensive deterrent through at least 2050. In recent weeks, Russian defense analysts have expressed their concern that the number of Russian nuclear weapons could fall below the threshold of the Strategic Offensive Reduction Treaty, which requires the U.S. and Russia to cut their nuclear arsenals to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads by 2012. At present, only five or six new single-warhead Topol-Ms are added to the Russian inventory each year, while an increasing number of Soviet-made missile carrying multiple warheads are decommissioned. Solomonov said that the Russian military will announce later this year a plan to adapt the sea-based Bulava, which can carry six warheads, for ground-based launches. The chief designer did not elaborate any further, but assured reporters that the number of active Russian warheads would be no less than 2,000 by 2020. (Article, Link)
» Interfax: Bulava-M to undergo testing this summer
» Defense News: Russian arsenal adequate, says designer
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» Missile details: SS-N-6, SS-26
RIA-Novosti on Foreign Commercial Spacecraft Launched by Russia
April 11, 2006 :: RIA-Novosti :: News
Andrei Kislyakov in RIA-Novosti discusses Russia’s role in launching commercial spacecraft for foreign countries. He quotes Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, who recently stated that Russia is orbiting spacecraft from between 30 and 40 countries. Kislyakov argues that “the Russian space industry may become an indirect hostage to an orbital conflict,” as it does not always know what it launches. A case in point, although not mentioned by Kislyakov, is Russia’s launch of a new Iranian satellite last October. Many U.S. defense analysts believe that the launch was an attempt by Iran to master a new range of sophisticated technologies that could be used to further its nuclear program. Kislyakov argues that Russia’s actions could lead to a space war between Russia and the U.S. (Article, Link)
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