Russian SS-19 Stiletto Missile Profiled
July 6, 2005 :: BBC Worldwide Monitoring :: News
RTR Russia TV (Moscow) recently profiled Russia’s SS-19 Stiletto intercontinental ballistic missile, otherwise known as the RS-18 UR-100. In particular, the report highlighted the SS-19’s ability to penetrate missile defense systems through the use of decoys and countermeasures. Nikolay Solovtsev, commander of Russia’s Strategic Missile Troops, had an important comment to make about its relation to missile defense: “It is not for nothing that this type of weapon was called Stiletto … This is a very threatening weapon … [It] can penetrate any anti-missile systems, including the ones yet to be designed.” Of course, the SS-19, as with any ballistic missile, can have no virtually no ability to evade a boost-phase missile defense interceptor.
The SS-19 entered service in 1975 as the last of the fourth generation Soviet land-based missiles. It is capable of carrying six independently targetable nuclear warheads, and has a range of over 10,000 km. The SS-19 was most recently test-launched on August 11, 2004. (Article, Link)
» August 11, 2004: Russia test launches the SS-19
» More stories on: Russia
» Missile details: SS-21 A, SS-21 B
Russian-Indian BrahMos Cruise Missile Goes into Production
July 6, 2005 :: Interfax :: News
The joint Russian-Indian cruise missile BrahMos has entered production, reports Interfax-AVN. The collaborative project, which began in 1998, includes Russia’s Mashinostroyeniye Company and the Indian Defense Ministry’s Defense Research and Development Organization. Interfax-AVN quotes Aleksandr Maksichev, acting general director of Mashinostroyeniye, as stating, “Tests of the BrahMos missile have been successfully completed, and the first customer is the Indian navy. Serial manufacture has begun in Russia and India.” The initial batch of BrahMos missiles will number approximately 70. Maksichev emphasized that the BrahMos is an all-purpose missile: “The basic model is anti-ship but it could also be adapted for use against land targets. It could also be adapted for airborne platforms.” (Article, Link)
» BrahMos official website
» More stories on: Cruise Missiles, India, Russia
Russia Tests Missile for Sale to China
July 1, 2005 :: News
Russia is testing a new anti-ship missile for export to China, according to a report by The Epoch Times. The report states that flight testing is currently underway on a variant of the Raduga Kh-59M (NATO AS-18 Kazoo) anti-ship missile, which is well suited for attacks against U.S. carriers. Russia began testing the Kh-59M in 2004 using a SU-30MK2 aircraft, a model that is already exported to Beijing. Smith notes that the modified Kh-59M has been fitted with an active radar seeker, advanced guidance systems, and a special computer interface allowing it to use targeting data from the Su-30MK2 fighter. The Kh-59M is said to have a range of 288 km (186 miles). (Article, Link)
» More stories on: China, Russia, Testing - Foreign
More on NATO-Russia TMD Continuing Cooperation
June 15, 2005 :: RIA-Novosti :: News
Russia and NATO continue to cooperate on short range, or “theater” ballistic missile defense, reports RIA-Novosti. Both sides will take part in a seminar on nuclear strategy doctrines in July 2005, followed by a nuclear emergency exercise in the UK in September, and then joint command-and-staff exercises in Russia in 2006. Speaking in Brussels at the Russia-NATO Council on June 9, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov stressed the need to boost cooperation, particularly in the area of cruise missile defense. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Cruise Missile Defenses, Russia
Russia to Phase Out Railcar Missiles by December 2005
June 15, 2005 :: RIA-Novosti :: News
RIA-Novosti reports that Russia plans to remove all nuclear missile trains from combat duty by December 2005. According to one source quoted in the article, “Unfortunately missiles grow old, just like people, and their guaranteed service life runs out.” Each system comprises three launchers of SS-24 Scalpel (RT-23U Molodets) missiles. Previous reports indicate that Russia most recently dismantled missile trains at Kostroma and Bryansk. (Article, Link)
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» Missile details: SS-N-4
Russia Threatens Response to Space Deployments
June 2, 2005 :: BBC Worldwide Monitoring :: News
Russia will take retaliatory steps if any country deploys weapons in space, threatened Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov on Thursday. As quoted by Russian news agencies, Ivanov emphasized that Russia is “categorically against the militarization of space,” and that “if some state begins to realize such plans, then we doubtless will take adequate retaliatory measures.” Ivanov added that Russia has plans to create a new missile system using SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missiles that will be able to launch multiple space vehicles into orbit using a single booster.
Despite Ivanov’s rhetoric, there is reason to doubt whether Russia actually has the capability to take retaliatory steps against the U.S. in space. As Pavel Podvig, author of Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces, recently suggests, Russia “has lost its capability to carry out serious development projects in military space and is very unlikely to recover it.” If Podvig is correct, the U.S. need not worry about such an arms race. (Article, Link)
» May 20, 2005: Podvig on Russian Space Capability
» More stories on: Russia, Space-Based Systems
» Missile details: SS-20
Head of Rosoboronexport on Arms Cooperation
June 2, 2005 :: BBC Worldwide Monitoring :: News
Military cooperation between Russia and Belarus is growing rapidly, reports the Belarusian daily Zvyazda. The article quotes Sergey Chemezov, director-general of Russia’s Rosoboronexport arms company, as claiming that Russian-Belarusian interaction accounts for one third of manufacturing and research facilities in the former Soviet Union, and 30-35 percent of jointly developed weaponry. This includes the S-300P and S-300V missile defense systems, which are exported worldwide. Russia has also signed military cooperation agreements with Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Zvyazda notes that Chemezov is pursuing a single pricing policy in order to boost revenues. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Former Soviet Republics, Industry, Russia
» Missile system details for: S-300P (SA-10 Grumble), S-300V (SA-12A Gladiator, SA-12B Giant)
Russia Dismantling Railway Missile System
May 31, 2005 :: Interfax :: News
Interfax reports that Russia has dismantled one railway-based missile system at Kostroma, and has started dismantling another at Bryansk. Each system comprises three launchers of SS-24 Scalpel (RT-23U Molodets) missiles, as well as a command post and maintenance cars. Nikolay Solovtsov, commander of the Strategic Missile Troops, has previously stated that Russia will dismantle all railway-based missile launchers before 2006. (Article, Link)
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» Missile details: SS-N-4
New Russian Early-Warning Radar
May 27, 2005 :: Analysis
Itar-Tass reports that the Russian Space Troops plan to test a new early-warning radar station near St. Petersburg in 2005. The news agency quotes Col-Gen. Vladimir Popovkin, commander-in-chief of the Space Troops, as stating that “[Russia’s] space reconnaissance facilities are nearly at the end of their useful life and that is why over the next few years we will be replacing them …” The new-generation EWR is described as smaller, lighter, and requiring minimal on-site preparation. Popovkin adds that the new radar will allow the Space Troops to cover “all likely avenues of missile approach.”
Pavel Podvig analyzes the announcement of Russia’s new-generation early-warning radar, at RussianForces.org. Podvig notes that the new radar’s smaller size, minimal on-site preparation, and lower cost seem “very attractive,” but he remains skeptical of the system’s overall effectiveness. He points out that EWRs typically require “a lot of power and a big antenna,” and questions whether smaller new-generation EWRs can match the power and range of older and larger systems like the Russia’s Daryal and Dnepr radars. (Article, Link)
» Podvig on new Russian radar
» More stories on: Russia, Detection and Tracking
Podvig: Russia Cannot Compete in a Space Arms Race
May 27, 2005 :: Analysis
Pavel Podvig, author of Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces, argues that Russia has lost the ability to compete with the U.S. in space. On RussianForces.org, he refers to the remarks of a low-level Russian diplomat at a recent conference in Virginia, who was quoted by the Financial Times as saying, “Russia could respond with force if the US put a ‘combat weapon’ into space.” Podvig disagrees: “Russian diplomats like to think they live in the world where this rhetoric works … The reality is quite different.” He argues the Russian military space program “has lost its capability to carry out serious development projects in military space and is very unlikely to recover it.”
Opponents of U.S. space-based military assets often warn about the dangers of a space arms race between the U.S. and Russia. According to this argument, the “weaponization of space” would lead to new forms of brinkmanship and perhaps even military conflict. Yet if Podvig is correct and Russia has truly lost the ability to compete with the U.S. in space, then the U.S. need not worry about going head to head with the Russians, if such a race even occurs. Either the U.S. will win the space arms race, or the Russians will decline to challenge the U.S. due to their current lack of resources, technology, and expertise. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Space-Based Systems
